Heads up that we'll be removing the ability to create logos4 links in v39 and v40. But don't worry. Existing logos4 links will continue to work, and everything you could do with logos4 links, you can now do with ref.ly links.
Here's why we're making the change:
- For years, ref.ly links have had the same functionality as logos4 links.
- logos4 links sometimes got blocked by other apps (bad!), but when they worked, they opened the desktop app directly (good!), which meant they worked offline (also good!). But when you pasted them into other apps, they weren't recognized as links, so they wouldn't be automatically clickable (bad!).
- ref.ly links never got blocked by other apps (good!), but they opened the web app, and then the web app opened the desktop app (bad!). They didn't work offline (also bad!). But, when pasted into other apps, they'd be automatically recognized and made clickable (good!).
- Now, from v39 on Windows and earlier on Mac, Logos listens for clicks on ref.ly links. From almost all apps, apart from web browsers, the desktop app will open directly without first opening the web app. That works offline, too.
- As a result, the advantages that logos4 links had over ref.ly links have all but gone away. This means there's no real need to create new logos4 links, and we can simplify the app by removing that option.
- So now, instead of choosing between two "sometimes good" options, you'll only have one "nearly always good" option.
- There's a bigger picture, too. There are often two — or more! — similar-but-not-quite-the-same ways of doing things in Logos. This makes the app more complex, which makes it harder for users to learn, and harder for us to maintain our code. We can't fix all that overnight, but we are slowly unifying features where we can, and we're not creating new tools where we can improve old ones. This is a small step along that road.
The ability to create logos4 links will likely be removed from the dynamic toolbar in v39 and from the panel menus in v40.
