Problem to solve: external link icon
Problems to solve
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The Pajamas guidance on when to use an external link icon is unclear and can lead to inconsistency in the product. It's also just not followed currently in the product (see examples in table below). The guidance says:
If the help content is outside of the GitLab instance (for example, content at about.gitlab.com), make that clear in the link text.
- Example: For more integrations, go to GitLab’s website.
- An external link icon can be added in place of more copy if space is tight.
Help icon
If that's not possible and space is tight, use the help icon that, when hovered or focused on, shows the summary in a popover.
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Inconsistency in the product. Some GitLab docs links use an external icon while most do not. Some links that go to external (non-GitLab) pages don't use an external link icon.
Proposal
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Update Pajamas guidance to say that an external link icon should only be used when NOT linking to a GitLab site (i.e. another page in the product or the docs), and there's no need to use the external link icon if linking to a GitLab site (either within the product or the docs). -
After we agree on this, we should update the product accordingly; mostly that any external links should have the external link icon added.
Examples
With external link icon | Without icon |
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Edited by Becka Lippert