Format Link chrome extension

What is Format Link?

Format Link is a url opener extension for chrome. it's a free extension , it has 1,000+ active users since released its first version, it earns an average rating of 4.45 from 11 rated user, last update is 756 days ago.

What’s new in version 4.1.1?

                ## Why do I need it?
To format the link of the active tab instantly to use in Markdown, reST, HTML, Text, Textile or other formats.

## How to use
You can use keyboard shortcuts, context menus, or the toolbar button of Format Link extension
to copy a link in the specified format. Before doing that, you can optionally select some text 
which may or may not contain a link.

### keyboard shortcut
The keyboard shortcut for "Copy a link in the default format" is shortcut for clicking the
toolbar button. The link is copied in the default format and the popup is shown under
the toolbar button.

Also there are shortcuts for copying in the link in the corresponding format regardless of
the default format.

You can change shortcuts at chrome://extensions/shortcuts

### context menu
Open the context menu and select the "Format Link as XXX" menu item.
"XXX" in the menu item label changes as you change the default format by clicking the "Set as default" button in the popup page for the toolbar button.

If you check the "Create submenus" in the options page and save the options,
submenus for each format are created under the "Format Link" context menu group.

### toolbar button
When you press the toolbar button of "Format Link", the link is copied in the default format,
the popup page becomes open, and the formatted text is shown in the text area.

If you want to copy the link in different format, you can press one of the radio buttons.

Also if you want to change the default format, you can press the "Set as default" button.

## Flexible settings
You can modify formats in [Tools] -> [Extensions] -> Clik "Options" link in "Format Link" Extension.
In format settings, you can use the mini template language.

* {{variable}}
    * variable = title / url / pageUrl / text
    * The value of variable `title` is the HTML page title.
    * The value of variable `text` is the selected text if some text is selected,
      the link text if you open the context menu over a link (see KNOWN LIMITATION below for link text),
      or the page URL if no text is selected and you open the context menu not over a link.
    * The value of the variable `url` is the link if you open the context menu over a link,
      the first link if selection contains a link, or the HTML page URL otherwise.
    * The value of the variable `pageUrl` is always the page URL.
    * No spaces are allowed between variable name and braces.
* {{variable.s("foo","bar")}}
    * Which means `variable.replace(new RegExp("foo", 'g'), "bar")`
    * You can use escape character \ in strings.
    * You must escape the first argument for string and regexp.
      For example, `.s("\\[","\\[")` means replacing `\[` with `\\[`
    * You can chain multiple .s("foo","bar")
* You can use the escape character \ in strings. For example, you need to escape `\` with `\` like `\\`,
  and also you need to escape `{` with `\` like `\{`. See the LaTeX example below.
* Other characters are treated as literal strings.

Here are examples:

* Markdown

```
[{{text.s("\\[","\\[").s("\\]","\\]")}}]({{url.s("\\(","%28").s("\\)","%29")}})
```

* reST

```
{{text}} <{{url}}>`_
```

* HTML

```
<a href="{{url.s("\"","&quot;")}}">{{text.s("<","&lt;")}}</a>
```

* Text

```
{{text}}\n{{url}}
```

* Redmine Texitile

```
"{{title.s("\"","&quot;").s("\\[","&#91;")}}":{{url}}
```

* LaTeX

```
\\href\{{{url}}\}\{{{text}}\}
```

## License
MIT License.
Source codes are hosted at [Github](https://github.com/hnakamur/FormatLink-Chrome)

## KNOWN LIMITATIONS

* Due to security reason, you cannot copy the URL on some pages like the Chrome Extension Gallary.
* When you copy a link with a context menu after pointing mouse to a link, this extension manually searches the first link whose URL is equals to the link you pointed in the whole document, due to limitation of [chrome.contextMenus API](https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/contextMenus). So if there are multiple links of the same URL, and if you pointed to non-first link, the text is not what you want. However this is the best we can do right now.
* Chrome allow each extension to have at most 4 keyboard shortcuts. One shortcut is used for copying a link with the default format, and the rest of three are used for copying a link with the corresponding format 1 to format 3. So format 4 to format 9 does not have keyboard shortcut.            

How to install Format Link?

You could download the latest version crx file or older version files and install it.

Preview of Format Link

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Reviews of format link:

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Ken William April 2nd, 2022

Fabulous - just what I was looking for. It would be great if you could also access the selected text variable (blank if nothing selected) and a current date variable :)

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C. C. June 26th, 2019

I dig it. One of the only ones I found that lets you customize the links with Regex, and there's a FF version as well.

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Paul Flory August 10th, 2012

so far (after a few uses), pretty decent. minimal, yet handy!

Read more review & comments of format link