Use the 'textEnd' parameter for shorter URLs

[AntonioRedondo]

Thank you for this great extension, ichaoX! 💖

I'll suggest a small new feature:

It would be great if the add-on would have a second option in the context menu (something like Copy Link to Selected Text (Short URL)) to use the textEnd parameter of the Text fragments standard so that text could be highlighted with less text.

This would be specially beneficial the longer the text selected is, as we'd get the same text selected with a much shorter URL.

How much initial and final text would be copied to the URL is open to debate. But I reckon with 2-3 initial and final words of the full selection would be long enough to avoid multiple results.

Maybe a regex could be run to get the shortest URL that matches only a single result. This regex would be increasing the number of initial and final characters, if with the previous shorter amount the regex was yielding more than a result.

[ichaoX]

Hi, I think this feature can basically be achieved by reducing this value:

Preferences > Create link for selected text > Character limit for exact matches

[AntonioRedondo]

Umm yeah, that setting works. Thanks!

However the minimum is 5.

Not sure if there is any logic/regex on there that checks for the number of matches. But if there is one, should the minimum of characters be 1? Why 5 if you can get the same result with only 1?

Also, the default is 300. I guess you are taking a copy-everything safe approach for links. I’d try the opposite, having an URL as short as possible. What do you think?

[ichaoX]

Not sure if there is any logic/regex on there that checks for the number of matches. But if there is one, should the minimum of characters be 1? Why 5 if you can get the same result with only 1?

Range-based matching requires at least three parts: textStart,textEnd. Matching with fewer than three characters would be less useful. Many languages include spaces between words, so the minimum is 5 characters.

Also, the default is 300. I guess you are taking a copy-everything safe approach for links. I’d try the opposite, having an URL as short as possible. What do you think?

This follows the recommendation linked here.

[AntonioRedondo]

Thanks for the explanation. I understand things better now.

I haven't explained myself properly however. What I mean with this opened issue is the following.

Let's use the Firefox article on Wikipedia as an example. I want to highlight the very first phrase:

Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source[13] web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation.

With the current implentation of your addon, the URL will be:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox#:~:text=Mozilla%20Firefox%2C%20or%20simply%20Firefox%2C%20is%20a%20free%20and%20open%2Dsource%5B13%5D%20web%20browser%20developed%20by%20the%20Mozilla%20Foundation%20and%20its%20subsidiary%2C%20the%20Mozilla%20Corporation.

However, in order to highlight the very same phrase you only need:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox#:~:text=Mozilla%20Firefox,Corporation.

The option Character limit for exact matches = 5 shortens the URL a bit, but not as much.

[AntonioRedondo]

Perhaps what I'm asking here is a new option –either in the Options panel, or in the Context menu– of the sort:
➡️ Copy Link to Selected Text (Shortest possible URL)

[ichaoX]

The addon option Character limit for exact matches = 5 shortens the URL a bit, but not as much.

URL generation currently prioritizes usability over brevity, but adjusting the settings can result in shorter URLs.

You can also try reducing this value:

Preferences > Create link for selected text > Word count for range-based matches

[AntonioRedondo]

OK, if all the Create link for selected text parameters are set to their minimum, the URL generated turns considerably shorter.

I think a button or toggle somewhere (Always generate shortest possible URL) that explicitly set these values with a single click would be beneficial.

But I leave it to you. You're the boss in the addon.

Thank you for the support! 🙂