URLs don't open

Mr-Brunes

Hi

I sure I’m missing something totally obvious but I can’t get any link to open.
I followed the info at http://docs.notepad-plus-plus.org/index.php/Clickable_Links and enabled the Clickable Link setting.
The cursor changes over the link so why won’t it open?
A forum search reveals nothing.

Also is there any way to automatically colour the link text differently?

Alan Kilborn

@Mr-Brunes

Just a guess: Are you single-clicking the link expecting it to open? Try double-clicking.

Also, my links are colored differently; is that a setting in the preferences? (I can’t check because I am away from my Notepad++ computer right now).

PeterJones

@Alan-Kilborn said:

is that a setting in the preferences?

Settings > Preferences > MISC., the Clickable Link Settings box, ☑ Enable and ☐ No Underline. When you hover over a URL with those settings, it will change color to indicate it’s a link, and double-clicking the link will follow the link in your default browser.

If the underline and hover-over is not enough for you, you can use the EnhanceAnyBuiltinLexer PythonScript which @ekopalypse shared some months back, which will allow you to set a regular expression to add extra highlighting that the active lexer isn’t providing

Mr-Brunes

Thanks - double click! I never expected that … since when did URLs (or anything else for that matter except for opening files) need a double-click anywhere?? It seems very odd …

Alan Kilborn

@Mr-Brunes

double-click! I never expected that…

In a text editor’s textual editing area, a single click moves the caret so you can edit text (core functionality for a text editor). Because following a textual URL is a secondary function, it takes a double click.

Even in something like M$-Word, don’t you have to ctrl+click to follow links? (IIRC)

Mr-Brunes

Fair point about the core funcationality. But if that is the case then why does the cursor change leading one to think that a single click will work? Word doesn’t change the cursor, and hovering brings up a tooltip (or info bubble) with the URL and prompts to use Ctrl-Click to follow the link, which makes more sense to me. Google Keep is similar, but brings up a bubble with a “Open link” link.

So I can’t help feeling NPP’s mystery double-click could be improved, not least to avoid the RSI!

Alan Kilborn

@Mr-Brunes

I certainly wasn’t intending on doing an exhaustive comparison of N++ and M$-Word for this feature. LOL

I guess it falls into the category of “just how it works” in N++. TBH I never thought too much about it, just got used to how it is. :)