Closed (works as designed)
Project:
Linkit
Version:
7.x-2.x-dev
Component:
User interface
Priority:
Normal
Category:
Task
Assigned:
Issue tags:
Reporter:
Created:
26 Jul 2011 at 01:24 UTC
Updated:
29 Oct 2011 at 00:55 UTC
From a UX perspective, the current way Linkit handles the link text (contents of the <a> tag) is confusing to me. When I have no text selected and insert a link through Linkit, something irrelevant is inserted as link text (using TinyMCE "undefined", this is probably not on purpose). It is not possible at the moment to insert the title of the "item" that is linked to, since the target path may be entered manually. At best the target path may be used as link text, but this is also irrelevant and must usually be changed afterwards. This is not good because changing the entire link text by manipulating it in a WYSIWYG-editor can be difficult for the average user.
I can see two solutions to this issue, which are acceptable from a UX perspective:
- Revert the dashboard's "Link text" field. What was wrong with that? (GMail uses this)
- Disable the Linkit button if no text is selected. Then the link text will always be available. (Wordpress uses this)
I am in favor of 1 because it is technically easier to implement since editor specific button lockdowns could be ignored, and a relevant link text can be proposed by Linkit (when user uses autocomplete and link text is empty).
Comments
Comment #1
anonIf no text is selected, the title of the item you select will be the link text. This is a feature and there is an issue (feature request) about this.
Sure, this wont work for external urls, but then we have to do some special case for that.
I dont like either 1 or 2.
1. Keep the UI simple.
2. The feature request I said first.
Comment #2
betamos commentedThe "item title" is only available when an autocomplete result has been selected, and if one is not selected it is difficult to change the text after the link is inserted. Actually, one must manually erase parts of the irrelevant link text, but always keep some of it, to avoid removing the entire link. (Try it for yourself!) This will be a very common use case since mostly people are linking externally while writing articles and blog posts. Anyone familiar with a WYSIWYG-editor of some sort knows that it can be a hassle to get the formatting right.
I do not buy the simplicity argument, even though I am a pragmatic minimalist myself. It is highly relevant to alter the link text inside the dashboard. If GMail, with it's 200 million users, uses it, it is definitely not unnecessary cluttering of the UI.
I am still in favor of #1, it has been part of the design mockups (#1147136: Proposal for Linkit 2.x UI) since the beginning of 7.x-2.x development for this UX reason, plus it addresses the feature request mentioned perfectly. It is already working in the generic-editor-api branch, so there are no technical difficulties involved.
Sorry if I seem firm on this issue, but I am totally convinced that it is a huge UX win for Linkit, since the user scenario we are discussing is so common. That is why it is so important to me…
Comment #3
anonOk I see what you mean, but I still think that there are to many fields visible and the same time by default.
What if we could remove the the URL field, and instead use the search field for this?
I mean, instead of inserting a value in the URL field, cant we use the search field instead?
Comment #4
betamos commentedThen how will the user know where a link goes while editing it? Or adding a #fragment? A link consists primary of a link text and a target url. I am not afraid of bloating the UI with this functionality. It is way more important than all other attributes together.
Comment #5
anonOk, add that field again, and then we can talk about how it feels. I give you permissions to go for it. =)
Comment #6
anonAs betamos isnt very active, I will set this to postponed.
Comment #7
anonPeriod.