That's the question, essentially.
Try Googling that title phrase and the results are dizzyingly all over the place, and cover a decades worth of postings !
Nowhere did I see anything that simply said,
1- it can be added to a textedit file, or
2- here's how !! . . you know . . something like http:/hiuhhjiov ( jijvohid ) ljkb;l.hiu
I'm still happily on Snow Leopard btw
iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
TextEdit's own help files provide the answer quicker than a net search:
Adding active links to a text document
You can add working HTML links to a TextEdit file.
To create a link:
1. Select the text you want to use for the web link.
2. Choose Edit > Add Link.
3. Type or paste the Internet address (the complete URL) in the “Link destination” field, and then click OK.
Be sure to use the correct form (for example, http://www.apple.com). You can click the link to be sure it works.
You can also copy a link from another document (such as a webpage or an email message) and paste it into a TextEdit document. When you save the text file, the link remains active.
Wow !
Thanks so much, mns !
Never knew that was there, but now it don't seem so hidden !
You're welcome.
As with many menu options that you see a hundred times (or more) every week, unless you routinely use it, the option's very existence soon fades into a mental blind spot. A few lines up from "Add Link . . ." is "Complete", one of those options that I don't think I've ever used in 20 years on a Mac. At this point, my eyes and brain scan for familiar items and simply skip over unfamiliar ones.
OMG, and then some !
We could go on about this on several fronts, but suffice to say it's partly 'muscle-memory' . . ( do it more then twice, deliberately, and you've established it )
. . . . but on top of that we add the vast amount of Mac-functions that are just tucked-away enough as to be hidden ! ( darn it )
Typing this, it just dawned on me how much of the architecture was designed by folks who've played elaborate video-games their whole lives . . . .
"So . . go up to the top a' that . . . click on the right thing . . . scroll down that ladder of options . . . open the third magic door . . .
. . run down that dark hallway in less then 3 seconds . . . knock on the correct window within the 2nd door . . utter the secret sacred phrase, and ?
. . . here's a cookie !!"
But meanwhile, back down to earth . . . Yes ! . . I only just stumbled into Command-W a few months ago myself.
Thank again for this one tho', it made a real big difference with the work I did all last night !
Actually . . I just realized I have one more directly related question:
When saving this .rtf, now with every dandy link fully functional, can one save it as a pdf with the links working ?
Well . . . it turns out they work just fine, yet they are indistinguishable from all other text !
They completely lose their blue, man !
Yes, the unmarked (yet present) link in the RTF-to-PDF conversion is a long-standing bug in Snow Leopard's TextEdit. The usual work-around is to reopen the .rtf in a second word processor, then export the RTF to PDF. As a second word processor, Pages, NeoOffice, LibreOffice, etc., can be used to create a PDF with colored and underlined links from the RTF. Word 2011, by the way, won't do the job.
The bug persists in Mavericks's TextEdit. I think Apple has decided it's a feature.
How do I create a hyperlink in textedit ?
