Thank you for the pointers on this, Ihor.  That led me down a much better path that worked.  In the end, I just had the export function for my specific link type and had to add a before advice on org-element--generate-copy-script since it lacks a hook at its end.  I would suggest adding one as this seems to be the place if you want to change the markup in the copied buffer before Org formats it for export.  Is there any other existing hook that runs before formatting in this copied buffer?

Thanks. -- Robert

On Mon, Jul 22, 2024 at 9:53 AM Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@posteo.net> wrote:
Robert Weiner <rsw@gnu.org> writes:

> I could really use some help from Org export experts.  I have
> been trying to tweak export link parsing to do what I want
> without any success.  Here is a summary of the issues and related
> questions I have.

You generally should not need to modify the _parser_.
What you may need to do is modifying the exporter.
For example, by defining a custom export backend. Or export filter.
See "13.17 Advanced Export Configuration" section of the manual.

> 3. When exporting from an Org file and I have defined the html export
>    syntax for mytype: to html, I want this:
>      [[mytype:MyLink]]
>      [[Testing]]
>    to be converted into this:
>      <a href="MyLink.html">MyLink</a>
>      <a href="Testing.html">Testing</a>
>    but instead Org export produces:
>      <a href="<a href="MyLink.html">MyLink</a>.html">mytype:<a
> href="Testing.html">Testing</a></a>

This has nothing to do with Org mode exporter. What is produced for
custom link types totally depends on the custom :export function you
defined for your link.

> 2. How can I get the exporter to run in my current Emacs process and
>    spawn a new Emacs so that I can easily debug in-process?  I think I have
>    turned off the async export option but it still runs async and I can't
>    step through the exporter functions.

Async is disabled by default. So, something in your config enables
it.

--
Ihor Radchenko // yantar92,
Org mode contributor,
Learn more about Org mode at <https://orgmode.org/>.
Support Org development at <https://liberapay.com/org-mode>,
or support my work at <https://liberapay.com/yantar92>