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When writing/editing an answer or a question and adding an image through the "image-button":

Didn't there used to be an option to insert an image through a web link / URL (e.g. https://meta.stackexchange.com/image123.png)? Right now I only get the "drag&drop option" or the "open file" dialogue which can not handle web addresses. Is it still possible to use a web link or do I have to download the image locally and then upload it again?

I think there used to be a link you could click which opened a window where you can put/paste the URL of the image.

2 Answers 2

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Is it still possible to use a web link?

Yes. In Firefox at least just press ctrlg (or click on the image icon), then paste the URL directly using ctrlv (on Windows):

enter image description here

Which will insert:

enter image description here

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  • ah, ok, when you "paste" the URL (or any text) the address field for the URL appears automatically. I think there used to be a link you could click to make the field appear. Do you know why it has been removed?
    – Albin
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 16:51
  • @Albin It's part of Editor improvements for images and links which is part of Rollout of responsive design site themes - Tracking post
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 17:03
  • 2
    Thanks, although I support the afford for responsive design, this particular change is real bad usability (when you are working with desktop/laptop)... ah, well...
    – Albin
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 17:14
  • @Albin I find it ok, but then I'm used to the shortcuts :)
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 17:16
  • 2
    Yeah, I agree, once you know the shorcut it's fine... finding the shortcut without any hint is a little problematic, especially for new users (who don't know it's possible at all)...
    – Albin
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 17:18
  • 4
    I wish they would stop "improving" the sites. A lot of the "improvements" hurt usability. In this case, how would any user know how to use this interface (contains no guidance)? Thanks for posting this.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 20:59
  • @fixer1234 Can't upload image from URL anymore
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Nov 7, 2018 at 21:04
  • Doesn't work at all on Safari, Mojave. Works on Chrome.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Nov 8, 2018 at 13:59
  • This change is ridiculous, tbh. It's counter-intuitive. And stupid. Ugh.
    – undo
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 12:35
  • Meh - this didn't work... then it did for a couple of days... now it doesn't again. Mojave 10.14.2, Safari.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Nov 14, 2018 at 9:15
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You can also do it manually.

Images are almost like normal links, except for the leading exclamation mark.

![Description](direct image link)

So 

![xkcd](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/beverages.png)

becomes

xkcd

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    Might be an option for some pictures, but this way an external image stays external and is lost if the website or the url to the image changes.
    – Albin
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 10:27
  • Good point. I use this mainly for images that I have already uploaded to imgur.
    – Andre
    Commented Nov 13, 2018 at 14:06

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