Understanding how Files are linked in new RCE

[christopher_phi]

TLDR

TLDR; The default behavior with the old RCE when linking to files was to download the file. In the new RCE the default behavior is to open the file in Canvas in a new tab where you can load it. There appears to be no way to change the default behavior without going into the HTML to change it. 

Has anyone else seen this or had any problems with it? 

The Details

We are enjoying the new RCE, but have a question about linking to files. It is my understanding that there are currently two different ways to link to a file in a course and that they are both different from the previous behavior when linking to files: 

1. Old RCE:
   I don't have access to this to try out anymore, but looking at some past pages it appears that the default code when linking to files in the old RCE produced the following code: 
   

   <a class="instructure_file_link instructure_scribd_file" title="FILE-NAME" href="FILE-URL/download?wrap=1" data-api-endpoint="API-ENDPOINT" data-api-returntype="File">Link</a>​

2. New RCE using Link Icon > Course Links > Files > Course Files: 
   Produces the following code: 
   

   <a class="instructure_file_link instructure_scribd_file" title="FILE-NAME" href="FILE-URL?wrap=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Link</a>

3. New RCE using Documents Icon > Course Documents:
   Produces the following code: 
   

   <a id="77807934" class="instructure_file_link instructure_scribd_file" href="FILE-URL?wrap=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-canvas-previewable="true">Organization</a>​

In the old RCE it appears that the default behavior was to add the "download" parameter to the file which would directly download the file instead of previewing it which has generally been the preferred option for our instructors and users. Now, it appears that not only has the default behavior been changed, but there is not way to change the default behavior without going into the HTML. 

In addition, there appears to be a number of other differences between the file links: 

1. Old RCE: includes "data-api-endpoint" and "data-api-returntype"
2. New RCE Course Links and Documents: includes target="_blank" and rel="noopener"
3. New RCE Document: includes the file name as the "id" and "data-canvas-previewable"

While the way that files can be previewed has been documented, I haven't seen anything that documents 

Question

Have others seen this change with the RCE and found it problematic? 

[christopher_phi]

It sounds like the download issue has been acknowledged by Canvas and there is a ticket open for it. See: 

Downloading Documents Automatically from Links

Per instructions from @Stef_retired on that post - open a support ticket and reference engineering ticket LS-1743.

[Stef_retired · Accepted solution]

...and here's the link to the Canvas Current Issue document.