Bug 122279 - Feature Request: Hyperlink creation dialog should have option to enter exact href= text that will remain unmodified
Summary: Feature Request: Hyperlink creation dialog should have option to enter exact ...
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
5.4.7.2 release
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Hyperlink-Dialog
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Reported: 2018-12-22 12:02 UTC by Tom Sullivan
Modified: 2020-01-13 11:19 UTC (History)
5 users (show)

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Description Tom Sullivan 2018-12-22 12:02:03 UTC
Description:
Feature Request: The way LibreOffice now handles hyperlinks does have some usefulness to help avoid broken links. However, if someone knows what they are doing or are working on a page in a location not part of a whole directory tree of pages to which the document is linked, the present system is a real pain. I have had to go and edit the resultant HTML with a text editor to fix links.

Thus, one of the options in the hyperlink dialog should be to use the entered text exactly as typed. Right now, http:// is appended automatically for internet links, for example.

Comment: Sometimes programs think they are smarter than all users all the time. But sometimes, users need more precise and detailed control. Programs should not get in the user's way in such cases if the user so requests.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. In Writer, create a document a directory with only the document.
2. Create a relative internet hyperlink, for example, someotherpage.htm.
3. Close the hyperlink dialog.
4. Open the hyperlink dialog.
5. Observe that the link is now http?/someotherpage.htm.
6. Open the resultant HMTL in a text editor and see that that is indeed what follows the href=

Actual Results:
See above

Expected Results:
There should have been an option to leave my link the heck alone.


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
Comment 1 Regina Henschel 2018-12-23 00:17:59 UTC
The dialog is confusing, but it generates the links correctly, if you use the dialog this way:

If you want to link to a local file, then do not choose the category "internet", but use category "document". Then the main part changes. You will get a section "document" with a "path" field.

Do not enter anything directly into the "path" field, but use the file picker icon at the right side to choose the file. You will get an entry in the field, which looks like an absolute link. But as long as the linked file is on the same drive as the document, which gets the link, the link will be saved relative.

In case the linked file has a suitable part, you can choose it in the section "Target in document". Again, do not enter anything directly into the field, but use the icon on the right side. It opens a window, where you can choose the target. It will be added with #. For example, if your htm-file has an element with id-attribute, this id will be listed under "bookmark".

Besides that, you need to have the option "save URLs relative to file system" checked in Tools > Options > Load/Save > General.

The request, to let the user decide relative vs absolute for each individual link is already in bug 111957. Please have a look. I guess, that the proposals there will cover your request.
Comment 2 Tom Sullivan 2018-12-24 09:05:05 UTC
Thank you,  Regina Henschel, but the essence of my feature request is that one be able to enter link text that remains unmodified ** even when the target is not in the local directory tree. ** There are many reasons one might wish to do that, including testing without having to copy other files. Please see my original request. Thanks again.
Comment 3 Dieter 2019-06-03 09:38:46 UTC
Tom, have you checked, if bug 111957 covers your request?. If it does, please mark your bug as a duplicate. If it doesn't please give a short reasoning. 

I have set the bug's status to 'NEEDINFO'.
Comment 4 Tom Sullivan 2019-06-03 11:28:51 UTC
Dieter Praas:

The present hyperlink UI provides a large amount of automated functionality which is imposed on the user. In many cases, this is helpful.

Bug 111957 pertains to changes to this automated functionality.

The essence of my feature request herein is to give the user a checkbox or something by which to entirely disable all of the automated functionality and simply accept the user input directly as typed.

This implies that the UI will *ignore* the filesystem, etc. and make no other checks, but trust the user that the user knows what he or she is doing.
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2019-07-13 07:18:07 UTC
Try to escape the link like "test.com". It blocks the automatically added http:// for me (and would be a perfect WFM).
Comment 6 QA Administrators 2020-01-10 04:11:57 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 7 Tom Sullivan 2020-01-10 16:36:33 UTC
Changed to unconfirmed as requested.
Comment 8 Heiko Tietze 2020-01-13 11:19:53 UTC
Reconsidering my last comment. All these automatic procedures require in fact a manual override option. Wouldn't go with a checkbox (UI elements add complexity, clutter the interface, the off-switch is rarely needed and the checkbox draws too much attention). 

So my proposal: don't touch any user input when done in quotation marks.