---
title: Web Form Error When Rendering Bindings With Special Characters
slug: web-form-error-when-rendering-bindings-with-special-characters
createdAt: 2026-01-29T22:32:06.458Z
---

# Overview

Web forms in Activate may fail to render correctly when bound values include special characters such as %, =, or @. This commonly occurs when displaying passwords or other dynamically generated text that has not been encoded.

# Symptoms

You may encounter an error when loading a web form that attempts to render a binding containing special characters.

The form may fail to display or throw a rendering exception at runtime.

# Cause

The issue occurs because certain characters are interpreted as markup or expressions when rendered in a web form.

If bound values are not HTML-encoded, special characters can break the rendering process.

# Resolution

Ensure that any text containing special characters is HTML-encoded before being used in a binding.

## Encode the Value in Server-side Code

Use HTML encoding to safely render the value:

:::BlockQuote
string p = System.Web.HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(password);
Trace.WriteLine(p);

p = p.Replace("%", "%").Replace("=", "=").Replace("@", "@");
:::

## Use Expression-based Encoding

Where possible, use the built-in HTTP encoding function to encode values before rendering them in the form.

This ensures that special characters are handled safely and prevents rendering errors.

# Notes and Considerations

- This issue commonly occurs with password or credential fields
- Always encode values before rendering them in web forms
- Test forms with representative data to confirm correct behaviour