BUG: File:/// URL works in TP 2 but not in TP 3

I have the following URL in a TP file:

file:///Users/username/Dropbox/reading/Articles%20to%20file%20manually

When I have the file open in TP 2 and click the URL, it resolves as expected – it opens a finder window with the specified folder.

When I have the file open in TP 3 and click the URL, I get an error “Articles%20to%20file%20manually” can’t be found.

Update: I’ve tested this with three other file:/// links that work in TP 2 and got the equivalent error message for each in TP 3.

2 Likes

strange, I was just playing around with this too and was coming on here to ask the same thing.

Came here to say this. It works for me in FoldingText as well.

Hi @jessegrosjean, hope it’s okay to @-you here. Just wondered if this one’s on the radar. Thank you!

Hi, yes @'ing me is good! :smile:

This is on my radar, though not yet quite sure on resolution yet. In the current release file:/// is implement to open files relative to the TaskPaper file that contains them, this is different then in TaskPaper 2 where it was an absolute filesystem path. So for example if you do file:///mytest.txt it should open the file mytext.txt that’s in the same directory as your TaskPaper file.

I think in general relative paths are more useful and less messy looking. At the same time the file:/// protocol is supposed to be absolute. There’s some discussion in the forums about solving this by making file:/// absolute again and using href:// for relative. Undecided… but that’s the current state.

I know I have really benefitted from being able to link to ANY file in FT and would miss this feature in TP3 if relative paths were the only option. My two cents. Anyway, glad you are working on this! :smile:

I’d really like to see TP 2 behavior continued. On a related point – one great virtue of TP 2’s behavior is that one can drag a file in from the Finder and instantly have a working link to that file. In TP 3 you get the text of the path and need to add the file:/// yourself, then edit further to turn the absolute path into a relative path. Sure, this can probably be semi-automated with a TextExpander snippet or the like, but it seems TP 3 is taking a working feature and changing it for no apparent reason.

Especially given that “the file:/// protocol is supposed to be absolute”. That in itself should be reason enough, unless there’s an argument for relative paths that I’m missing.

file:/// for absolute paths!

For relative paths, href:// seems good, but file:// would be better. The third “/” should mean the root of the file system, which implies in an absolute path.

Also - TP 2 used to let you drag files in and place the links precisely anywhere you could put the cursor, but TP 3 forces you to add the links as new notes on their own line. Which just makes for more work editing to get them where you need them. I’d love to see the earlier behavior restored in this respect as well.