Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: m3avrck Status: patch (code needs review) -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) m3avrck Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah".

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Morbus Iff Status: patch (code needs review) I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? Morbus Iff Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-)

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: nedjo Status: patch (code needs review) custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. nedjo Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :)

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Morbus Iff Status: patch (code needs review) "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. Morbus Iff Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot.

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Bèr Kessels Status: patch (code needs review) In general changing words will not help a lot. Especially if you change something into an easier, yet incorrect (or not fully covering) term. taxonomy is just that: taxonomy. taxonomyes are not categories! A path alias is just that: an alias for a path. It is not a custom URL. So I agre with morbus: we should not use incorrect terminology. Bèr Kessels Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:55:44 +0000 : Morbus Iff "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:05:30 +0000 : Morbus Iff With that said, I'd be fine with "custom address", assuming the help text gets improved per #3.

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Crell Status: patch (code needs review) hm, I like that. It becomes a "fill in the blank" form. We'd have to size the text field properly, but that should clear up any confusion, especially if the base url also has a / after it so make it clearer that one shouldn't include that. Crell Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:55:44 +0000 : Morbus Iff "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:05:30 +0000 : Morbus Iff With that said, I'd be fine with "custom address", assuming the help text gets improved per #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:25:51 +0000 : Bèr Kessels In general changing words will not help a lot. Especially if you change something into an easier, yet incorrect (or not fully covering) term. taxonomy is just that: taxonomy. taxonomyes are not categories! A path alias is just that: an alias for a path. It is not a custom URL. So I agre with morbus: we should not use incorrect terminology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:37:42 +0000 : breyten How about adding $base_url in front of the textfield (but not editable) ? I think we can then leave the description as custom url.

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Jaza Status: patch (code needs review) IMO the phrase 'custom url' is a big step up from 'path alias', so +1 from me. Back in the dark ages, when I hadn't yet discovered Drupal and was still searching for the CMS of my dreams [:-)], I was looking specifically for a CMS that supported fully configurable URLs. I remember googling for such phrases as 'url rewriting', 'clean urls', and (possibly) 'custom urls'. When I finally stumbled upon Drupal (through SpreadFirefox, just by chance), I learned that round here, my dream feature was called 'path aliasing'. I never thought to search for 'path aliasing'. It is Drupal-specific jargon, rather than jargon that's common to many CMS's or to the web in general. Had the feature been called 'custom urls' instead, I probably would have found Drupal much sooner than I did. So I can say from personal experience that this change in woridng is long overdue. However, the points raised are valid: 'custom url' may mislead people into thinking that they have to type in the full URL. So if this change goes through, the help text must be very explicit about what the user needs to type in. E.g.: /Enter a custom URL+ for a page on your site. Do not enter the full URL: only enter the part that comes after your site's root address. E.g. for http://www.mysite.com/drupal/node/3, only enter 'aboutme', not http://www.../aboutme'./ Jaza Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:55:44 +0000 : Morbus Iff "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:05:30 +0000 : Morbus Iff With that said, I'd be fine with "custom address", assuming the help text gets improved per #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:25:51 +0000 : Bèr Kessels In general changing words will not help a lot. Especially if you change something into an easier, yet incorrect (or not fully covering) term. taxonomy is just that: taxonomy. taxonomyes are not categories! A path alias is just that: an alias for a path. It is not a custom URL. So I agre with morbus: we should not use incorrect terminology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:37:42 +0000 : breyten How about adding $base_url in front of the textfield (but not editable) ? I think we can then leave the description as custom url. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:52:53 +0000 : Crell hm, I like that. It becomes a "fill in the blank" form. We'd have to size the text field properly, but that should clear up any confusion, especially if the base url also has a / after it so make it clearer that one shouldn't include that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 01:04:49 +0000 : kbahey I agree that the current wording is confusing. I have people on one of my sites (non techies) who enter the URL of their own site in the alias field. Custom URL is fine by me. It is a step better than the current wording, but still "URL" may be confusing. I like the idea of preceeding it with the $base_url, but that can be very long in some cases (imagine a subdomain, a longish domain, and a directory). It can be too wide on the screen. It is still the best idea so far though, since it is a fill the blanks approach.

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Allie Micka Status: patch (code needs review) I have to say -1, only because there's no strong consensus. A transient interface is more of a usability burden than the occasional mis-labeled field. There's enough of an existing userbase for Drupal that we should be considerate of both future users *and* existing ones. Mind you, I'm not opposed to progress. If someone came up with the most appropriate name ever invented by a human being, everyone would wholeheartedly agree to set things straight post haste. I also look forward to other improvements down the line. But when nobody seems to feel strongly one way or the other it's a lukewarm fix to a lukewarm problem. What if someone suggests something better three months from now and it's yet another confusing UI change? Each new release seems to introduce a whole bunch of menu moves, label changes and other weird tweaks. Half of the time I understand the intent and accept the change, but other times the cost of making everyone re-learn where something is outweighs the benefits of having put it there. Allie Micka Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:55:44 +0000 : Morbus Iff "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:05:30 +0000 : Morbus Iff With that said, I'd be fine with "custom address", assuming the help text gets improved per #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:25:51 +0000 : Bèr Kessels In general changing words will not help a lot. Especially if you change something into an easier, yet incorrect (or not fully covering) term. taxonomy is just that: taxonomy. taxonomyes are not categories! A path alias is just that: an alias for a path. It is not a custom URL. So I agre with morbus: we should not use incorrect terminology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:37:42 +0000 : breyten How about adding $base_url in front of the textfield (but not editable) ? I think we can then leave the description as custom url. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:52:53 +0000 : Crell hm, I like that. It becomes a "fill in the blank" form. We'd have to size the text field properly, but that should clear up any confusion, especially if the base url also has a / after it so make it clearer that one shouldn't include that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 01:04:49 +0000 : kbahey I agree that the current wording is confusing. I have people on one of my sites (non techies) who enter the URL of their own site in the alias field. Custom URL is fine by me. It is a step better than the current wording, but still "URL" may be confusing. I like the idea of preceeding it with the $base_url, but that can be very long in some cases (imagine a subdomain, a longish domain, and a directory). It can be too wide on the screen. It is still the best idea so far though, since it is a fill the blanks approach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 02:59:51 +0000 : Jaza IMO the phrase 'custom url' is a big step up from 'path alias', so +1 from me. Back in the dark ages, when I hadn't yet discovered Drupal and was still searching for the CMS of my dreams [:-)], I was looking specifically for a CMS that supported fully configurable URLs. I remember googling for such phrases as 'url rewriting', 'clean urls', and (possibly) 'custom urls'. When I finally stumbled upon Drupal (through SpreadFirefox, just by chance), I learned that round here, my dream feature was called 'path aliasing'. I never thought to search for 'path aliasing'. It is Drupal-specific jargon, rather than jargon that's common to many CMS's or to the web in general. Had the feature been called 'custom urls' instead, I probably would have found Drupal much sooner than I did. So I can say from personal experience that this change in woridng is long overdue. However, the points raised are valid: 'custom url' may mislead people into thinking that they have to type in the full URL. So if this change goes through, the help text must be very explicit about what the user needs to type in. E.g.: /Enter a custom URL+ for a page on your site. Do not enter the full URL: only enter the part that comes after your site's root address. E.g. for http://www.mysite.com/drupal/node/3, only enter 'aboutme', not http://www.../aboutme'./ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 03:49:10 +0000 : Eaton +1 here, too. It's such a minor change, and t's not as if reading 'custom url' will confuse people with some sort of subtle technical miscommunication.

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: mathias Status: patch (code needs review) Because we use 'URL aliases' for the aliasing overview link I'd like to see 'Path alias' replaced with 'URL alias'. It's a small change, but adds coherency to the interface and nails down what we want. When I initially wrote path.module, entering absolute URLs was fine. I just stripped off the $base_url and informed the user of the action. Perhaps this approach should be re-visited? I'd be more than happy to write it. mathias Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:55:44 +0000 : Morbus Iff "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:05:30 +0000 : Morbus Iff With that said, I'd be fine with "custom address", assuming the help text gets improved per #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:25:51 +0000 : Bèr Kessels In general changing words will not help a lot. Especially if you change something into an easier, yet incorrect (or not fully covering) term. taxonomy is just that: taxonomy. taxonomyes are not categories! A path alias is just that: an alias for a path. It is not a custom URL. So I agre with morbus: we should not use incorrect terminology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:37:42 +0000 : breyten How about adding $base_url in front of the textfield (but not editable) ? I think we can then leave the description as custom url. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:52:53 +0000 : Crell hm, I like that. It becomes a "fill in the blank" form. We'd have to size the text field properly, but that should clear up any confusion, especially if the base url also has a / after it so make it clearer that one shouldn't include that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 01:04:49 +0000 : kbahey I agree that the current wording is confusing. I have people on one of my sites (non techies) who enter the URL of their own site in the alias field. Custom URL is fine by me. It is a step better than the current wording, but still "URL" may be confusing. I like the idea of preceeding it with the $base_url, but that can be very long in some cases (imagine a subdomain, a longish domain, and a directory). It can be too wide on the screen. It is still the best idea so far though, since it is a fill the blanks approach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 02:59:51 +0000 : Jaza IMO the phrase 'custom url' is a big step up from 'path alias', so +1 from me. Back in the dark ages, when I hadn't yet discovered Drupal and was still searching for the CMS of my dreams [:-)], I was looking specifically for a CMS that supported fully configurable URLs. I remember googling for such phrases as 'url rewriting', 'clean urls', and (possibly) 'custom urls'. When I finally stumbled upon Drupal (through SpreadFirefox, just by chance), I learned that round here, my dream feature was called 'path aliasing'. I never thought to search for 'path aliasing'. It is Drupal-specific jargon, rather than jargon that's common to many CMS's or to the web in general. Had the feature been called 'custom urls' instead, I probably would have found Drupal much sooner than I did. So I can say from personal experience that this change in woridng is long overdue. However, the points raised are valid: 'custom url' may mislead people into thinking that they have to type in the full URL. So if this change goes through, the help text must be very explicit about what the user needs to type in. E.g.: /Enter a custom URL+ for a page on your site. Do not enter the full URL: only enter the part that comes after your site's root address. E.g. for http://www.mysite.com/drupal/node/3, only enter 'aboutme', not http://www.../aboutme'./ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 03:49:10 +0000 : Eaton +1 here, too. It's such a minor change, and t's not as if reading 'custom url' will confuse people with some sort of subtle technical miscommunication. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 06:29:21 +0000 : Allie Micka I have to say -1, only because there's no strong consensus. A transient interface is more of a usability burden than the occasional mis-labeled field. There's enough of an existing userbase for Drupal that we should be considerate of both future users *and* existing ones. Mind you, I'm not opposed to progress. If someone came up with the most appropriate name ever invented by a human being, everyone would wholeheartedly agree to set things straight post haste. I also look forward to other improvements down the line. But when nobody seems to feel strongly one way or the other it's a lukewarm fix to a lukewarm problem. What if someone suggests something better three months from now and it's yet another confusing UI change? Each new release seems to introduce a whole bunch of menu moves, label changes and other weird tweaks. Half of the time I understand the intent and accept the change, but other times the cost of making everyone re-learn where something is outweighs the benefits of having put it there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:46:32 +0000 : brdwor -1 because of the ambiguous use of URL. "custom /relative/ URL"

Issue status update for http://drupal.org/node/30509 Post a follow up: http://drupal.org/project/comments/add/30509 Project: Drupal Version: cvs Component: path.module Category: feature requests Priority: normal Assigned to: moshe weitzman Reported by: moshe weitzman Updated by: Dries Status: patch (code needs review) I think 'custom URL' is more intuitive, which is what we should cater for IMO. For the caption of the actual textfield we could write 'Custom relative URL', 'Custom path' or whathever makes it clear that no absolute URL is expected. However, when people are looking at the navigation menu or the documentation, it does _not_ matter whether they have to enter an URL relative to the root, an URL relative to the Drupal installation, an absolute URL or some other kind of path. The task they are looking to complete is to /customize/ their site's /URLs/. Let's call it that 'custom URLs' and let's worry about the technical details on the custom URL submission/edit form. Two nits: 1. Write URL not url. 2. The menu item in the navigation menu needs updating too. 3. Double-check the documentation. Please update this patch. Thanks. Dries Previous comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:17:34 +0000 : moshe weitzman Attachment: http://drupal.org/files/issues/custom_url.patch (1.71 KB) i have had several people frown and ask what the heck we mean in the posting UI by 'path alias'. Once I explain, they adore the feature and suggest the alternative wording 'custom url'. So here is a patch which changes the user facing name of this feature. Admin area is unchanged and probably shouldn't be since the concept of an alias is more important there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:46:35 +0000 : Morbus Iff -1 from me. The purist in me would see "custom URL" and would enter the full URL: http://something.com/blah/, not the actual, um, "path alias" that the thing is looking for. URL actually *means* something, and that's "http://something/blah/" not "blah". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:53:50 +0000 : m3avrck -1 from me as well, "Custom URL" just doesn't make as much sense. Then again, I do see the issues with the word "Path" but "alias" should make sense to most people. So what about "URL alias" ? That would combine the best of both worlds, IMO :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 18:54:37 +0000 : Crell I have to agree with Morbus and -1 this one for the same reason. I'd say that if anything, the help text below the path alias text box should be improved. The lone example of "about" doesn't help much. A better example would be: For example, enter "mypages/about" if you want a page to appear at http://yoursite.com/mypages/about. Something like that would make it much clearer what part of the URL one is entering. It could even be customized to use $base_url there, so that it's site specific. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:01:54 +0000 : Morbus Iff I think I'd be fine with "URL path", in as much as a path is not a URL (or a shaving is not a pencil, for equivalence). "URL alias" I'd still be concerned about - there's nothing in those two words that would dissuade me from using an entire URL (unlike "URL path"). "Alternative URL path"? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:12:37 +0000 : m3avrck Well building upon that don't we get run full circle to "URL Path Alias" ? Maybe that makes the *most* sense :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:41:41 +0000 : nedjo custom link? custom address? I agree the current label is confusing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:51:39 +0000 : moshe weitzman come on. our goal here is not to prevent a hard core developer from typing in 'http'. we are trying to make software that normal people can use without stressing their brains. neither 'path' nor 'alias' contribute toward this goal. 'custom' is good because joe user gets it through his head that he can control the urls. this is a mind blowing moment for many new users. they never had it so good! 'url' isn't that great, and morbus might get confused by it (cough cough). so i like 'custom address' a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 19:55:44 +0000 : Morbus Iff "Custom address" doesn't work for me - I think of address as a complete street address, or a complete web site address, not just "Concord, NH" or "blah". As for user vs. hardcore, I've no problem with that, but I will not stand for using terms improperly - that's just making users dumber, and our lives more difficult in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:05:30 +0000 : Morbus Iff With that said, I'd be fine with "custom address", assuming the help text gets improved per #3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:25:51 +0000 : Bèr Kessels In general changing words will not help a lot. Especially if you change something into an easier, yet incorrect (or not fully covering) term. taxonomy is just that: taxonomy. taxonomyes are not categories! A path alias is just that: an alias for a path. It is not a custom URL. So I agre with morbus: we should not use incorrect terminology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:37:42 +0000 : breyten How about adding $base_url in front of the textfield (but not editable) ? I think we can then leave the description as custom url. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:52:53 +0000 : Crell hm, I like that. It becomes a "fill in the blank" form. We'd have to size the text field properly, but that should clear up any confusion, especially if the base url also has a / after it so make it clearer that one shouldn't include that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 01:04:49 +0000 : kbahey I agree that the current wording is confusing. I have people on one of my sites (non techies) who enter the URL of their own site in the alias field. Custom URL is fine by me. It is a step better than the current wording, but still "URL" may be confusing. I like the idea of preceeding it with the $base_url, but that can be very long in some cases (imagine a subdomain, a longish domain, and a directory). It can be too wide on the screen. It is still the best idea so far though, since it is a fill the blanks approach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 02:59:51 +0000 : Jaza IMO the phrase 'custom url' is a big step up from 'path alias', so +1 from me. Back in the dark ages, when I hadn't yet discovered Drupal and was still searching for the CMS of my dreams [:-)], I was looking specifically for a CMS that supported fully configurable URLs. I remember googling for such phrases as 'url rewriting', 'clean urls', and (possibly) 'custom urls'. When I finally stumbled upon Drupal (through SpreadFirefox, just by chance), I learned that round here, my dream feature was called 'path aliasing'. I never thought to search for 'path aliasing'. It is Drupal-specific jargon, rather than jargon that's common to many CMS's or to the web in general. Had the feature been called 'custom urls' instead, I probably would have found Drupal much sooner than I did. So I can say from personal experience that this change in woridng is long overdue. However, the points raised are valid: 'custom url' may mislead people into thinking that they have to type in the full URL. So if this change goes through, the help text must be very explicit about what the user needs to type in. E.g.: /Enter a custom URL+ for a page on your site. Do not enter the full URL: only enter the part that comes after your site's root address. E.g. for http://www.mysite.com/drupal/node/3, only enter 'aboutme', not http://www.../aboutme'./ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 03:49:10 +0000 : Eaton +1 here, too. It's such a minor change, and t's not as if reading 'custom url' will confuse people with some sort of subtle technical miscommunication. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 06:29:21 +0000 : Allie Micka I have to say -1, only because there's no strong consensus. A transient interface is more of a usability burden than the occasional mis-labeled field. There's enough of an existing userbase for Drupal that we should be considerate of both future users *and* existing ones. Mind you, I'm not opposed to progress. If someone came up with the most appropriate name ever invented by a human being, everyone would wholeheartedly agree to set things straight post haste. I also look forward to other improvements down the line. But when nobody seems to feel strongly one way or the other it's a lukewarm fix to a lukewarm problem. What if someone suggests something better three months from now and it's yet another confusing UI change? Each new release seems to introduce a whole bunch of menu moves, label changes and other weird tweaks. Half of the time I understand the intent and accept the change, but other times the cost of making everyone re-learn where something is outweighs the benefits of having put it there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:46:32 +0000 : brdwor -1 because of the ambiguous use of URL. "custom /relative/ URL" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 16:02:19 +0000 : mathias Because we use 'URL aliases' for the aliasing overview link I'd like to see 'Path alias' replaced with 'URL alias'. It's a small change, but adds coherency to the interface and nails down what we want. When I initially wrote path.module, entering absolute URLs was fine. I just stripped off the $base_url and informed the user of the action. Perhaps this approach should be re-visited? I'd be more than happy to write it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wed, 07 Sep 2005 19:10:52 +0000 : elichapman +1 I agree with Moshe, having been one of those that didn't understand what Path Alias was, but was ecstatic when I learned what it would let me do. I'm not a developer. I understand the semantic argument against using the word URL in the description. But for me, this is the URL, and I refer to the ability to "customize a URL." So my vote (for whatever it's worth) is "Custom URL" or "Customize the URL or Web Address." I like Customize better since it's an action verb.