Auto hyperlinking

Forums › Geekzone › Auto hyperlinking

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 458

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#42252 1-Oct-2009 15:06

I'm noticing a lot of members don't hyperlink URLs posted when they make a new post, could we add an automatic function that would detect hyperlinks, and magically link them for us (and open in a new window)?

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#260180 1-Oct-2009 15:20

There is this function already. It's called "Internet Explorer". If you are using IE then TinyMCE will automatically create the hyperlink. Other browsers don't offer this function - something to do with their rendering engines.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Behodar

11094 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6071

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#260186 1-Oct-2009 15:32

People still use IE?

*ducks*

But yeah, not having hyperlinks is particularly annoying on handhelds where it's a mission to copy and paste into the address bar.

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#260195 1-Oct-2009 15:42

nate: I'm noticing a lot of members don't hyperlink URLs posted when they make a new post, could we add an automatic function that would detect hyperlinks, and magically link them for us (and open in a new window)?

tony: I'm noticing a lot of nates don't check stuff properly before they make a new post, could we add an automatic function that would detect nate, and magically ban him for us (and open him in a new community)?

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#260197 1-Oct-2009 15:45

Back in the days of old, Mauricio and I used to run around Geekzone manually hyperlinking stuff left right and centre, with a ZX Spectrum as a terminal, and cardboard box for an office (oooh arrr - an it 'ad no lid an all, mind!!)

No TinyMCE in those days - it was all hard yakka my son. But you young 'tards have gone soft!

Ragnor

8279 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 585

Trusted

#260200 1-Oct-2009 15:52

freitasm: There is this function already. It's called "Internet Explorer". If you are using IE then TinyMCE will automatically create the hyperlink. Other browsers don't offer this function - something to do with their rendering engines.

A neat and tidy way many forum implementations do auto linking is to parse the reply/post text when it is submitted. A regular expression to look for http addresses without the html anchor tags surrounding them then append the correct tags then a simple string replace is pretty fast and effective.

Normally you need to have code parse the forum post/reply anyway to handle bad words, spam detection etc so the overhead is negligable.

I think I posted about this before and linked a sample classic asp regex function for it.

Have you considered leveraging GetSatisfaction or UserVoice to idenify and solict feedback from the GeekZone user community. They both have freemium style pricing models and can be incredibly valuable in helping you decided where to direct your effort.

http://getsatisfaction.com/
http://uservoice.com/

mentalinc

3384 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1023

Trusted

#260260 1-Oct-2009 17:41

Linkification in firefox is also great.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/190

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

nate

6473 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 458

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#260278 1-Oct-2009 18:10

Ragnor: A neat and tidy way many forum implementations do auto linking is to parse the reply/post text when it is submitted. A regular expression to look for http addresses without the html anchor tags surrounding them then append the correct tags then a simple string replace is pretty fast and effective.

This is what I was getting at

@tonyhughes, next time I'm in your area, remind me to bring a ladder so I can climb it and smack you on the back of the head.

tonyhughes

Hawkes Bay
8476 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6

Retired Mod

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#260290 1-Oct-2009 18:46

nate: @tonyhughes, next time I'm in your area, remind me to bring a ladder so I can climb it and smack you on the back of the head.

NO NEED my friend! I have a ladder here already!