Text WITH web links won't remain as links when pasting into Community Text Box.

I'm not able to copy text that contains one or more web links, that were created in either Notes or TextEdit and maintain the web links. When I copy and paste into the Community webpage Text edit box, the links are stripped off and contain only plain text. I searched this topic in the Communities but didn't find anything on this problem specifically.

I can copy someone elses text with web links into Notes, and they remain intact. But if I then copy the same text with web links from Notes into the Edit Box in Communities, they are gone and only the text pastes in.

I am able to create the links in Notes or TextEdit no problem. It's just when I copy from there into the text box here in Communities.

I tried it in Safemode and it doesn't work there either. Another user has mentioned that it works just fine for them.

(2021 M1 iMac with Ventura 13.2.1)

iMac 24″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Feb 20, 2023 10:20 AM

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Posted on Feb 21, 2023 4:40 AM

<< Problem Solved>> When I asked if either of you had 3rd party clipboard utilities, it dawned on me I should check that too. So up in my apple menu I noticed this app. I don't even remember ever installing it. Dohhhh! And to make it even worse, It was specifically set to "Automatically clear formatting". Unbelievable!!! Thank you both for your assistance in this. PS - This tool has now been removed.


What is even more odd, is that this was a problem even in safe mode where these type of apps shouldn't be loaded.

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Feb 21, 2023 4:40 AM in response to Owl-53

<< Problem Solved>> When I asked if either of you had 3rd party clipboard utilities, it dawned on me I should check that too. So up in my apple menu I noticed this app. I don't even remember ever installing it. Dohhhh! And to make it even worse, It was specifically set to "Automatically clear formatting". Unbelievable!!! Thank you both for your assistance in this. PS - This tool has now been removed.


What is even more odd, is that this was a problem even in safe mode where these type of apps shouldn't be loaded.

Feb 21, 2023 10:45 AM in response to Randall_2023

Randall_2023 wrote:

Do you endorse using this product?

I've never heard of it, but I have nothing against it. I wrote a similar tool years ago called "PasteFiler". I still use it on a regular basis when I need to strip formatting. Sometimes that really is the only way to get a paste to work properly. But clipboard utility apps in the Mac App Store aren't going to pay the bills, so I don't bother with that anymore.

However it still appears to work backwards and permanently affects copy and paste functions. Even after uninstalling it.

It certainly isn't going to have any effect if you've uninstalled it. The Pure Paste app does appear to be a Mac App Store app. If you've uninstalled it, including any copies on any hard drives that are, or have been, attached, and restarted, then you can be more or less assured that it isn't running anymore.


Even if you didn't have a 3rd party app in the way, pasting formatted text into this forum can be a challenge. The last time I saw it discussed, Microsoft word did a better job. Primarily the concern in that discussion was the extra lines that Pages tends to insert. You can do an option paste that will omit the lines, but then you lose the formatting.


There is an Apple developer utility called "Clipboard Viewer" that will show you everything that is on the clipboard. When I copy your "<< Problem Solved>> When" text above using Safari, it shows up in Clipboard Viewer as 11 different formats. I can take that clipboard and paste it into both Pages and Word and retain the bold formatting. Curiously, however, I can't paste it back into this edit window, if I have copied it directly from Safari. But if I copy the same text from either Pages or Word, I can correctly paste it here: << Problem Solved>>  When


Pages puts 20 different formats onto the clipboard, with at least 7 formats being internal iWork-specific data. Word wins with 30 different format, with many being internal Office-specific data. At least Apple's internal data isn't as cryptic.


If you are maintaining your own document of handy links to paste here in ASC, I recommend using Microsoft Word. This is a custom web app developed by Apple itself. It has a few quirks. I even wrote a little script to create custom links with custom text that will paste into the edit window. For example, if I didn't want the default behaviour that sometimes truncates and appends " - Apple Support" (or doesn't work when the Apple Support site is down), I can create a link that says whatever I want.


Feb 22, 2023 4:58 AM in response to etresoft

Thanks so much for this great response. Good information!

I found out that if I use Safari, (another variable in the mix) that pasting text with links works much better from Notes than Firefox. Which I use by default normally with no problems. So maybe the culprit leans more towards browsers than other things we discussed. I still have to use "Image Insert" to add an image though. Even if the text in Notes includes an image. The image gets stripped off from the paste. But that could be this Textbox anomaly.

Do either you or P.Phillips have to add images separate or does an image paste along with text and links ok for you?

Feb 20, 2023 4:25 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Did you use Command + C then Command + V to copy and paste or highlighted with mouse and right clicked copy then right click paste? I'm finding this problem quite perplexing. I tried your example as well and all I get is plain text pasting into the Text Box. Do you have any 3rd party clipboard utilities that might be changing the default behavior of macOS native copy/paste?

Feb 20, 2023 10:38 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

If I copy the links directly from the post within the Communities then paste into the Communities Text Box, it works. Then if I copy the links from the post within the Communities, it pastes the links just fine into Notes. But then if I copy the text with links from Notes into the Communities Text Box, the links are treated as regular text and their underline and embedded links are gone. Not sure what else I should check in terms of System Settings. If any.

Feb 21, 2023 5:10 AM in response to Randall_2023

Randall_2023 wrote:

<< Problem Solved>>

Not necessarily.


When you copy something to the clipboard, it actually copies many different versions of the same content. The idea is to hopefully have a version that the intended target will accept.


Sometimes that screws things up. Maybe you don’t want all the font styles and links. Maybe you want to match your existing document. Apps like the one you describe can be very handy to work around that problem by stripping style information. I recommend that you do that manually, however.


As for Safe Mode, that is designed for thing like launch daemons and system extensions. The modern Mac is being transformed into iOS, which has only apps. Those system extensions are being phased out and replaced with app extensions. Although I haven’t done any extensive tests, my hunch is that Safe Mode will not have any effect on app extensions, because they are just apps. That’s an even bigger question for “gray area” apps like menu bar apps, which could be launched automatically by the operating system’s own auto-restart mechanism.

Feb 21, 2023 6:15 AM in response to etresoft

Interesting input. Thank you. I found this to be true. After removing the app, Pure Paste, the problem returned. So I re-installed it again. Now it works backwards. If I click Clear Formatting Now, I can paste text with links. If I don't do that, it won't include the links or images. Do you endorse using this product? I emailed the developer and he responded that I could "Quit Pure Paste and then press Shift+Control+Option+Command while launching Pure Paste." to reset all its settings. However it still appears to work backwards and permanently affects copy and paste functions. Even after uninstalling it.

Feb 22, 2023 8:38 AM in response to Randall_2023

There’s a reason I use the … or other not-link text to separate each among a sequence links (they can get merged or, worse, munched), links at the end of the reply tend to get munched, pastes generally can be inconsistent, and yes, the whole thing here can be… disconcerting. The Apple links get replaced with Apple title text too, which then gets stripped when the paste gets munched. Sometimes.

Feb 21, 2023 2:13 AM in response to Randall_2023

Doing it the exact same away as @Luis Sequeira1 and works fine too.


There is only one thing baffling me.


In our other thread ( we were on together ) the Notes you had with embedded link with all in light blue versus orange


Do not know if that is significant


Screen Shot below and notice the Embedded link and Mouse Pointer Action doing only a Mouse Over


To me, that indicates there is a true / active embedded URL in that specific text in Notes




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Text WITH web links won't remain as links when pasting into Community Text Box.

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