Problem solved. By checking the returned value immediately after the startUpload() call instead of first putting the value in a text field and then checking it… the returned value is the full wix static url. Here is the one line of code I added: console.log("url: " + uploadedFile.url);
$w( “#btnUpload” ).startUpload()
.then( (uploadedFile) => {
console.log( "url: " + uploadedFile.url);
$w( “#textStatus” ).text = “Upload successful” ;
$w( “#inputURL” ).value = uploadedFile.url;
let url = $w( “#inputURL” ).value;
console.log( "url: " + url);