Optional line-breaking HTML entity that is always invisible -

i want optional line-breaking character invisible works word-wrap: break-word; css style.

here specifics. goal break apart long links in reasonable places. these characters place start: -, ., _, /, \. not rails-specific question, wanted share code i'm using now:

module applicationhelper   def with_optional_line_breaks(text)     text.gsub(%r{([-._/\\])}, '\1­')   end end 

here's problem code above: when ­ takes effect (in table with: word-wrap: break-word;), ­ gets displayed -. don't want see -; want line break without character shown.

---

​ html entity unicode character called zero-width space (zwsp).

"in html pages, space can used potential line-break in long words alternative <wbr> tag."- zero-width space - wikipedia

the <wbr> tag works, mentioned aaron's answer. think prefer html entity on tag because entity seems simpler: unicode handles it, not web browser.