react-highlight-words vs react-highlighter vs react-syntax-highlighter
React Text Highlighting Libraries
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React Text Highlighting Libraries

Text highlighting libraries in React are essential tools for enhancing user experience by allowing users to easily identify and focus on specific parts of text. These libraries offer various functionalities such as keyword highlighting, syntax highlighting for code snippets, and customizable styles, making them suitable for different use cases, from search functionality to code documentation. By integrating these libraries, developers can create more interactive and visually appealing applications that improve readability and engagement.

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react-highlight-words02,2992.42 MB7a year agoMIT
react-highlighter0160-248 years agoMIT
react-syntax-highlighter04,6442.19 MB13715 days agoMIT

Feature Comparison: react-highlight-words vs react-highlighter vs react-syntax-highlighter

Highlighting Methodology

  • react-highlight-words:

    react-highlight-words uses a dynamic approach to highlight words or phrases based on user input. It allows for real-time updates as the input changes, making it ideal for search functionalities where users can see their search terms highlighted immediately.

  • react-highlighter:

    react-highlighter provides a simpler method for highlighting text, focusing on static text without the need for complex configurations. It highlights text based on predefined keywords, making it straightforward for basic highlighting needs.

  • react-syntax-highlighter:

    react-syntax-highlighter specializes in syntax highlighting for code snippets. It parses the code and applies styles based on the language, ensuring that keywords, strings, and other syntax elements are visually distinct.

Customization

  • react-highlight-words:

    react-highlight-words offers extensive customization options, allowing developers to define styles for highlighted text, including colors, backgrounds, and font styles. This flexibility enables a seamless integration with existing UI designs.

  • react-highlighter:

    react-highlighter provides basic customization capabilities, focusing primarily on the color of the highlighted text. While it may not offer as many options as others, it is sufficient for simple use cases.

  • react-syntax-highlighter:

    react-syntax-highlighter comes with multiple themes and customization options, allowing developers to choose from a variety of styles for syntax highlighting. This makes it versatile for different applications and user preferences.

Performance

  • react-highlight-words:

    react-highlight-words is optimized for performance with efficient re-rendering strategies, ensuring that only the parts of the text that need highlighting are updated. This is crucial for applications with large text blocks or frequent updates.

  • react-highlighter:

    react-highlighter is lightweight and performs well for small to medium-sized text blocks. However, it may not be as efficient for larger datasets due to its simpler implementation.

  • react-syntax-highlighter:

    react-syntax-highlighter is designed for performance when rendering code snippets. It efficiently handles large blocks of code and minimizes re-renders, making it suitable for technical documentation.

Ease of Use

  • react-highlight-words:

    react-highlight-words is user-friendly and easy to implement, with clear documentation and examples. It is suitable for developers looking for a straightforward solution to highlight text dynamically.

  • react-highlighter:

    react-highlighter is very easy to use, requiring minimal setup. Its simplicity makes it a great choice for beginners or projects with basic highlighting needs.

  • react-syntax-highlighter:

    react-syntax-highlighter is also easy to use, especially for developers familiar with code syntax. It provides clear documentation and examples, making it accessible for those looking to integrate code highlighting.

Use Cases

  • react-highlight-words:

    react-highlight-words is best suited for applications that require dynamic text highlighting, such as search features, chat applications, or any context where user input needs to be highlighted in real-time.

  • react-highlighter:

    react-highlighter is ideal for simple text highlighting scenarios, such as highlighting keywords in articles or documents where user interaction is limited.

  • react-syntax-highlighter:

    react-syntax-highlighter is specifically designed for displaying code snippets in blogs, documentation, or educational platforms where syntax clarity is essential.

How to Choose: react-highlight-words vs react-highlighter vs react-syntax-highlighter

  • react-highlight-words:

    Choose react-highlight-words if you need to highlight specific words or phrases within a block of text dynamically. It is particularly useful for search functionalities where users can see their search terms highlighted in context.

  • react-highlighter:

    Select react-highlighter for a more straightforward approach to highlighting text. It is ideal for simple use cases where you want to highlight text based on user input without complex configurations or additional features.

  • react-syntax-highlighter:

    Opt for react-syntax-highlighter if your application involves displaying code snippets that need syntax highlighting. It supports multiple programming languages and offers various themes, making it suitable for technical documentation or code sharing.

Similar Npm Packages to react-highlight-words

react-highlight-words is a React component that allows you to highlight specific words or phrases within a block of text. This package is particularly useful for search functionality, where users can see their search terms highlighted in the results. It provides a simple API for specifying the text to highlight and supports various customization options, such as styling and case sensitivity. By using react-highlight-words, developers can enhance the user experience by making important information stand out in a clear and visually appealing way.

While react-highlight-words is a great choice for highlighting text, there are other libraries available that offer similar functionality. Here are a couple of alternatives:

  • react-highlighter is another library designed for highlighting text in React applications. It allows you to highlight specific words or phrases, similar to react-highlight-words, but with a slightly different approach. react-highlighter provides a straightforward API and supports various customization options, making it easy to integrate into your projects. If you are looking for a simple solution to highlight text without additional complexity, react-highlighter is worth considering.
  • react-syntax-highlighter is a more specialized library that focuses on syntax highlighting for code snippets. It supports a wide range of programming languages and provides various themes for styling the highlighted code. While it is not specifically designed for general text highlighting like react-highlight-words, it is an excellent choice if you need to display code with syntax highlighting in your React applications. If your use case involves highlighting code rather than plain text, react-syntax-highlighter is the way to go.

To see how these packages compare, check out the comparison: Comparing react-highlight-words vs react-highlighter vs react-syntax-highlighter.

Similar Npm Packages to react-highlighter

react-highlighter is a React component that allows developers to easily highlight specific text within a larger body of text. This can be particularly useful for applications that require text search functionality or for displaying search results with highlighted keywords. The library provides a straightforward API and is designed to integrate seamlessly into React applications, making it a popular choice for developers looking to enhance user experience through text highlighting.

While react-highlighter is a great option, there are other libraries available that offer similar functionality. Here are a couple of alternatives:

  • react-highlight-words is a React component that allows you to highlight specific words or phrases within a text. It is particularly useful for search result displays, where users need to see their search terms highlighted. This library is easy to use and provides customization options for styling the highlighted text, making it a flexible choice for developers looking to implement text highlighting in their applications.
  • react-syntax-highlighter is a library focused on syntax highlighting for code snippets. It supports a wide range of programming languages and provides various themes for styling the highlighted code. While it is primarily aimed at developers who want to display code in a visually appealing way, it can also be used for highlighting specific parts of the text, making it a versatile option for applications that involve code snippets or technical documentation.

To see how react-highlighter compares with react-highlight-words and react-syntax-highlighter, check out the comparison: Comparing react-highlight-words vs react-highlighter vs react-syntax-highlighter.

Similar Npm Packages to react-syntax-highlighter

react-syntax-highlighter is a popular library for syntax highlighting in React applications. It provides a simple way to display code snippets with various themes and styles, making it easier for developers to present code in a visually appealing manner. The library supports multiple programming languages and is highly customizable, allowing developers to choose from a variety of themes and styles to match their application's design. While react-syntax-highlighter is a robust solution for syntax highlighting, there are several alternatives available that also cater to similar needs. Here are a few notable options:

  • prism-react-renderer is a React component for rendering syntax-highlighted code using Prism.js, a lightweight and extensible syntax highlighter. This library allows for easy integration of Prism's capabilities into React applications, offering a customizable and performant solution for code highlighting. With prism-react-renderer, you can leverage Prism's extensive language support and themes, while also benefiting from React's component-based architecture. This makes it an excellent choice for developers looking for a modern and flexible syntax highlighting solution.

  • react-codemirror is a React wrapper for the CodeMirror library, which is a versatile text editor implemented in JavaScript. While primarily designed for creating code editors, react-codemirror also provides syntax highlighting capabilities. This library is ideal for applications that require a full-fledged code editing experience, complete with syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and other advanced features. If you're building an application that needs an interactive code editor, react-codemirror is a strong candidate.

  • react-highlight is another syntax highlighting library for React that is based on the highlight.js library. It provides a straightforward way to highlight code snippets with minimal configuration. react-highlight is lightweight and easy to use, making it suitable for projects that require basic syntax highlighting without the overhead of more complex libraries. If you need a simple solution for displaying highlighted code snippets, react-highlight is worth considering.

To see how these libraries compare, check out the comparison: Comparing prism-react-renderer vs react-codemirror vs react-highlight vs react-syntax-highlighter.

README for react-highlight-words

React component to highlight words within a larger body of text.

Check out a demo here.

Usage

To use it, just provide it with an array of search terms and a body of text to highlight.

Try this example in Code Sandbox.

import React from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import Highlighter from "react-highlight-words";

const root = createRoot(document.getElementById("root"));
root.render(
  <Highlighter
    highlightClassName="YourHighlightClass"
    searchWords={["and", "or", "the"]}
    autoEscape={true}
    textToHighlight="The dog is chasing the cat. Or perhaps they're just playing?"
  />
);

And the Highlighter will mark all occurrences of search terms within the text:

screen shot 2015-12-19 at 8 23 43 am

Props

PropertyTypeRequired?Description
activeClassNameStringThe class name to be applied to an active match. Use along with activeIndex
activeIndexNumberSpecify the match index that should be actively highlighted. Use along with activeClassName
activeStyleObjectThe inline style to be applied to an active match. Use along with activeIndex
autoEscapeBooleanEscape characters in searchWords which are meaningful in regular expressions
classNameStringCSS class name applied to the outer/wrapper <span>
caseSensitiveBooleanSearch should be case sensitive; defaults to false
findChunksFunctionUse a custom function to search for matching chunks. This makes it possible to use arbitrary logic when looking for matches. See the default findChunks function in highlight-words-core for signature. Have a look at the custom findChunks example on how to use it.
highlightClassNameString or ObjectCSS class name applied to highlighted text or object mapping search term matches to class names.
highlightStyleObjectInline styles applied to highlighted text
highlightTagNode or StringType of tag to wrap around highlighted matches. Defaults to mark but can also be a React component (class or functional)
sanitizeFunctionProcess each search word and text to highlight before comparing (eg remove accents); signature (text: string): string
searchWordsArray<String | RegExp>✓Array of search words. String search terms are automatically cast to RegExps unless autoEscape is true.
textToHighlightString✓Text to highlight matches in
unhighlightClassNameStringCSS class name applied to unhighlighted text
unhighlightStyleObjectInline styles applied to unhighlighted text
unhighlightTagNode or StringType of tag applied to unhighlighted parts. Defaults to span but can also be a React component (class or functional)
*anyAny other props (such as title or data-*) are applied to the outer/wrapper <span>

Custom highlight tag

By default, this component uses an HTML Mark Text element (<mark>) to wrap matched text, but you can inject a custom tag using the highlightTag property. This tag should be a React component that accepts the following properties:

PropertyTypeDescription
childrenStringText to be highlighted
highlightIndexNumberIndex of matched text

For example:

const Highlight = ({ children, highlightIndex }) => (
  <strong className="highlighted-text">{children}</strong>
);

Installation

yarn add react-highlight-words

npm i react-highlight-words

License

MIT License - fork, modify and use however you want.

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