Recently, we wanted to dig into how users feel about copying and pasting a URL from their browser. We looked to understand what they do when they copy and paste URLs, as well as the pain points they experience.
What did we find?
We found that one has to regularly edit the URL they copy to make them understandable for sharing or remove seemingly extra parameters. This led us to what we call Link format, an easily readable URL that also preserves the details of the URL.
We also learned that nearly everyone, at one point, wants the full, plain-text URL exactly as it was copied. When one first copies a URL, it’s not always obvious that the full text is needed. Other times, it’s desired to have both a readable format and the plain-text version.
With both in mind, we are excited to not only introduce Link format for URLs but also options in the context menu that lets you paste both styles of URL regardless of your default paste setting!
How can you use it?
Starting this week, you should see Link format available on Windows devices running the Canary channel of Microsoft Edge. When you copy from the address bar and right-click to paste, you will see that Paste now has a fly-out menu and that plain-text URL pasting is now Ctrl+Shift+V.
If you want to revert this change, you can head to edge://settings/shareCopyPaste (or navigate through the … menu > Settings > Share, Copy & Paste) and select Plain text as the default for your URLs. Once you do that, Ctrl+V will be for the plain-text URL.
What’s next?
Right now, this feature is only available on Windows devices. We are working on bringing this to Mac. Additionally, it’s important to note that this only works for URLs copied from the address bar at this time. Link format support will be available for in-page links soon.
There’s a few things we’re aware of, too, and are working on getting these resolved:
- When Link format is default, pasting into a LinkedIn post is resulting only in the title appearing without a hyperlink. We’re working closely with the LinkedIn team to address this.
- When Link format is default, pasting into a Word document using Word Online is resulting only in the title appearing without a hyperlink. We’re working closely with the Word team to address this.
- In general, some sites or web apps may introduce their own formatting on paste. We want to know when you notice this, so please submit feedback letting us know what you’re seeing (Alt+Shift+I or … menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback).
In addition to the above, we want to know if you see encounter any issues with this feature! If you have it set to Link format as the default and notice anything amiss while pasting, let us know via the browser so that the team can dig into what might be happening.
Thanks!
- The Microsoft Edge Team
@JaredB81 One bug I reported via feedback is when you right click on Articles above and copy link.
This produces Articles (microsoft.com). Where is the " (microsoft.com)" text coming from? Click on the Microsoft Edge Insider link that is adjacent and it produces Microsoft Edge Insider without the extra text.
The the Link Preview Format clipboard data JSON has a different title still.
"image_url":"https://cdn.techcommunity.microsoft.com/lithium/TechCommunity-DefaultHero-2.png","preferred_format":...
tml;content=titled-hyperlink","title":"Articles - Microsoft Tech Community","type":"website","url":"https://techcommunit
y.microsoft.com/t5/articles/bd-p/EdgeInsiderAnnouncements"}
@JaredB81 Here is another bug. It takes some setup to get to a case I know fails. Open https://www.bing.com, type into the search box "История Киева." with a trailing period. Then select all but the period. This is necessary to work around another Edge bug. Right click on the selection and pick Search the sidebar for "История Киева". In the sidebar, click on IMAGES to display this pivot. Right click on the following image and pick Copy image link.
The clipboard will contain the following formats. The Cxxx values will likely vary. The bug is that the last three are all empty zero terminated strings, i.e. a single byte of zero. I have not tested to see if this is a problem because the image is a data URL or because the data URL is very long (12,056 characters) and some part of the code to generate the other formats has a URL length limit (e.g. INTERNET_MAX_URL_LENGTH) and silently fails while failing to suppress adding the failed result on the clipboard.
0010 Locale
0001 Text
0007 OEM Text
C0DA HTML Format
C2C1 Link Preview Format
C2C2 Titled Hyperlink Format
I sis submit this via the feedback mechanism. In my feedback I questioned whether Copy image link should be exposed at all for data URL encoded images as Copy image is more appropriate I would think.
@MissyQ I'm not loving this feature.
Too many times I want to paste the actual URL, but I cannot. One example is when pasting a URL from Edge into MS Teams. I think I'd prefer the option to "Copy as Formatted Link" and "Copy as Text". This would help when pasting into something that does not support "Paste as Text".
It would be nice if there were additional Share --> "Copy Link" options. One to copy the formatted URL and one to copy the content that ends up the email body when sharing via Outlook.
I realize there is a way to disable this feature, so I'm not complaining. Just giving feedback. Thanks!
