backdrop
Page Body Editor: URL Dialog Box Problems (complex URL, long Title)
Description of the bug
A short description of what the problem is.
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URL's with complex parameters are flagged as being invalid when they are not
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URL's with long titles are disallowed when they should not be
Steps To Reproduce
To reproduce the behavior: Go to: https://contrib2.com/backdrop-ecosystem-map
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This link breaks the dialog, but can be entered in SOURCE VIEW https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id={D91516D6-43B7-4C1C-93AE-136495EB250D}
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This text breaks the dialog, but can be entered in SOURCE VIEW
Actual behavior
Describe what was the result of following the steps above. Add screenshots if you think they would help.
Expected behavior
Describe what you expected to happen instead. Add mockup screenshots if possible.
I expect the dialog to accept valid URLs I expect to be able to enter a Title of arbitrary length
Additional information
Add any other information that could help, such as:
- Backdrop CMS version:
- Web server and its version:
- PHP version:
- Database sever (MySQL or MariaDB?) and its version:
- Operating System and its version:
- Browser(s) and their versions:
Backdrop 1.29.2
The URL is probably marked as invalid because it's too long. This was fixed in the latest version of Backdrop. Please try to always test with the latest version, as it may contain fixes for the problems you are reporting.
This is the original issue: https://github.com/backdrop/backdrop-issues/issues/6740
@ProfessorGram take a look at this article and others about unsafe characters: https://nicolaslule.com/safe-unsafe-reserved-unreserved-characters-in-urls/
I think the curly brackets are giving you trouble.
When I click on your link above, it opens, but the link is actually transformed, and the special characters are converted to html encoding.
https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id=%7BD91516D6-43B7-4C1C-93AE-136495EB250D%7D
It looks like github has sanitized your url! I copied the text and the code, and sure enough, the underlying link url has been rewritten. I assume you just pasted in the link and Github created the hyperlink?
I removed the curly brackets, and the link works as intended.
https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id=D91516D6-43B7-4C1C-93AE-136495EB250D
Maybe this is an issue with the charities NYC rather than Backdrop.
The URL is probably marked as invalid because it's too long. This was fixed in the latest version of Backdrop. Please try to always test with the latest version, as it may contain fixes for the problems you are reporting.
This is the original issue: #6740
I don't know - is this too long?
I would love to use the latest Backdrop CMS.
I cannot upgrade due to the Upgrade manager borking because I refuse to debase my security model, and SSH integration seems to be not working, so my upgrade is current stalled.
@ProfessorGram take a look at this article and others about unsafe characters: https://nicolaslule.com/safe-unsafe-reserved-unreserved-characters-in-urls/
I think the curly brackets are giving you trouble.
When I click on your link above, it opens, but the link is actually transformed, and the special characters are converted to html encoding. https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id=%7BD91516D6-43B7-4C1C-93AE-136495EB250D%7D
It looks like github has sanitized your url! I copied the text and the code, and sure enough, the underlying link url has been rewritten. I assume you just pasted in the link and Github created the hyperlink?
I removed the curly brackets, and the link works as intended. https://www.charitiesnys.com/RegistrySearch/show_details.jsp?id=D91516D6-43B7-4C1C-93AE-136495EB250D
Maybe this is an issue with the charities NYC rather than Backdrop.
I don't know, is this URL illegal according to the RFC? What URL standard is being observed?
Seems to work just fine on my browser with curly braces, using a major browser (Mozilla)
BUT - there is an RFC that identifies "UNSAFE" characters. Is that what you are using as a reference?
https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1738#page-3
Here's the relevant section:
I will contact the authority regarding the curly braces.
P.S. - it would be great if the error message could be a little more descriptive regarding the nature of the regex transgression.
"Unsafe character detected in URL, please see RFC 1738"
Thanks
I don't think there is further work to be done here. Upgrading to the latest version of Backdrop will solve the URL length issue.
For the curly brackets issue, encode the curly brackets as %7B for { and %7D for } so it is a valid URL. Most browsers will automatically do conversion for you on characters like spaces and plus symbols, but it seems that squiggle brackets don't have this automatic conversion on Firefox or Chrome. I think discouraging the original site from using them was a good move.
