How to post a video link but not with a big thumbnail image with the player?

  • Thread starter symbolipoint
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In summary, if you want to make a post with a hyperlink to a YouTube video, but make the link ONLY appear as a hyperlink and not as a big video player thumbnail image, you can do so by using the URL tag with the url=whatever opening tag and making the tag contents different from the URL.
  • #1
symbolipoint
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One may want one day to make a post with a hyperlink to a YouTube video, but let it appear ONLY as a hyperlink but NOT as a big video player thumbnail image. Can we do that? How?
 
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  • #2
This seems to work (it's a Veritasium video):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA

It seems that if you use the URL tag with the url=whatever opening tag and make the tag contents different from the URL (mine is the URL with a space after it) then you get a URL only.
 
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  • #3
Or PLAIN tags:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA
 
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  • #4
trying that same link as example to try to learn

fresh_42 said:
Or PLAIN tags:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA
Never mind the "trying". I see the tags around the link address. Front tag PLAIN in square brackets, end tag with the forward slash PLAIN in square brackets. That's nice. I just need to remember.
 
  • #5
Ibix said:
This seems to work (it's a Veritasium video):



It seems that if you use the URL tag with the url=whatever opening tag and make the tag contents different from the URL (mine is the URL with a space after it) then you get a URL only.

I must try that now, after doing a brief web search.
<a href="">the same </a>
This either works or it does not work. Only making the post I'll know.
 
  • #6
That failed. I don't know why. Do we need to use square brackets instead of bent angle brackets? That I try next.

[a href=""] the same link [/a]
 
  • #7
@Ibex, I don't know how to do what you described.
 
  • #9
symbolipoint said:
@Ibex, I don't know how to do what you described.
[Url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA [/url]
Note the space before the [/url].
 
  • #10
Ibix said:
[Url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA [/url]
Note the space before the [/url].
That looks strange because written is the same internet hyperlink address twice without a space between the two identical addresses. ... looking at that longer, I now also see the two PLAIN tags. I could take another try at this, but maybe later.
 
  • #11
I wrote [url=x]x [/url]. Note that there is no space inside the opening URL tag, but there is a space after the x between the opening tags. It appears that as long as the text between the tags is not identical to the target of the link, you get the text not the thumbnail. If you write [url=x]x[/url] you get a thumbnail (at least if x is a URL pointing to a video).

You don't need the PLAIN tags. I put them into prevent the webpage interpreting the tags - I want to show you the command, not the effect.

Demo:
[url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA [/url] (with a space between the A and the open square bracket) gives you https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA

[url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNsgj1OCLA[/url] (no space between A and open square bracket) gives you
 
  • #13
Ibix said:
I wrote x . Note that there is no space inside the opening URL tag, but there is a space after the x between the opening tags. It appears that as long as the text between the tags is not identical to the target of the link, you get the text not the thumbnail. If you write x you get a thumbnail (at least if x is a URL pointing to a video).

You don't need the PLAIN tags. I put them into prevent the webpage interpreting the tags - I want to show you the command, not the effect.
That is excellent. Only problem now is to remember that.
 
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  • #14
just a small test; the tagging model using "x" in place of a link address: x

That did not work. "x" needs to be some kind of actual hyperlink. Trying Qwant.com.
qwant.comTrying another one, the YouTube Computerphile channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/Computerphile

I must try one more. The Computerphile channel but using the word "Computerphile Channel" between the two tag ends. Computerphile Channel
 
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FAQ: How to post a video link but not with a big thumbnail image with the player?

How can I post a video link without a large thumbnail image?

To post a video link without a large thumbnail image, you can use the "embed" or "share" option provided by the video hosting platform. This will give you a smaller, more discreet thumbnail image or just a link to the video. You can also use a third-party link shortener to create a smaller link to the video.

Can I customize the size of the thumbnail image when posting a video link?

Yes, you can customize the size of the thumbnail image when posting a video link. Some video hosting platforms allow you to choose from different sizes of thumbnail images, while others allow you to input a specific size. You can also use HTML code to resize the thumbnail image.

How can I prevent the video player from automatically playing when I post a video link?

To prevent the video player from automatically playing, you can add "&autoplay=0" to the end of the video link. This will disable the autoplay feature and the video will only play when the user clicks on the play button.

Is there a way to hide the video player controls when posting a video link?

Yes, you can hide the video player controls by adding "&controls=0" to the end of the video link. This will remove the play, pause, and volume buttons from the video player.

Can I post a video link without any thumbnail image or player?

Yes, you can post a video link without any thumbnail image or player by using a text-only link. This option is usually available in the "share" or "embed" menu of the video hosting platform. You can also use HTML code to create a text-only link to the video.

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