Links - make RW link tool inactive when link is defined in a stack

[1611mac (Greg Schneck)]

I just spent an hour trying to figure out why an updated link to a changed pdf wasn’t working. Then… DUH! I remembered that I had had recently changed the stack used for the image link and the link was now defined in the stack settings, not with the regular RW link tool.

Can something be done to eliminate this problem? Yes, one shouldn’t try to define a link in two places! But if you are in a hurry and not paying attention it’s easy to do.

Example:
I have a graphic link to a pdf in an ImageWizard stack. The image link is set in the ImageWizard settings.
BUT… When I go back a month later… the stack “label” merely says “image…” (it’s in a narrow grid cell) so I forget that it is an ImageWizard stack. I set a new link using the normal RW Link tool. Of course, RW happily accepts a new link even though the real link is set in ImageWizard.

@realmac
@isaiah

[isaiah (Isaiah Carew)]

I don’t think this has much to do with RW. So, I’ll take it from here…

But, I’m afraid I don’t understand the issue exactly. Is it that the link isn’t working? or how the link is displayed? Or both?

Is there a way you can demonstrate the issue a bit more visually? Or explain how I might see the problem myself?

Isaiah

[1611mac (Greg Schneck)]

I don’t think this has much to do with RW. So, I’ll take it from here…

But, I’m afraid I don’t understand the issue exactly. Is it that the link isn’t working? or how the link is displayed? Or both?

Is there a way you can demonstrate the issue a bit more visually? Or explain how I might see the problem myself?

Isaiah

It’s not a question of the link not working. As explained in the real life example given… I’m using an imageWizard stack and the image link is set in the stack settings. But… With the image selected in edit mode, I can also click the regular RW Link tool at the bottom of the window and set a link. Since the link is set in stack parameters the “regular” RW link really doesn’t do anything. Being able to set two links for the same item is not very user friendly. Yes, I SHOULD be able to remember to set the link in the stack settings… but you get so many stacks and such in use you actually forget that.

If a link is set in stack settings (such as ImageWizard) then you should NOT be able to set it in the standard RW interface…

Does that help any?

[1611mac (Greg Schneck)]

Herre is a screen shot of example… Note that non-pertinent content on page has been deleted…

Note the graphic that says “Graphical Edition”… it is in a ImageWizard stack the the link URL is set on the right hand side under “ImageWizard Hyperlink Settings”…

However… the regular RW link button at the bottom of the screen is also active. You can actually click it and set a link even though a link is already defined within the stack.

Now… if you are looking at the stack parameters and things are fresh in your mind… not an issue. But come back to this a month later, with the stack settings NOT showing. You forget that the link is set in the stack, and you can keep trying to set the link with RW. It never works… (and shouldn’t) but it sure is confusing. I spent a hour debugging this until I slapped myself on forhead saying "You dummy! The link is already set in the stack settings… it not a plain image link.

This is a particular example with ImageWizard… but I’m wondering if this would also be true of any stack that sets links.

[isaiah (Isaiah Carew)]

ahh… i understand now. let me restate and see if i missed something:

in the ImageWizard stack the image can seemingly be linked in two ways:

• in the sidebar settings
• using the Link button at the bottom

And here’s the bug:

1. Only one of those two methods should be presented to the user.
2. If both are presented they should both show the same link.
3. If both are presented then they should both work.

I could easily blame this on stack developers. There are definitely ways to get around this and present only the sidebar link to the user.

That would be pretty poor form on my part, however – the easiest and simplest solution is what ImageWizard has done here – and the API does not facilitate disabling the link button – or utilizing the link that users add to it. The API really should make it easy to make this solution work well.

I’ve added this bug to our bug-tracker.

Issue: API: allow stacks to have an image-drop-zone that does not allow links

I think it also merits a poll from stack developers on the best way to approach this. In many cases (most cases???) the link button is useful – so changing the default behavior is a no-go as that would break many existing stacks and sites.
But simply adding a switch in the API to allow this will not fix the bug immediately as it would require developers to update their stacks to take advantage of it.

If you have any more thoughts on mechanisms to solve it, please feel free to add them to the bug-tracker in github. When it comes time to add this API code I always comb back through all the compiled comments before I type the first keystroke.

As with all bug finds:

Thank you so much for find this!!!
And I’m so sorry you had to experience it.

[1611mac (Greg Schneck)]

Thanks… Isaiah… No need to be sorry or apologize. This is just one of those weird things that crop up now and again. I wouldn’t even consider this a “bug.” It’s just a conflicting method of how links are applied.

I also want to be clear that I am not complaining about the particular stack here (ImageWizard). It is an awesome stack. Again, just a conflict between 3rd party add-ons and the “built in” link tool found in RW.

[isaiah (Isaiah Carew)]

i’m too old to worry about “bug” being a negative thing. this just seems like something that could use some improvement.

bug = it could be better