Empty link in a block cannot be removed until it's fixed with a proper destination

[arunsathiya]

Context and steps to reproduce

When there's a empty link on a block, it is currently not possible to remove it just by clicking on the link icon.

The link seems to be reconfigured with a proper destination and then removed.

I am not sure what causes a empty link to exist in the first place, but here is a test block you can reproduce the issue with:

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><a>This is a test.</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

Suggestion - When there is a empty link, clicking on the link icon should remove the link without having to configure a proper destination first.

Site owner impact

Fewer than 20% of the total website/platform users

Severity

Minor

What other impact(s) does this issue have?

No response

If a workaround is available, please outline it here.

No response

Platform

Simple, Self-hosted, Atomic

[arunsathiya]

I can reproduce on a simple site and a dotorg site (Pressable site), which ship with Gutenberg out of the box and I can reproduce the issue with Twenty Twenty-Five.

However, on an Atomic site that has Gutenberg 20.0.0, which is shipped by the host too, there is a proper "Unlink" functionality for the empty link.

So, I suppose Gutenberg 20.0.0 and higher fixes this issue, but I am yet to test if that's the case. Could someone test with Gutenberg 20.0.0 on a Dotorg site?

[janmckell]

📌 REPRODUCTION RESULTS

• Tested on Simple – Replicated
• Tested on Atomic – Replicated
• Replicable outside of Dotcom – Yes

📌 FINDINGS/SCREENSHOTS/VIDEO
Tested on Atomic Dotcom site with TieBreak theme - unlink icon shows - Gutenberg not activated on the site

Tested on Simple Dotcom site with TieBreak theme - unlink icon does not show

Tested on Studio local site with Twenty Twenty Four theme - unlink icon does not show - tested with both Gutenberg 19.8 and 20.3.0

📌 ACTIONS

• Triaged

→ Asked about assigning ownership here: p1740095264495959-slack-C03NLNTPZ2T

[Robertght]

@arunsathiya @janmckell I'm currently checking this and I was not able to replicate it, however, it would be great to share the steps or a short recording of the issue.

@janmckell I can see you managed to replicate this so it looks like a core GB issue we need to report. I couldn't find something similar on the main repository so probably a new one should be added.

[arunsathiya]

@Robertght Thanks for the ping. I can certainly share a video but it might be a day or two before I can get back here. I will be in touch!

[janmckell]

"I can see you managed to replicate this so it looks like a core GB issue we need to report. I couldn't find something similar on the main repository so probably a new one should be added."

Hey @Robertght Thanks for the ping.
Yes! "It should be reported in the core Gutenberg repo, without referencing Dotcom in reproduction steps, and then our [TOB] board can link out to that issue."

[janmckell]

A Gutenberg issue has been created here:
WordPress/gutenberg#69481

@Robertght @arunsathiya

Please take a look and let me know if there are any other details that need to be added to it.