If you ever wrote an article that included a long list of links you know how boring and time consuming it can be to copy the text of the link first, then flip back to the page, copy the URL, and then finally create the link.

The solution for this problem can be found in Firefox extensions that allow you to copy HTML links on the fly; meaning that they enable you to copy simultaneously the link text and HTML, and once you paste it you will already get the HTML code ready to go.

The most used extension for this purpose is called CoLT. Basically you will need to right click on the link you want to copy, move the mouse over “Copy Text Link and Location As,” and then select “HTML Link.”

I have used it for a while, but I don’t link the fact that I need to go through two sets of menus. It adds one unnecessary step to the process.

My favorite extension that does a similar job is called Copy as HTML Link. Here you will need to select the text that you want to be used on the link, right click over it and select “Copy as HTML Link.” Notice that instead of copying an existing hyperlink on the page this extension we create a link with the text you highlighted and with URL of the page you were visiting.

In reality the two extensions could co-exist since the former copies the HTML of existing hyperlinks while the latter creates an HTML code based on the text you select and the URL of the page. Test them and see which one will fit your browsing habits.