Unable to create hyperlinks in WordPress posts problem

After I migrated to WordPress, I opened a post and was unable to create a hyperlink. When I tried, I selected some text and clicked the Insert/edit Link button and instead of getting the insert/edit link screen, I was presented with a download dialog. For some reason, the form would not display in the window that was so clearly defined for it.

Add link failure in WordPress blog post

Whenever I try to edit an image, I also receive the same treatment.

This same failure occurs on different browsers, however in IE I don’t get a file download, just a blank, white area like you see in the image above.

This failure also occurs on different computers, which leads me to believe that there is something wrong with my install of WordPress, or perhaps one of the plugins I’m using is causing this problem.

So while I’m continuing to work on this problem, I thought it would be interesting to see if anyone who frequents my blog knows how to resolve this issue.

I’ll give $10 to the first person that can tell me exactly how to fix this. Leave a response below if you think you know why this happens. If that leads to me fixing the issue, I’ll give you $10. Simple. Ask anything you need to.

UPDATE!

I made a video to show the issue in better detail



You might also enjoy these related posts

  1. Removing the “An automated WordPress update has failed to complete” message I recently upgraded my install of WordPress here on WayneJohn.com, but I did it through the WordPress interface, and not the “One click install” interface on Dreamhost.  One thing I’ve...
  2. WordPress 3.0 released I just found out that WordPress 3.0 has been released and is available for download.  I took some time to watch the video showcasing all the major enhancements, and I’m...
  3. WordPress Blogs Attract the Most Spam Comments I’m frustrated.  I’m also convinced that if you create a WordPress blog, you will attract spam.  Since migrating from BlogEngine to WordPress, I’ve seen a huge increase in the amount...
  4. Ensure you can recover from disaster – Backing up WordPress files and databases What would happen to your site if an attack was waged upon it, and you ultimately lost everything?  Aside from the anger you might experience, or the dreadful thought of...
  5. Updated BlogML Import Class for WordPress When you export all your post data from BlogEngine and try to import the data file into WordPress using Aaron Lerch’s BlogML import class, I found that it does not...

About Wayne

Wayne John is a web developer in Southern California that shares his 25+ years of programming and web development experience freely and happily to anyone willing to learn. He also loathes speaking in the third person. If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed or get updates in your email.
This entry was posted in Blogging Help & Tips and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

16 Responses to Unable to create hyperlinks in WordPress posts problem

  1. Yohan Perera says:

    This is how I solved the problem with creating new hyper-links.

    1. Login to your blog

    2. Under “Users” click “Your Profile”

    3. Under personal options change the “Admin Color Scheme” to blue…

    I don’t what is the big deal that the color scheme has to do with the problem. But it worked for me…

    • Wayne - Twitter:
      says:

      Nope, that did nothing for me except change the colors blue. :) I still get the download dialog.

  2. Wayne - Twitter:
    says:

    I have a lead. I’ve found another WordPress blog that I’ve set up where the links work. So I’m going to compare this one to that one and hopefully find the culprit.

    I can’t give up on issues like this, as much as I might like to. I wouldn’t be much of a web developer if I did. Besides, this one is easy compared to some issues where I’ve banged my head against it for weeks, sometimes months, lol

  3. Demeur says:

    Wayne – Sorry to report that I’ve checked a couple of other bloggers who have had the same problems with WordPress. They were so frustrated spending hours and getting nowhere that they went back to blogger or some other blog program.
    Demeur´s last blog ..Life is strange at times My ComLuv Profile

  4. Wayne - Twitter:
    says:

    Nope….a fresh install didn’t change anything…hmmm crap. I would have sworn that would resolve this…

    Perhaps it has to do with the database and a faulty plugin install? But something makes me think that a file association issue is more the culprit…

  5. Wayne - Twitter:
    says:

    Here’s what I’ve done:
    Compared a fresh version of 2.8 to what I was running. The original code I used came from an automated install routine. I noticed there were several folders that I had under the wp-content area named “cache”, “upgrade” and “uploads”. These aren’t default install folders…or they occur after migration of the 2.8 download files.

    Other than that, everything is identical. I wasn’t able to tap the file date to compare on that since when I downloaded this site, the timestamps all changed to the current date. No matter. I’m performing a wipe and replace of all the sites files.

    We’ll be back in just one moment…

  6. Kikolani says:

    I don’t think it is related, but one time I created a WordPress page called Sitemap. Every time I went to view the post, it prompted me for a download. Then I remembered that there was a sitemap.xml in the main directory, and I guess it couldn’t have both being in the root directory.

    ~ Kristi
    Kikolani´s last blog ..Alternatives to Checking Statistics My ComLuv Profile

    • Wayne - Twitter:
      says:

      Thanks for the idea, but yeah, that’s unrelated. Although I will say that it’s important to remember that what you brough up could be an issue in any case.

      All pages on the net need to have a unique URL reference of some sort.

      You would know that the problem is centered around that particular page, and depending upon way WordPress (or any other website/blog platform for that matter) handles duplicate URL references will also be part of how hard it is to locate the true issue and correct it.

      There’s some solid over-analysis on that issue..lol

  7. Wayne - Twitter:
    says:

    Quick update, I’ll be comparing the files to see if there is a difference on the installs. It’s possible since my host offers an auto-install option, so that could be a potential reason.

    David is also spot on, it could be one of the many plugins I attached to the install afterwards.

    I’m going to do all this tomorrow morning, so we’ll see what happens.

    Demeur, lol, I ain’t buying no mac, final answer. No way, no how. That one button mouse just creeps me out…lol

  8. David Cooley - Twitter:
    says:

    Put my $10 on a plugin not playing nice. Uninstall all plugins, test link, if it works, reinstall one at a time to find the problem child.

    If that is not the case, well, I just don’t know……

  9. Demeur says:

    1. Open window

    2. Pick up computer

    3. Throw computer out window

    4. Buy a Mac

  10. Brady Bonk says:

    I do know that IE tends to hang up on this function, but I’ve never seen anything like this. Your anonymous commenter above gives sage advice. You might also check for a newer version of the theme you’re using? I’ve installed the same theme at different times and had them behave very differently because they were different versions.

    In the meantime, you’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way.

  11. Pingback: Posts about plugins as of June 25, 2009 | All About WordPress

  12. Pingback: Anonymous

  13. Pingback: Unable to create hyperlinks in my WordPress posts | Wayne John | bllogger

  14. Pingback: » Unable to create hyperlinks in my WordPress posts | Wayne John Wordpress Plugins: Just another WordPress weblog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

CommentLuv Enabled

Enter YourName @ YourKeywords in the Name field to take advantage of Keyword love. Please note, I normally won't approve comments that use products or niche keywords for a name. Get your comment approved, don't be a spammer.