Option to frictionlessly add wiki-link to existing text

Problem

Let’s say you have some text and you want to turn it into a wiki-link, where the text is different from the link text. This situation occurs quite frequently.

Steps:

  • You add square brackets around the text.
  • You start typing the link in front of the text.
  • If you select the link from the suggestions list, it replaces the text. So you have to type the link manually.

This adds friction, especially when the link text is long.

Proposed solution

When you select the link from the suggestions list in the situation described above, holding a key pressed adds it without replacing the text.

4 Likes

This idea is discussed here as well Small but big QoL: When linking a pre-existing word or phrase, display the note suggestion menu

Current workaround:

  • First type pipe character before the text
  • then position caret before pipe character
  • then start typing the link target

Note also that text can be enclosed in double square brackets by first selecting it and then typing “[[”.

It is possible to speed up this procedure by combining several steps into one hotkey using Keyboard Maestro or AutoHotkey.

Is there a more seamless solution to this available, such as a plugin? I know it seems petty and minor, but it just becomes annoying when your process is to write your thoughts first, then add links in later.