Sharex: Remove goo.gl

[Torubloo]

"Starting March 30, 2018, we will be turning down support for goo.gl URL shortener. From April 13, 2018 only existing users will be able to create short links on the goo.gl console. You will be able to view your analytics data and download your short link information in csv format for up to one year, until March 30, 2019, when we will discontinue goo.gl. Previously created links will continue to redirect to their intended destination. Please see this blog post for more details"

https://goo.gl/
https://developers.googleblog.com/2018/03/transitioning-google-url-shortener.html

So i think it would be better to remove it sooner then later so less people start using it then get annoyed and/or have to redo their ShareX setup with another url shorten service

[stuntguy3000]

Actual this is devastating.

Replacement: https://firebase.google.com/products/dynamic-links/

[Torubloo]

afaik Firebase Dynamic Links are made for linking to certain pages in your app

@matthewburnett i believe you can use them for shortening not sure

EDIT:
"FDLs are smart URLs that allow you to send existing and potential users to any location within an iOS, Android or web app. " so you COULD just send them to a website?

In the developers blog it says that Firebase is the replacement for goo.gl though from what i can see its VERY different to simple url shortening

[stuntguy3000]

According to the page on goo.gl it is...

---

From: Matthew Burnett [e-mail]
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2018 1:12:14 PM
To: ShareX/ShareX
Cc: Luke Anderson; Mention
Subject: Re: [ShareX/ShareX] Remove goo.gl (#3272)

@stuntguy3000https://github.com/stuntguy3000 That is not a replacement, firebase dynamic links are not made for shortening urls.

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[Jaex]

Luckily bit.ly was default url shortener in ShareX and not goo.gl.

[Nathan-Lane]

@matthewburnett While it's not made for shortening URLs you are offered short dynamic links, so yes you can still use it as a URL shortener, the link will just go to a web page on all devices rather than "Customising the experience"

[Nathan-Lane]

@matthewburnett Adding support for this has great potential, while it's may not be for those technically inept - there are some of us who would benefit from this - greatly too. There are features already in ShareX which would be deemed "isn't practical for the average user", why limit an application to the average user?
What if adding support for FDL gave ShareX more recognition? ShareX could be the application used providing a front-end interface for the non-technical end users of an organisation which use FDL.

I do feel the need to reference the blog post, as you've said: "_not general url shortening like Bit.ly or Owl.ly, which, in their blog post, they listed as alternatives._" since their blog post actually says: "If you are looking to create new short links, we recommend you use Firebase Dynamic Links _or_ check out popular services like...", 'or' being key here.
Maybe you and I have different use cases for ShareX, you might just use it solely to upload images, a puu.sh, lightshot or Gyazo replacement.

If I was to go more into it, Bit.ly and Owl.ly themselves are not "General URL shorteners", none really are. They provide tracking and engagement for users and organisations without the need to install any software, you might never look at your engagement stats but that's what the service is there for - this wouldn't be possible if it did require some sort of software installation (think of the marketing departments which use bit.ly, would they know how to install separate software for this purpose?).
It sounds like you use them only to provide a short URL rather than a long string and that's it. That's not the "average user" (for bit.ly), the average user (for bit.ly) wants those stats. The true average user (not for bit.ly now) doesn't even care about short URLs.

I'm not here to have a back and forth discussion, that can happen somewhere more suitable than this thread. FDL is goo.gl's direct replacement, a much more feature rich and more modern replacement, but its replacement none the less.
I'm just trying to put forth that FDL support should also be considered, and that some ShareX users will find it beneficial, now that's my bad as I initially only said that you can still use it as a URL shortener rather than "Customising the experience" for each platform a link is clicked/tapped.

[Kesmy]

Feedback rescinded

[lucario]

@Kesmy I don't know what you're objecting too, it's almost done and will be replacing goo.gl. #3273
There is a support channel on our discord and trust me, we get more of a headache in general by people who want custom domains on their upload hosts, this is nothing compared to that. It's very easy to create a firebase project since most people have google accounts.

[Kesmy]

@matthewburnett Creation of a Firebase project is easy, but it also requires creating an Android app linked to that project, and a SHA256 self-signed (at least) cert.

As long as you're willing to walk people through getting a binary OpenSSL and generating the cert, I guess that's fine.

[lucario]

@Kesmy I have no idea what you’re talking about. During my testing I chose iOS, then was allowed into the control panel and could start making requests. It didn’t require any of what you said.

[Kesmy]

@matthewburnett I was allowed to create links through the control panel as well, however requests through the REST API failed (until I added an "app" with a SHA256 fingerprint)

[lucario]

@Kesmy well it worked on my machine, you must be doing it wrong

[lucario]

@Kesmy https://firebase.google.com/docs/dynamic-links/debug

It's a common error