Previously: #19462 (comment)
Related: #19365, #19570, #19971

A new link component introduced for the purposes of supporting the Navigation Link block (#17557, #18061) was incorporated into the paragraph block in #19462. The goal of this was to ensure a consistent link editing experience for all parts of the editor. However, the new link component regresses in the ideal workflow for editing a link.

From @MarcoZehe at #19462 (comment):

So, I want to select text, press CTRL+K or CMD+K, paste the URL, enter to submit, or tab to the submit button and hit Enter or Space, and be back in the text to continue working.

Because the revised link component only shows the "Open in New Tab" button as part of its preview state, concessions were made in #19462 such that pressing CMD+K while having a selection of text will only shift focus into the popover, but the user must still tab and select the "Edit" button to change the URL.

Proposal: The "Open in New Tab" toggle should be presented as an optional part of the editing state of the link component.

After #19365	Before #19365	Classic Editor

In the screenshots above, you can see that all link editing prior to #19365 would allow access to change settings associated with the link, including "Open in New Tab".

Important to consider are two related issues:

• "Open in new tab" property is not always saved when "Save draft" is used #19365 - It was previously a confusing experience that toggling "Open in New Tab" would only take effect if the user would explicitly submit their link edits. Some users would expect that it would always take effect immediately.
• Block Editor: LinkControl: Add Submit button as action #19971 - There is a concern whether the minimalist aesthetic of the new link interface can afford space for additional controls.

Implementation proposal:

• When editing a link, the input should be accompanied by "Submit" and "Advanced Settings" buttons.
• Clicking "Advanced Settings" should toggle the display of the "Open in New Tab" toggle option, as it did previously (needs design).

I am not certain one way or another whether "Open in New Tab" should apply the changes immediately when in the mode of editing a link. Considering #19365, I believe that part of the problem might have been attributable to the fact that there was very little visual difference between the "Preview" and "Editing" states of this dialog, and thus the user may have been confused about whether they were editing or previewing the link. This is less problematic with the new link UI, since the states are more visually distinctive. Otherwise, the expectations of editing a link could be such that the user would only expect their changes to take effect once submitted.

	Viewing	Editing
Previous UI
New UI