SharePoint decodes ampersand character and breaks the link

Question

I am trying to make a link (in SharePoint) to a Power App I created, following this tutorial: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/sharepoint-scenario-build-app

A problem is that the "EDIT LINKS" function (as described in step 7 in the linked page) automatically replaces all ampersands (the & character) with the escape character & in the URL. And this breaks the link to my Power App. I can't find a way to circumvent this. I am convinced someone else must have run into this.

Answer 1

This is very weird looks like a BUG but workaround edit/open below link:

https://.../_layouts/15/quiklnch.aspx

or

1. Go to Site settings
2. Click 'Quick Launch'
3. Change the desire link and hit 'ok'

Answer 2

Do you mean the ampersands in the site url?

You cannot use the following characters anywhere in a site name, in a subsite name, or in a site or Active Directory group name:

• Tilde (~)
• Number sign (#)
• Percent (%)
• Ampersand (&)
• Asterisk (*)
• Braces ({ })
• Backslash () (etc....)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/905231/information-about-the-characters-that-you-cannot-use-in-site-names-fol