Copy/Paste GC Code Bug, or, Please Stop Screwing Around With The Web Page

[+The Snowdog]

It used to be when you copied the GC number from the upper right corner of the cache page, that's what you got when you pasted it - the GC and the imbedded link.

Very handy for us stats driven geocachers who copy/paste GCs into spreadsheets and puzzle solution documents and such.

 

Now you also get the cache name, which is annoying and must be deleted. And what's worse, they're in different font sizes and the cache name doesn't have the link imbedded.

 

 

[+ChriBli]

9 minutes ago, The Snowdog said:

It used to be when you copied the GC number from the upper right corner of the cache page, that's what you got when you pasted it - the GC and the imbedded link.

Very handy for us stats driven geocachers who copy/paste GCs into spreadsheets and puzzle solution documents and such.

 

Now you also get the cache name, which is annoying and must be deleted. And what's worse, they're in different font sizes and the cache name doesn't have the link imbedded.

Click the little triangle to the right of the GC code, then you will have the requested link selected so you can copy it.

[+thebruce0]

11 hours ago, ChriBli said:

Click the little triangle to the right of the GC code, then you will have the requested link selected so you can copy it.

 

Nonetheless, it's another hijacked browser function. If you highlight text and copy it, you expect to paste that text. Whether it keeps the visual formatting - that's something else to deal with; but adding additional text that wasn't there before is quite annoying.

 

Personally, for ease of OS use, I keep the Address bar visible in Windows taskbar, then whatever I copy, to strip any hidden formatting I paste it down there, then copy out what I want. Quick and dirty. But I'd certainly be annoyed if the text visually pasted wasn't the text I visually selected...

[+niraD]

13 hours ago, ChriBli said:

Click the little triangle to the right of the GC code, then you will have the requested link selected so you can copy it.

Because doing things differently on one broken website improves the overall usability of the web SOOOOOOO much...

[+dprovan]

3 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

Nonetheless, it's another hijacked browser function.

I've always had to do it that way. Long ago I discovered it was virtually impossible to grab only the link unless I opened the text box. I've always seen it as more of a browser problem than a web page problem.

[+ChriBli]

Personally, I prefer clicking the little triangle (or the GC code itself, that does the same thing) over having to select exactly the CG code and nothing else, especially when using a touchpad or a touchscreen. And then you will also get the link and not just the GC code, as text without formatting, wasn't that what the OP wanted?

[+thebruce0]

7 hours ago, dprovan said:

11 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

Nonetheless, it's another hijacked browser function.

I've always had to do it that way. Long ago I discovered it was virtually impossible to grab only the link unless I opened the text box. I've always seen it as more of a browser problem than a web page problem.

 

The link, yes. Either from that dropdown, or copying the url from the browser and removing all but up to the GC.

But if you JUST want the GC code, copying the blocked GC code text shouldn't add in all that extra title/text fluff. But hidden formatting (html/css styling) is a different issue and has to do with how the browser copies highlighted content and how wherever you paste it handles 'special' content (usually there'd be an option to paste the clipboard as plain text, but Word, eg, tends to default to interpreting and pasting all the styling as well).

[+arisoft]

Interesting feature There is an extra <H1> header containing the name and type, but it is visually hidden to zero sized element. That is why user have no control whether it is copied, if the first letter of the GC-code is selected.

 

 

I have no idea why there is such a header, but it is so far away from the GC-code, that it may not be an intented feature, just a browser clitch.

Edited March 8, 2022 by arisoft

[+dprovan]

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

But if you JUST want the GC code, copying the blocked GC code text shouldn't add in all that extra title/text fluff.

I see what you're talking about. I stopped using that approach because it's clumsy and difficult to select only the GC code from the link text. The click and drag is not only difficult to do precisely, I also tended to invoke the link by accident way too often. But at least back in those days, when I succeeded in selecting only it and copied it, I got just the GC code. What you're pointing out is that now the title is somehow mysteriously included in the copied text even though it's not selected. Is that just a bug, or are they trying to do something they think is reasonable? I assume the former because I can't imagine a useful reason for adding the title.

 

Anyway, I concede that looks wrong, but even when I want just the code -- and I often do -- I open the link as we've been describing, then double click on the GC code to select only it. I find that way easier than carefully trying to select only the link text. I've been using that technique for years without even thinking about it.

[+kunarion]

35 minutes ago, dprovan said:

but even when I want just the code -- and I often do -- I open the link as we've been describing, then double click on the GC code to select only it. I find that way easier than carefully trying to select only the link text. I've been using that technique for years without even thinking about it.

 

To copy the GC Code, I always must use the drop-down.  I mainly need that when working with more than one App, or when pasting info to the MC.  Although in the MC, I tend to also add the cache name anyway.

 

What do people prefer?  Do they want the whole coord.info URL, or just the cache code?  And as a link or not?

I could place those into my cache description, and then it would be easy to copy.  Must be added per cache, but it's a start.

 

For just a cache code on a phone browser, looks like you may tap and hold any GC Code in "Recently Viewed Caches" in your profile to select it for copying.  I usually only want GC Codes, but often more than one.

[+thebruce0]

I have browser scripts running which make changes to the web page and provide a more friendly copiable GC code.  I've made some of my own script edits, but gclh does a whole lot more. Unfortunate that we need to resort to that, but it is what it is =/

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

I have browser scripts running which make changes to the web page and provide a more friendly copiable GC code.  I've made some of my own script edits, but gclh does a whole lot more. Unfortunate that we need to resort to that, but it is what it is =/

Indeed...

[+The Snowdog]

On 3/8/2022 at 3:01 AM, ChriBli said:

Personally, I prefer clicking the little triangle (or the GC code itself, that does the same thing) over having to select exactly the CG code and nothing else, especially when using a touchpad or a touchscreen. And then you will also get the link and not just the GC code, as text without formatting, wasn't that what the OP wanted?

 

Nope, I want the GC code with the link, to paste into spreadsheets and such. But thanks to some "clever" new back end code, what was once one step is now about three. And since I am slightly dyslexic and rely heavily on copy / paste, that's now two copy / pastes instead of just one, plus clicking around in the spreadsheet to find the "Add Hyperlink" dialog.

Edited March 21, 2022 by The Snowdog