(Archived) Link text

[patrickh 9]

The new link function is outstanding. However, when I paste a link, the code is a long string of characters in desperate need of bit.ly help.

Making matters worse, the longest segment of each link is repeated, like "/b265...f4/" below:

evernote:///view/719577/s7/b2650745-d0c0-4d56-8a2d-52407c0283f4/b2650745-d0c0-4d56-8a2d-52407c0283f4/

However, the links shown in your blog's description are page names:

How was that done? Is there a way to use code or something?

[Metrodon 2,184]

When I right click on a note in the note list and select Copy Note Link and then paste into another app (Mail for example), I get the 'nice' formatting.

Are you on one of the betas/release candidates or the latest general release?

[spg SCOTT 736]

I don't use the mac version, but in windows it seems to be context dependant. If I copy note link, and paste into Notepad, I see the evernote://......

If I paste into word, I get the formatted note link.

I imagine that it is similar in mac?

[Metrodon 2,184]

Quick sample of Mail, Adium, TextEdit and Safari all display 'nice' text.

[patrickh 9]

Thanks to all above. Before posting, I had only tried pasting to Evernote. Since reading the responses, I have tried Word, a few Mac text editors, and more Evernote notes. Most text editors, like Smultron and this forum, resulted with code. Word resulted in nice text. And this time, Evernote resulted in nice text -- I have no idea why it was different this time. I have not restarted Evernote since my original post. I suppose the elephant just needed a little more caffeine this morning.

[barrymcbride 10]

Things displays the text and not the URL, which fills me with furious anger and a desire for great vengeance.

[patrickh 9]

In Evernote and most other applications, when I paste with cmd-v, the result is the page title as text.

I use PTHPasteboard for my Mac clipboard manager. I use it to assign keyboard shortcuts for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most recent items copied to the clipboard. The result with the shortcuts is the same as cmd-v: the page title is shown as the link. However, when I show PTHPasteboard's window and click on an item to paste it, the result is the evernote:/// URL code. That also happens if I select the item from the PTHPasteboard menu.

I've not previously seen any difference between using shortcuts and selecting by clicking in my clipboard manager, and I've used this clipboard manager for a few years. Kinda odd, but it does provide a choice.

Barry, if you have a clipboard manager, you might try pasting by clicking instead of with the keyboard. Perhaps that will result in the URL.

[barrymcbride 10]

That actually works! I couldn't paste in a link from my Clipboard History app, but using the app you suggested and dragging in the link works. Awesome!

[rogw 7]

I get the long string too...not the "nice" text. I'm simply pasting into Remember the Milk and it works whether from my Mac to bring me back to EN, and it works in the RTM and EN iPhone apps too. Awesome work.

But I really like the Bit.ly idea.

[liam 0]

From intuition and some quick testing:

The 'nice' text will show up when the text field you are pasting into supports some form of rich text. It defaults to just the link when the field only supports plain text.

e.g. Get the link by posting into the "To" field of email client, but get the 'nice' text when pasting into the body.

I imagine Patrick was pasting into a note that was set to plain text only the first time, but into a rich text note the second time.

The links are fairly long, and it does look like they've built some redundancy into them (the repeating string). My guess is it would be for future extensions to the feature (i.e. be able to link to a particular segment of a link).

Unfortunately a bit.ly type system relies on some sort of lookup table if it is going to work across multiple platforms (like rogw talks about). I guess the thing that they could do is use all the characters available rather than just hex (0-9 and a-f) which should allow them to fit more information into a smaller number of characters.

Maybe they just weren't expecting people to see them. :-D