Remove underline from system message link

[bernhardoj]

Explanation of Change

Fixed Issues

$ #64041
PROPOSAL: #64041 (comment)

Tests

Same as QA Steps

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Same as QA Steps

QA Steps

1. Create workspace > Workflows > enable Delay submissions
2. Create expense
3. Wait for the report to be sent automatically
4. Open the expense report
5. Verify the "submitted via delay submission" link doesn't has underline

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

• I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
  • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
  • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
  • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
  • I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
  • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
  • I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
  • Android: Native
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: Native
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • MacOS: Desktop
• I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
• I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
• I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
  • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick)
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  • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
  • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
    • If any non-english text was added/modified, I used JaimeGPT to get English > Spanish translation. I then posted it in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
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  • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
  • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
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• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
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• I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
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  • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG))
• If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
• If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
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• If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
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• If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

MacOS: Desktop

[melvin-bot]

@allroundexperts Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

[shawnborton]

Will run a test build 🚀

[github-actions]

🚧 @shawnborton has triggered a test Expensify/App build. You can view the workflow run here.

[github-actions]

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪
Built from App PR #64709.

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/64709/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/ios/64709/index.html

Desktop 💻	Web 🕸️
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/64709/NewExpensify.dmg	https://64709.pr-testing.expensify.com

---

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

[shawnborton]

The underline is gone, nice! However, the links don't use our default :hover style where they slightly change color to theme's link-hover color. Is that something you can fix too?

[bernhardoj]

@shawnborton is there an example of how that looks?

I tried hovering on a non-chat link, but don't see the hover style.

a.mp4

Also, do we want that hover style to apply to links with an underline, too?

[shawnborton]

This is the example I was thinking of:

CleanShot.2025-06-24.at.08.57.27.mp4

We don't want to add an underline style on hover, it's just a color change.

[bernhardoj]

I see. Yeah, we can do that.

We don't want to add an underline style on hover, it's just a color change.

I mean, do we want to apply the color change to link with the underline too? This is how both look.

web.mp4

[shawnborton]

Ah - I would say yes, though in the case you just cited, even that link should not have an underline. We want one consistent link style everywhere, cc @Expensify/design for the gut check!

[dubielzyk-expensify]

We want one consistent link style everywhere, cc @Expensify/design for the gut check!

Couldn't agree more.

[dannymcclain]

Yup, totally agree!

[bernhardoj]

Got it. Updated!

a.mp4

[shawnborton]

Nice, that is feeling good to me!

[allroundexperts]

I'm guessing that the underline below the message in composer is fine?

[allroundexperts]

Reviewer Checklist

• I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
• I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
  • I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
  • I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
  • I verified the steps cover any possible failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
  • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
• I checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I verified that the composer does not automatically focus or open the keyboard on mobile unless explicitly intended. This includes checking that returning the app from the background does not unexpectedly open the keyboard.
• I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
  • Android: HybridApp
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: HybridApp
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • MacOS: Desktop
• If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
• I verified there are no new alerts related to the canBeMissing param for useOnyx
• I verified proper code patterns were followed (see Reviewing the code)
  • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick).
  • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
  • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
  • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
  • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
  • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
  • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
  • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
• I verified that this PR follows the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• I verified other components that can be impacted by these changes have been tested, and I retested again (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar have been tested & I retested again)
• I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
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  • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
• If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
• If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
• If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
• If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
• If the PR modifies the UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
  • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
  • I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design so the design team can review the changes.
• If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
• For any bug fix or new feature in this PR, I verified that sufficient unit tests are included to prevent regressions in this flow.
• If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.
• I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: HybridApp

Unable to build android

Android: mWeb Chrome

Screen.Recording.2025-06-29.at.2.54.30.AM.mov

iOS: HybridApp

iOS: mWeb Safari

Screen.Recording.2025-06-29.at.2.47.49.AM.mov

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screen.Recording.2025-06-29.at.2.31.15.AM.mov

MacOS: Desktop

Screen.Recording.2025-06-29.at.2.40.31.AM.mov

[shawnborton]

I'm guessing that the underline below the message in composer is fine?

I think ideally we'd have every single link style in the app look the same, but we can follow up and fix that one later.

[shawnborton]

(Unless it's an easy fix, then feel free to squeeze it in here)

[bernhardoj]

I think it shouldn't be hard, but we need to change it (both web and native) in react-native-live-markdown repo.

(web)

Since react-native-live-markdown repo is potentially being used by other peoples, are we fine to do that change?

[shawnborton]

Hmm I feel like we should be able to control the link styles regardless of whether or not this is coming from a different repo. Like we should build this in a way that allows anyone to style the links as they desire, without messing with that repo too much. Why can't we do that here?

[bernhardoj]

We can pass a custom style for link markdown, but the underline style (from the live markdown repo) always takes higher precedence. (code ref)

[shawnborton]

How can we fix that? Again, we should have full control over the styles in the composer box.

[bernhardoj]

For web, we can easily change it so that the text decoration style takes from the custom style (which we will set to 'none') and falls back to the underline.

But for native, it's different. Each new style added needs to be handled. We need to conditionally apply the underline if the text decoration is underline or undefined (if it's undefined, then we fall back to underline).

[allroundexperts]

I think changing it in the library is more complex. @shawnborton Are you fine with handling it in a follow up?

[MonilBhavsar]

We can pass a custom style for link markdown, but the underline style (from the live markdown repo) always takes higher precedence. (code ref)

I think we should update it in such a way that projects using react-native-live-markdown can control styling of the link - whether they want underline or not

[shawnborton]

Are you fine with handling it in a follow up?

Yup, totally down to do it as a follow up. Let's get this one merged in the meantime, thanks!

[MonilBhavsar]

👍

[OSBotify]

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

[github-actions]

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/MonilBhavsar in version: 9.1.77-1 🚀

platform	result
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[github-actions]

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.1.77-2 🚀

platform	result
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🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

[github-actions]

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/MonilBhavsar in version: 9.1.78-0 🚀

platform	result
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🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅

[github-actions]

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 9.1.78-4 🚀

platform	result
🖥 desktop 🖥	success ✅
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	failure ❌