WordPress's poor ability to edit link text in TinyMCE

  • Hi

    So hit a bit of an issue with a client. They would like to edit links easier in the editor in normal tinyMCE you can click on a link and edit it and the ‘text to display’ field appears in the popup to change this text.

    Default WordPress for whatever reason does not include this handy option and forces you to try and edit the link text in the editor which is easier said than done as you have to basically delete all but the first and last chars and then type in what you want and finally deleting those two e.g.

    some link i dont like the text for
    sr
    smy new link titler
    my new link title

    As far as i can see this is the only way to edit the link text in the editor without un-linking the hyperlink or adding it again from scratch – shocking really.

    I know the tinyMCE advanced plugin can re-instate this MCE popup but in doing so it gets rid of the nice link picker of pages posts etc that WordPress provides! bit of a catch22.

    Just wondered if anyone has a work around for this some sort of hook that could be added in the functions file of the theme? I expect its not as straightforward as that as i’v looked at the core WP file that drives that popup and it looks fairly bespoke so a plugin might be the route?

    still trying to think of the best approach any ideas appreciated.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    There are ways to add or delete tool bar buttons, so some solution is possible. I myself do not know how it’s really done, hopefully some searching will get you somewhere.

    I agree that editing link text could be easier, but TBH I’ve never noticed how clunky the interface can be because I always highlight the text before trying to edit it. As long as you are careful to only select the actual link text and not an adjoining space, it works well enough.

    For the most part I work in text mode anyway. My pet peeve is the cursor position in the content is lost when switching modes. In extensive pages, relocating where you were is a pain.

    Oops, there I go again on a tangent. This is your thread, not mine! ??

    Thread Starter latro666

    (@latro666)

    Hi

    if you highlight the link any type the link is removed… so i’m unsure what you are referring to there?

    https://www.tinymce.com/tryit/full.php

    Highlight a link for first to last char and type, the link is removed.

    I do know how to add new buttons :D, telling a client though to click a separate button to change the link text is a bit well… confusing.

    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    Hmm, maybe difference in browsers? In my case the link does not disappear when you select the full link text and then type something new.

    I wasn’t suggesting just adding another button, that would be confusing! I meant remove the current link button and replace it with one whose modal includes the link text field as the non-WP version does.

    Thread Starter latro666

    (@latro666)

    wow, you are right in FF and IE you can highlight and replace. In chrome it will remove the link!

    hmm this might be one for the TinyMCE devs

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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