Adding a featured link to your topic

[Discourse]

This guide explains how to use featured links in Discourse, a feature that allows users to associate an embedded link with their topics.

Required user level: Trust Level 1 or higher

Featured links allow you to paste a URL in the title box when creating a topic and the link is then included in the topic information on both the topic header and in topic lists. This can be useful when creating a topic about a particular news article or product.

This topic has a featured link to the blog post about the new version in which the function was added.

Adding a featured link to a topic

When creating a new topic:

1. Start composing a new topic
2. In the topic title field, you’ll see “… or paste a link”
3. Paste a URL directly into the title field as the first thing you type
4. Discourse will automatically set this as the featured link
5. Edit the title and body of your topic as usual

The featured link will appear below the topic title once posted.

Administrators can disable this feature either site-wide or per category

Adding a featured link after creating a topic

Adding a featured link to a topic is much easier (and recommended) using the method above, however, it is possible to add one afterwards if you need to:

1. Edit your topic
2. Copy and save your content somewhere else temporarily
3. Delete all content from the topic (including the title)
4. Paste the desired link into the title field
5. Enter a new title or paste your previous one
6. Paste your original content back into the topic body
7. Save your changes

Be cautious when using this method as it involves temporarily deleting your content. Always ensure you have made a copy of the content before trying it out.

Removing a featured link

To remove a featured link:

1. Click the edit icon next to the topic’s title

2. In the title editing interface, you’ll see the featured link displayed separately

3. Click on the featured link to remove it
4. Save your changes

This action is often referred to as “unlinking” the featured link in Discourse terminology.

Any user who can edit the topic information can remove the featured link. Editing permissions may vary based on the community’s settings and your trust level.

Best practices and considerations

• Use featured links for valuable, relevant content such as reference materials, source documents or related discussions
• Ensure links are directly relevant to your topic and comply with community guidelines
• Avoid promotional links that don’t add value to the discussion

Limitations

• The ability to use featured links depends on the site’s settings. If you don’t see the option, it may not be enabled for your community
• You cannot use a link from the same Discourse instance as a featured link
• Editing an existing featured link is not directly supported through the user interface. However, users can edit the topic, remove the existing link and add a new one following the steps in “Adding a featured link after posting”

Additional resources

• Set or update a featured topic link via the rails console - A guide for self-hosted administrators on how to edit a featured topic link using the Rails console. If you don’t have access to the Rails console, please contact your hosting provider for assistance.

Hosted by us? Contact us at team@discourse.org for help with modifying featured links.

Last edited by @JammyDodger 2024-07-18T12:27:43Z

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