ampersand (&) in tags

Alex II · 01-15-2016, 02:24 PM

Hello there,

Is there any way to be able to use the ampersand (&) within custom tags? I created a tag file for genres, but if I use a tag like: Drama & Plays it automatically gets split, but I'd like the tag to be "Drama & Plays".

chaley · 01-15-2016, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex II

Hello there,

Is there any way to be able to use the ampersand (&) within custom tags? I created a tag file for genres, but if I use a tag like: Drama & Plays it automatically gets split, but I'd like the tag to be "Drama & Plays".

You must have checked the "Contains names" box in the custom column definition. If the box is checked then the separator is an ampersand. If the box is not checked then the separator is a comma.

Alex II · 01-15-2016, 03:37 PM

Hi Chaley,

I just checked, but it wasn't checked. I tried to check and uncheck it but that didn't help :-/

edit: I've checked what happens if I use a comma it won't separate the tag.

Seems like it might be a bug?

I am using v 2.49 on Mac

chaley · 01-15-2016, 04:33 PM

I doubt that there is a bug given that it works for so many people, has worked for so many years, and currently works for me in both an existing column and a newly-created column.

The only way I can resolve the mystery is to see the metadata.db file from your calibre library. You can email it to me at calibre_probs123 at charles dot haleys dot org. I need (and want) only the metadata.db file. I do not want the books from your library.

chaley · 01-16-2016, 03:44 AM

I got the metadata.db you sent, and the mystery is not solved. It works perfectly for me and the db has all the info in the form I would expect. See the attached screenshots. The first is the library view where you can see the values in the tag browser. The second is the edit metadata window showing the values as they were entered. The third is the column definition.

I note that the genre column is empty; no books have anything in it. Is that the column you are changing when you have the problem? In any event, I couldn't find an example of the problem in that db.

Alex II · 01-16-2016, 05:28 AM

Aha!

I think I found the issue...

If I enter "Foo & Bar, Foobar" in the field directly in the custom metadata it works just fine and returns the tags:
Foo & Bar
Foobar

Things turn weird in the tag editor...
If I add the tag "Foo & Bar, Foobar" and hit enter, I get 3 tags:
Foo
Bar
Foobar

If I add the same tag "Foo & Bar, Foobar" and hit the plus sign I get 2 tags:
Foo
Bar, Foobar

chaley · 01-16-2016, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex II

Aha!

I think I found the issue...

...

Things turn weird in the tag editor...
If I add the tag "Foo & Bar, Foobar" and hit enter, I get 3 tags:
Foo
Bar
Foobar

And mystery solved. There is indeed a bug in the tag editor that raises its head when it is applied to custom columns. The bug is triggered only if:

The column does not have is_names checked, and
A hand-entered tag contains an & or if the user hand-enters more than one tag at a time.

I have submitted a fix to Kovid that should be included in the next release.

01-15-2016, 02:24 PM	#1
Alex II Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2016 Device: iPad	ampersand (&) in tags Hello there, Is there any way to be able to use the ampersand (&) within custom tags? I created a tag file for genres, but if I use a tag like: Drama & Plays it automatically gets split, but I'd like the tag to be "Drama & Plays".

01-15-2016, 03:37 PM	#3
Alex II Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2016 Device: iPad	Hi Chaley, I just checked, but it wasn't checked. I tried to check and uncheck it but that didn't help :-/ edit: I've checked what happens if I use a comma it won't separate the tag. Seems like it might be a bug? I am using v 2.49 on Mac Last edited by Alex II; 01-15-2016 at 04:01 PM.

01-16-2016, 03:44 AM	#5
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,443 Karma: 8012886 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	I got the metadata.db you sent, and the mystery is not solved. It works perfectly for me and the db has all the info in the form I would expect. See the attached screenshots. The first is the library view where you can see the values in the tag browser. The second is the edit metadata window showing the values as they were entered. The third is the column definition. I note that the genre column is empty; no books have anything in it. Is that the column you are changing when you have the problem? In any event, I couldn't find an example of the problem in that db. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by chaley; 01-16-2016 at 03:47 AM.

01-16-2016, 05:28 AM	#6
Alex II Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2016 Device: iPad	Aha! I think I found the issue... If I enter "Foo & Bar, Foobar" in the field directly in the custom metadata it works just fine and returns the tags: Foo & Bar Foobar Things turn weird in the tag editor... If I add the tag "Foo & Bar, Foobar" and hit enter, I get 3 tags: Foo Bar Foobar If I add the same tag "Foo & Bar, Foobar" and hit the plus sign I get 2 tags: Foo Bar, Foobar Attached Thumbnails

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01-15-2016, 04:33 PM	#4
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,443 Karma: 8012886 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	I doubt that there is a bug given that it works for so many people, has worked for so many years, and currently works for me in both an existing column and a newly-created column. The only way I can resolve the mystery is to see the metadata.db file from your calibre library. You can email it to me at calibre_probs123 at charles dot haleys dot org. I need (and want) only the metadata.db file. I do not want the books from your library.

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