---

CopyUrlPlus provides the means of extracting the title of a webpage along with the url and selected text for reuse in documentation in HTML pages, or email.  Copy URL + is certainly one of my favorite extensions, and this page documents some of my own use and customizations.  « Additional Favorite Extensions in big list.

---

COPYURL Plus, format a link for HTML

COPYURL Plus (#intro)

Creation of <a href=""></a>   «  (install CopyURL plus text editor extension, right-click)  (#copyurl)

! Compatibility Warning!  A user modified ver 1.3.2 for use with Fx2 can be installed without turning off compatibility testing.  Read more about overriding compatibility testing.  But first check for availability of a more recent version of CopyURL Plus.

The CopyURL+ extension for copying and pasting the link title, and url from the line anchor information, along with the current selection, is easily customized to format this information using COPYURL patterns of your choice to paste into other applications.  Some suggested customization patterns are included for blogging, HTML, plain text for email, and other uses have been provided.

There are 3 builtin menu items, you will always see the first, but the second and third only appear if you have a selection. 

CopyURL+ Additions to user.js   (#additions)

There is no check on user customization as to whether you have made a selection, or are rightclicking on a link so you may get a empty string in your results. 

Forward slashes in the label (display) represent new line. 

Backward slahses represent special (escape) characters, or the exact character indicated in some cases. Use of \n indicates a new line in the output -- does not effect HTML itself.  Use of \" indicates a doublequote, don't know what \1 means but have seen it introduced into the output of htmlified url such as from a Google Search and it does not appear to effect usage.

(code below was copied from user.js and prepared for this HTML document using some Excel VBA coding) -- [ complete code]

While you can read most of this document on half of a 768 x 1024 screen, it would be best to use full width when looking at code due to line wrapping, or intentional newline inflicted for readability. Each of the following lines of code begins with user_pref.

Use of offset requires a CSS style definition for offset.  If you look in the source for firefox.htm you will see the following three lines.  Incidentally the OFFSET was used above and you will notice it for continuation lines above.
.offset {margin-left:+2em; text-indent:-2em;}
.outdent {margin-left:-0; text-indent:-1.2em;}
.indent {margin-left:+0em; text-indent:+2em;}

——
Additional examples in Copyurl, Links with Style later in this webpage.
An easier way of updating user.js than you've probably seen elsewhere.

Escape Characters (#escape)

\n     new line         x'10'
\r     carriage return  x'0A'
\\     backslash        x'5C'
\t     tab              X'09'   
\xhh   hex characters   x'hh'

Plain Text Formatting   (#plain)

mozdev.org - copyurlplus: customize
http://copyurlplus.mozdev.org/customize.html

"As of version 1.1, Copy URL+ allows you to add your own menu entries. By simply adding a couple of entries to the user.js file, you can create countless custom entries"
http://copyurlplus.mozdev.org/customize.html

mozdev.org - copyurlplus: customize
"As of version 1.1, Copy URL+ allows you to add your own menu entries. By simply adding a couple of entries to the user.js file, you can create countless custom entries"
http://copyurlplus.mozdev.org/customize.html


keyword shortcuts (onsite), examples of keyword shortcuts used in a separate folder, and how to find them if someone sprinkled them throughout the bookmark.html file. in the profile directory.
-- http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/kws.htm
ref: COPYURL Plus, format a link and selection to paste into HTML
ref: -- http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/copyurlplus.htm


COPYURL Plus, format a link and selection to paste into HTML
"format this information using COPYURL patterns of your choice"
-- http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/firefox/copyurlplus.htm#preparation

HTML formatted (Rich Text) (#html)

mozdev.org - copyurlplus: customize,

As of version 1.1, Copy URL+ allows you to add your own menu entries. By simply adding a couple of entries to the user.js file, you can create countless custom entries
http://copyurlplus.mozdev.org/customize.html   — (3) is for insertion within a dictionary list (<dl>...</dl>)

mozdev.org - copyurlplus: customize   — (5) Selection is internalized with TITLE

Firefox Customizations, (onsite), customizations used, problems encountered, extensions in use (or previously used) as reported in COPYURL Plus, format a link and selection to paste into HTML   – (6) Requires a selection AND the cursor on a (Remote) Link.

mozdev.org - copyurlplus: customize, As of version 1.1, Copy URL+ allows you to add your own menu entries. By simply adding a couple of entries to the user.js file, you can create countless custom entries
  — (7) Selection is externalized, appears after the link and a comma

Copyurl and Outlook Express (#oe)

Plain Text into Outlook Express

In Outlook Express you can send out as text only or as HTML formatted text.

The easiest is as Plain Text, simply make a selection and paste from one of the Plain Text choices.

you can copy a selection of HTML formatted text and paste into Outlook Express

Copyurl, Links with Style (#style)

Creation, Updating User.js   (#userjs)

Locating your profile was greatly simplified in Firefox 3.5, as all you need to do now is
Help [Alt+H] → Troubleshooting Information... → "Open Containing Folder"

The rest of this topic describes a simpler form of the horrible round about way you had to use to find your profile.  Don't forget about backing up all of your user data.

Your code to customize Copyurl must be placed into user.js in your Firefox profile.  I would not recommend installing ChromeEdit nor the method for finding your profile mentioned in these documents but you should read and be familiar with Firefox Help: Editing Configuration Files and Firefox Help: Tips & Tricks

• Install the Launchy extension.  If you later include my customizations for Launchy you can switch from the Firefox view of a directory to a Windows Explorer view of the directory giving you even more flexibility.
• Find your profile directory, suggest setting up Windows QuickLaunch shortcut, and a Firefox keyword shortcut of "profile:" to help you with profile directory things.  Especially since Mozilla will not build this into Firefox, instead resorting to complicated directions which are a big waste of your time, since you may have multiple profiles, and need to help others with their systems.
• Create a Keyword Shortcut for your Firefox profile directory.  Preferable install all your keyword shortcuts into one folder in your personal toolbar file named "K" as real estate on your personal toolbar is limited.  Also create a chrome: shortcut for that directory.  More information in Firefox Keyword Shortcuts, one of the many very powerful tools in Firefox.
• Invoke your profile: keyword shortcut, which opens the directory in Firefox, but you want to be in Windows Explorer -- that is where Launchy comes in to get to the directory in Windows Explorer.
• If you do not have user.js you must create one by copying from user-example.ps in the same directory. Examine with notepad, and include customations from the exmaple you would be comfortable with.  Save, close Firefox, and reopen Firefox.
• Open the user.js in notepad and insert the additions from this page and from Phillip's copyurlplus: customize that you want remember to set the numbers correctly.

• Key in profile: on your location bar, click on user.js to bring up user.js in Firefox.
• Rightclick to bring up Launchy, then choose Notepad. 
  Alternate:  Ctrl+X if MenuX extension is installed

Preparation of HTML code (#preparation)

Decode HTML

slnk = MyDataObj.GetText
slnk = Replace(slnk, "&", "&amp;")
slnk = Replace(slnk, Chr(160), "&nbsp;")
slnk = Replace(slnk, "<", "&lt;")
slnk = Replace(slnk, ">", "&gt;")
slnk = Replace(slnk, Chr(34), "&quot;")
slnk = Replace(slnk, "\n", "<span style=""color: red; font-weight: bold;"">\n</span>")

slnk = Replace(slnk, vbCrLf, "<+$br$+>")
slnk = Replace(slnk, vbCr, "<+$br$+>")
slnk = Replace(slnk, vbLf, "<+$br$+>")
slnk = Replace(slnk, "<+$br$+>", vbCrLf & "<br>")

If redoing this page in the future you can use  CopyURL Plus  itself to convert text to HTML.

user_pref("copyurlplus.menus.7.copy", "%SEL_HTMLIFIED%");
user_pref("copyurlplus.menus.7.label", "Convert TEXT to HTML code");

HTML Peculiarities in this document (#peculiarities)

Suggestions (#suggestions)

URL      (exists) URL of the current page
TITLE    (exists) TITLE of the current page  
RLINK    (exists) the url (href) supplied in the link  
RTEXT   the text displayed within the link (available in CoLT extension)
RTITLE  the title=  internal to the anchor RLINK  
XTITLE  if possible to go out to the link and get it's actual title   
XSIZE   size of the url download if provided by server (and if available in Firefox extension)
        since it does not include images or other embedded items it is only a guideline.   

CLINK   copy the whole enchilada as is,  same as using   Firefox's
             View Selected Source  and  pick out the actual link from
             and including   ...      which is probably more
             useful for copying from your own web pages since you will
             know exactly what is there.

also partial to someone else's request, Robert Hughes on 2005-10-14 (dead link), that would do what is currently done for the cursor not on a link for all of the open tabs, and how would you invoke that without defining whole new sets.  (see Copy All Urls uses h4 and needs a little tweak to put title first, but it's a fairly decent solution)

Problems   (#problems)

Doubled entries in context menus, to fix (#doubled)

1. Update user.js in profile, if necessary (make sure your entries are here)
2. Uninstall CopyURLplus
3. Exit Firefox, and make sure Firefox is not in Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del)
4. Update prefs.js in profile, removing copyurlplus material that you have in your user.js – I use HTML-Kit as the editor for this.
5. Bring up Firefox
6. Reinstall Copy URL plus
7. recycle Firefox, and check copyurl in context menu

I've not been able to find out how or when doubling occurs as it can go for quite some time before the problem appears.  I was playing with DOM inspector, and with sidebar pages, and also there was a Firefox failure sometime in morning (2006-03-26) and the problem was seen and corrected in the afternoon.

Without reinstalling CopyURLplus the stripped down directions are no longer working not even with a reboot.

%RLINK% Not working (#rlink)

Example copy copyurlplus entries (#code)

Related   (#related)

• mozdev.org - copyurlplus: customize, by Philip Mateescu, the author's documentation to update customize his Copyurl Plus is your best reference.
   
• Firefox Customizations, (onsite), customizations used, problems encountered, extensions in use (or previously used)
• keyword shortcuts (onsite), examples of keyword shortcuts used in a separate folder, and how to find them if someone sprinkled them throughout the bookmark.html file. in the profile directory.
• Bookmarklets (onsite)
   
• Excel to HTML conversions (onsite), Excel macros, and links to additonal HTML tools and references.
• Toolbars, Custom Excel Buttons and Menus, Toolbar and Menu examples (buttons) –
• CoLT, Copy Link Text, by Jonah Bishop, using context menu and optionally one additional customized context menu item.  Using this in addition to CopyURL Plus may make things easier, be sure to use Menu Editor to get the context menus as you want them.