Internal links with checkboxes in headings: break when state changes

Operating system

Windows

Joplin version

3.6.8

Desktop version info

Operating system

Windows

Joplin version

3.6.8

Desktop version info

Joplin 3.6.8 (prod, win32)

Appareil : win32, Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4310U CPU @ 2.00GHz ID client : 773c93d7dee04e1289cb896f235df6a3 Version de Synchro : 3 Version du profil : 49 Trousseau supporté : Oui ID d'instance alternatif : - Sync target: WebDAV Éditeur : Markdown

Révision : f0a7f55

Backup: 1.5.1 Bidirectional Links: 0.2.1 Combine notes: 1.2.3 Favorites: 1.3.2 Freehand Drawing: 4.3.0 Menu items, Shortcuts, Toolbar icons: 1.1.0 MultiMarkdown Table Tools: 1.2.1 Note list and sidebar toggle buttons: 1.0.3 Note overview: 1.7.1 Note Tabs: 1.4.0 Outline: 1.5.15 Persistent Editor Layout: 2.2.0 Quick Links: 1.3.2 Rich Markdown: 0.17.1 Rich Tables: 1.7.11 Search & Replace: 2.2.0

Current behaviour

Hi,

I use Outline to create links by right-clicking on headers:

The problem is that the link breaks when the checkbox state changes after link creation.

An issue about links and checkboxes was originally discussed in the Rich Markdown plugin (https://github.com/CalebJohn/joplin-rich-markdown/issues/63), but for this actual problem, I tested with Rich Markdown disabled (and all my other plugins disabled too), and the same rendering issue occurs, so this may be a Joplin core bug.

Joplin generates anchor links by slugifying the heading text. [ ] and [x] are treated differently during this process:

• ## [ ] title → #title
• ## [x] title → #x-title

So when I tick a checkbox (or untick it), any previously copied link becomes silently invalid.

Expected behaviour

Ticking or unticking a checkbox in a heading should not invalidate previously created links.

My idea for a solution

If checkboxes (ticked or unticked) in headings were ignored when generating anchors, the link would always work regardless of checkbox state, and it could also resolve this other issue: https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/issues/15056 .

Workaround I'm currently considering

Only use unticked checkboxes in headings, and delete them when a task is finished (instead of ticking the box). I think it would work, but it's not as natural as ticking the checkbox.

Happy to provide any additional test cases or clarifications. Thanks :)