Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Rant about inserting links  (Read 2571 times)

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Rant about inserting links
« on: February 04, 2016, 04:53:59 pm »

In the past:

- while writing about something, I decide to support it with a link
- or I find an article, copy the title (or relevant text) and insert it into a post I am writing
- copy the article's web address
- double click on the inserted title or wording in my post, highlighting it
- click on the globe icon and paste the article's web address

That was it. Natural flow. Sounds more complicated to describe than in practice.

Not any more.

Now I have to manually enter the text that will be hyperlinked. I can not leave that box and go to the original article page and copy the title. If it is a simple single, world (e.g., "check here" or "this book") not a big deal, but if it is a longer article title... majorly annoying.

Jeremy Roussak

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8961
    • site
Re: Rant about inserting links
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2016, 03:40:22 am »

In the past:

- while writing about something, I decide to support it with a link
- or I find an article, copy the title (or relevant text) and insert it into a post I am writing
- copy the article's web address
- double click on the inserted title or wording in my post, highlighting it
- click on the globe icon and paste the article's web address

That was it. Natural flow. Sounds more complicated to describe than in practice.

Not any more.

Now I have to manually enter the text that will be hyperlinked. I can not leave that box and go to the original article page and copy the title. If it is a simple single, world (e.g., "check here" or "this book") not a big deal, but if it is a longer article title... majorly annoying.

I agree. It's very irritating and there is no obvious reason for it. It's a big backward step in usability.

Jeremy
Logged

Rory

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 528
    • Recent images
Re: Rant about inserting links
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2016, 11:48:09 am »

It is still easy.

You just have to wrap your mind around changing the order you do things:

  • get the url
  • click the "insert hyperlink" button
  • paste the url
  • type in the link description

Surely you have something more substantive to rant about.   ;)
Logged
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/roryhi

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Rant about inserting links
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2016, 11:55:52 am »

    ...
    • type in the link description

    Which is exactly the essence of my rant. If the thing to type is "this" or "book" etc., you might be right, although it still goes against the natural flow of writing, as I have to delete what I just wrote first and then rewrite it again. But if it is a longish title? And longish titles are sometimes necessary for readers to figure out what the link is about before clicking on it.

    Besides, the old system was not broken, why "fix" it?

    Christopher Sanderson

    • Sr. Member
    • ****
    • Offline Offline
    • Posts: 2693
      • photopxl.com
    Re: Rant about inserting links
    « Reply #4 on: February 05, 2016, 12:09:52 pm »

    This is a Simple Machines issue about which we can do little.

    When creating a clickable link, I find that the ability to use multiple clipboards is very useful.

    Copy URL
    Copy text

    Paste URL
    Paste text

    Slobodan Blagojevic

    • Sr. Member
    • ****
    • Offline Offline
    • Posts: 18090
    • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
      • My website
    Re: Rant about inserting links
    « Reply #5 on: February 05, 2016, 12:15:33 pm »

    ... multiple clipboards...

    Hmmm... that must be Windows-only thingy, Chris, right?

    Paul Gessler

    • Jr. Member
    • **
    • Offline Offline
    • Posts: 70
    Re: Rant about inserting links
    « Reply #6 on: February 05, 2016, 12:19:24 pm »

    Logged

    Slobodan Blagojevic

    • Sr. Member
    • ****
    • Offline Offline
    • Posts: 18090
    • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
      • My website
    Re: Rant about inserting links
    « Reply #7 on: February 05, 2016, 12:32:48 pm »

    Nope, see for example Copy, Paste, Repeat: Finding the best clipboard manager for Mac

    Right, but these are all external apps, not part of the OS?

    Paul Gessler

    • Jr. Member
    • **
    • Offline Offline
    • Posts: 70
    Re: Rant about inserting links
    « Reply #8 on: February 05, 2016, 12:35:23 pm »

    Right, but these are all external apps, not part of the OS?

    Yes, the situation is the same in Windows.
    Logged

    Christopher Sanderson

    • Sr. Member
    • ****
    • Offline Offline
    • Posts: 2693
      • photopxl.com
    Re: Rant about inserting links
    « Reply #9 on: February 05, 2016, 12:50:26 pm »

    Right, but these are all external apps, not part of the OS?
    Yup, I've used multiple clipboards for years and would have difficulty without them. Currenty I use LaunchBar
    Pages: [1]   Go Up