New Inline Link Feature, I do not like!

Also not a fan, since I also use target=”_blank”. I have for years and have never had any complaints. In fact, when I first began my blog, I had readers tell me they wish I had links opening in a new tab when I didn’t, which is why I set it up.

Another thing I have is a plugin that adds an additional box under the “open link in new tab” box to nofollow a link. This inline feature additionally makes it take longer for me to get that box checked as well.

I would love if, with the next update, there was a way to check off these boxes easily on the inline links, without having to click the gear symbol, and then the blue arrow to apply, etc. Would definitely speed things up.

My two cents. I detest this new “inline linking”. It’s horrible. The entire concept is…well…perplexing. What are they going for here?

I don’t like it either, I find it more clunky to use than the old method. I realise a lot of effort was put into trying to make this easier to use, and I don’t wish to overlook that, but I think more user testing needed to be done. Or something. This is a heavily used feature and it now makes an already crappy visual editor even harder to use. Here are some examples:

It took me ages to realise I had to click the arrow for the link to apply to the text, why can’t I just press Enter? I still keep making that mistake even now – that indicates poor design if the user keeps making the same mistake over and over.

Also, I liked having the recently created article list because I could just choose the page from the list, or I could search for “date” once and easily link to several different articles using that keyword – now I have to type in in each time or click the gear each time. It’s cumbersome to use and a backwards step, I’m afraid.

Even the location of the input box is awkward. You have to move your cursor to the editor’s toolbar, and then all the way back down again to your highlighted word. It’s just aggravating.

Overall, this update seems to be geared to people who don’t use their mouse and only make the occasional simple link. I suspect this is not the majority of the user base. It echoes the practice by companies like Microsoft and Apple to “dumb down” their products at the expense of more advanced users.

I absolutely detest this new ‘feature’ too – it’s clunky, and requires me to click twice to do the things that I used to be able to do using a keyboard shortcut. Please tell me there’s a way to disable this. ??

The new inline doesn’t actually work for me. I want to link to past blog posts and as soon as I save a draft, the link disappears. The text remains, but it no longer links back. Am I the only one with this problems ?
Any ideas on how to resolve ? It has been so frustrating because it is just not working and I don’t know why.
Any help or ideas welcome.

@karen-french-inspiration Per the forum welcome if you need help please post your own topic.

https://www.ads-software.com/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting#postform

This topic, like the one before has become a place to vent and will likely be closed soon. If you need help with the new feature then a support topic is the way to go.

If you just want to re-iterate and +1 that you don’t like this new feature then that isn’t really helpful.

The new inline feature works. What the majority of the complaints are about the change in how to add things like target="_blank" and that’s been discussed already.

https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/new-inline-link-feature-i-do-not-like?replies=21&view=all#post-8300777
https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/new-inline-link-feature-i-do-not-like?replies=21&view=all#post-8307572
https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/new-inline-link-feature-i-do-not-like?replies=21&view=all#post-8305694

Again, if you need support because the feature is not working then create your own support topic. That’s now these forums work.

It is my understanding that this thread is in the “Requests and Feedback” forum. I came here to give feedback on the inline link feature. If I need to start a new thread or go somewhere else to provide feedback, please let me know.

On to the feedback… I also do not like this new feature. It requires extra steps to:

1. Set a link to open in a new tab (I don’t think the OP started this thread to debate pros and cons of target=”_blank”. It is an option in the link dialog box and is buried an extra step in the process).

2. Select recent posts/pages from the post/page list. It is much easier to select recent posts from the list than to type the name of a post. Often I do not know exactly what my clients have titled their new posts, so I look for it at the top recent post list in the link box.

3. There is no clear way to dismiss the link box once the link is set. You have to click somewhere else on the page to close it. At first I thought the “X” option might be the close or dismiss button, but that removes the link. This is counter-intuitive after years of using an “update” button (I’m old and set in my ways, okay?)

I work on WP sites all day, and these extra steps add up over time. I think having this as an option, rather than a built-in feature would be nice (without having to install an extra plugin to do it.)

Thanks.

For the record, my biggest concern is with the FUNCTIONALITY of this ‘feature’ on the whole – not just the target checkbox.

Like Celeste, I find it MUCH easier to choose the link from a list than to type in some text and hope to find it – especially on a site where many of the pages have similar titles. With the old way, I could quickly see the most recent pages added and, since they are often the ones I need to link to, I can do so with a quick click.

Also, if I need to change the link text, now I have to click on the link, then click on settings, and then click into the text field to do so. This is SUCH a waste of time. It’s okay if you have to do it once, but when you have to do so many times on a large site, it is a complete time suck. For what? Because you wanted to discourage someone from choosing target=blank? Surely there are better ways to accomplish that than by forcing extra work on the many millions of users out there for whom this will surely be an issue (whether they come here to express their concern or not).

Please at least consider making this an OPTION in the settings, rather than forcing it on everyone. It does NOT make the functionality of WordPress better.

From a moderator comment, it appears that you don’t want our feedback (even though we’re in the ‘Requests and Feedback’ section of the forums where I thought that was encouraged). So, I guess I will head off to see if I can find an alternate editor to use that hopefully will eliminate the need to take multiple steps to do something that was so easily accomplished before in just one.

Why, oh why, must people keep messing with a good thing? ??

For those wanting to easily open tabs for external links (which I think is how most people use it) then I can recommend this plugin, which does this plus a few other useful things….

https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/sem-external-links/

Obviously, all the caveats and advice from above still stand but if you want to get external links in new tabs now then this is certainly a good option.

I want to see the old version back as well. Many of my clients have podcast players on their pages/posts and people listen right on the site. If they are scrolling the page and happen to click a link while listening – they lose the audio. Dumb feature. Your reasons are for SOME people, not all. Why not let the SITE OWNER determine what they want THEIR site to do.

I, too, dislike the new inline link “feature”. It creates extra work and I dislike things hovering over my text. While I’m forced to admit that it probably won’t be reverting to the old style (higher functionality, lower annoyance), I want to voice my support for at least adding the “new tab” checkbox to the front (not hidden behind the gear).

@ Samuel Otto

Your insistence that opening in a new tab is “bad form” and should be avoided is not a universal position. In fact it’s strongly argued against by both users and UI designers. Here are a couple links to counter yours:

https://inbound.org/discuss/external-links-open-them-in-a-new-tab-or-in-the-same-tab-why-any-data

https://uxmovement.com/navigation/why-external-links-should-open-in-new-tabs/

Greatly disappointed by the arrogance of some of the official responses here. I also dislike the new inline link box. For a start, it’s broken – if you click the gear-wheel icon to go into the settings, the inline box won’t ever go away until you refresh the page. Very annoying.

I would like to return to the previous functionality and do not wish to be lectured on whether I am right to link to new tabs/windows or not, or have it be hinted that I am free to use a different product. Because if that’s what you want, just say so.

The decision for the feature didn’t happen in this thread or in a vacuum, please consider getting involved with these discussions while they are happening: https://make.www.ads-software.com/core/

@mattbrownterp it sounds as if you have an issue, unrelated to the implementation of this new link feature. As you describe, you shouldn’t have to refresh to get rid of the inline box – I’ve tried it on my own test site and the inline box re-appears but can be cancelled.

IF you’d like to open this on a new thread, I’ll happily look at this for you ??

No, I’m looking for alternatives to WordPress. Having digested the local attitude, this is not a community I want to be part of.