Format as Web Link

Have a problem? A question? This is the place for answers from other Express users.
Post Reply
hatchmo
Posts: 99
Joined: 2004-03-01 10:35:56
Location: Cotati, CA

Format as Web Link

Post by hatchmo »

A new feature in 2.5, that I cannot find in the documentation or in the release notes, is HTML formatting.

If I copy a link from a Web page in Safari and paste it into a Nisus Writer 2.5 document, it appears as a proper link. In other words, it's colored and underlined -- but the "http://www....etc." is invisible. The cursor even changes into a hand when you point at the link.

This does not happen when you drag-and-drop the link, nor does it happen in Version 2.1.3.

How do I format my own links this way from within Nisus Writer?
Al Hatch
User avatar
martin
Official Nisus Person
Posts: 5227
Joined: 2002-07-11 17:14:10
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Post by martin »

In the current beta you cannot define a new web link (hyperlink) using Nisus Writer Express. It does however understand them and will read and write them in RTF files. You will probably be able to insert a hyperlink in a later beta.
HeatherKay
Posts: 78
Joined: 2004-04-13 04:44:40
Location: Chatham, UK
Contact:

Post by HeatherKay »

Now call me a fuddy-duddy or luddite, but I *hate* URLs becoming active in text documents. :evil:

Please reassure those who likewise hate this "feature" that it will be possible to switch off the option in NWE in future versions.
User avatar
martin
Official Nisus Person
Posts: 5227
Joined: 2002-07-11 17:14:10
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Post by martin »

To insert a hyperlink in Nisus Writer Express you will have to use a menu. That is, text that looks like a URL (eg: starting with "http://") will not magically auto-linkify.
HeatherKay
Posts: 78
Joined: 2004-04-13 04:44:40
Location: Chatham, UK
Contact:

Post by HeatherKay »

Cool. Thank you.

(It's just one of the things that most irritates me about MS Weird and Execrable.)
marc
Posts: 83
Joined: 2004-07-06 08:45:15
Location: Australia
Contact:

Preference option?

Post by marc »

I have to agree that auto-recognition of links can be really annoying, but in some circumstances, it can actually be what you're after.

You're probably going to do this anyway, but FWIW, my vote would be to have this as a preference option, so that weirdos (!) that do like the Word behaviour, will have that option. :)

The default should probably be as previously described; have this option OFF, and require the user to manually select 'Make web link' or some such formatting command.
midwinter
Posts: 333
Joined: 2004-09-09 18:07:11
Location: Utah
Contact:

Post by midwinter »

Please please please do NOT make the default behavior to auto-discover links. Word makes me want to throw my computer out the window every. single. time. it. does. this. It is the most utterly counter-intuitive behavior in the world and could only have been the brainchild of a company that didn't think twice about asking users to click a button labeled "start" to turn their computers off.

If you do add a preference for how to auto-discover links, I suggest you bury it somewhere odd in the menus and maybe write the description of what it does in some language no one speaks anymore. Latin, perhaps.

OK. I feel better now.
shades
Posts: 118
Joined: 2002-11-12 18:51:49

Post by shades »

So, ah, midwinter, you dont like auto-links, eh? ;) :D :lol:
MBP 2.4 GHz, OS X 10.5.6
NWP 1.2, Mellel 2.6, iWork 08
midwinter
Posts: 333
Joined: 2004-09-09 18:07:11
Location: Utah
Contact:

Post by midwinter »

shades wrote:So, ah, midwinter, you dont like auto-links, eh? ;) :D :lol:
I like that option for auto-correcting links about as much as I like the one right below it in the Word prefs:

Image
marc
Posts: 83
Joined: 2004-07-06 08:45:15
Location: Australia
Contact:

Post by marc »

It could be interesting to have 'link auto detection' as a style property, so that you can set this as the default behaviour, but still allow exceptions, such as retrospectively adding this property; I'm thinking of situations where you want to produce a PDF version of a paper, for instance, that includes active 'clickable' URL references.
User avatar
martin
Official Nisus Person
Posts: 5227
Joined: 2002-07-11 17:14:10
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Post by martin »

midwinter wrote:I like that option for auto-correcting links about as much as I like the one right below it in the Word prefs:
LOL :lol:
Post Reply