How do I NOT escape special characters from the {{clipbboard}}?

[wealthychef1]

When I have a path name on the clipboard, all the slashes and spaces get escaped by a backslash like this: \/Users\/rcook\/Library\/Mobile\ Documents\/iCloud\~com\~omnigroup\~OmniGraffle\/Documents\/2021\-2022\ Timelines\.graffle

I am trying to form a URL from this (maybe there is already a plugin for file URLs?) but I can't because of the slashes here, makes it way harder. I just want to put angle brackets around the pathname and it would work with spaces.
So how do I NOT escape special chars? Thanks!

[wealthychef1]

I have learned that I can achieve what I want with option-click-drag of a file to a document. However, I have hit this problem before in other contexts, so I'd still like to know how to escape the escapes! Thanks

[Taitava]

Hi! If you really want to use unescaped values, add an exclamation mark ! to the variable: {{!clipboard}}. In case you want to read more about escaping, there's a small documentation page for it: https://publish.obsidian.md/shellcommands/Variables/Escaping+special+characters+in+variable+values

May I ask about what is the precise shell command where the escaping causes problems? I'm interested to learn use-cases that are new to me. Usually I'd say that unescaped values can be dangerous to use, but I don't know the situation here. The backslashes should be removed by the shell, at least if you don't wrap the {{clipboard}} variable in quotes (when your shell is Bash/Dash/Zsh. For PowerShell, variables can be wrapped in quotes, too). But maybe I could see the situation better if I'd see the whole command. 🙂

There's still one problem left: Currently the Shell commands plugin does not offer a way to do URL encoding, so some special characters (such as spaces) in the clipboard content may break your URL. I'm trying to come up with some kind of url encoding plan here. Maybe you can use some shell command to do URL encoding.

[wealthychef1]

I'm trying to come up with some kind of url encoding plan here. Maybe you can use some shell command to do URL encoding.

I was just going to go with [LINK LABEL](<file:///path/to/file/including spaces/ and ~wierd stuff>). The <> syntax protects all the junk in there.

[Taitava]

The <> syntax protects all the junk in there.

Sorry, I did not understand this part 🙂. How does it protect something?

[wealthychef1]

In Obsidian, you can put <> around your URL and it does not need % character escape sequences.

[Taitava]

That's nice to know! 😎

[wealthychef1]

Thanks for the trick! I will certainly use ! for my little hacks going forward. And the documentation link is very helpful.

As for a use case, when I use the command echo -n {{clipboard}} it results in something like \/Users\/rcook\/Library\/Mobile\ Documents\/iCloud\~com\~omnigroup\~OmniGraffle\/Documents\/2021\-2022\ Timelines\.graffle. I don't need that aggressive level of escapes. What's wrong with forward slashes and tildes and spaces? Maybe in the world of markdown those are sketchy chars? Anyhow, for my use, I want no escapes. It just adds confusing to have another hand in there modifying things.

[Taitava]

That is a good point, but maybe I WANT the shell to help me, like to expand a tilde or do other tricky things. The good news is that with the ! escape, users can make the choice for themselves.

True, there might be cases when the special characters are wanted to be used without escaping 👍.

Escaping stuff in the shell is a lifelong adventure it seems. :-)

It certainly is! 😎

If I leave it outside the quotes, I am exposed to the problem of having to trust your quoting rules implicitly. If I don't, I understand what's up.

I can very well understand this point. My escaping mechanism cannot be quaranteed to work 100% correct in every situation. I just cannot claim to have all the needed expertise.
I guess this is a choice every user must make themselves: either trust the self-made escaping system, or trust the input values do not contain single quotes.

Yes and the more clearly your rules for what gets escaped are spelled out in the docs, the more easily users can make informed choices!

I'd like to receive feedback about this documentation page regarding escaping: https://publish.obsidian.md/shellcommands/Variables/Escaping+special+characters+in+variable+values

A quote from the documentation page that contains the core definition of characters that SC escapes in variable values:

"A character is considered special by SC if it's not an alphabet in ASCII character set a-z/A-Z, not a number 0-9, and not an underscore _."

I would be glad to hear about any improvements you (or others) might have in your mind regarding the page! 🙂

This is a really valuable discussion. 🙂👍

Totally agree! Now this is out there for others to see as well. I feel well-armed to use your tool better.

Nice to hear! 🌞 Yea, this is valuable for others, too.

[wealthychef1]

I'd like to receive feedback about this documentation page regarding escaping: https://publish.obsidian.md/shellcommands/Variables/Escaping+special+characters+in+variable+values

I would just say that you should make it more obvious how to use the ! method to escape your escapes, instead of trying to persuade users that it's the wrong choice for them. It's almost like you are trying to hide it. Don't be afraid users will disagree with your opinion, let them figure out which they prefer. If you're lucky, EVERYONE will use ! and you won't have to worry about escapes...

In my view for my case as an experienced unix user, you should recommend the user of ! because it allows a knowledgable user to do things they way they normally do things.

Cheers and thanks for all the fish!

[Taitava]

I would just say that you should make it more obvious how to use the ! method to escape your escapes

Good feedback! 👍 I added a tip about disabling escaping to the top of the page. Any comments? 🙂

Don't be afraid users will disagree with your opinion, let them figure out which they prefer.

I'm not afraid that users might disagree, I just want to guarantee that users know what they are doing before disabling the escaping 🙂. You certainly seem to know what you are doing and what you want.

I prefer the following: Users might notice excess \ or ` escaping characters and then they go read the documentation or come here to find out how to prevent it. Sure, it's some work for the user and a bit annoying perhaps, but I like it more than seeing users reporting how their variable values accidentally overwrote important files or executed wrong shell commands.

If you're lucky, EVERYONE will use ! and you won't have to worry about escapes...

Then I would worry about everyone disabling the escaping 🙂. But if they do, then they do - at least they are warned. There are valid use cases for unescaped values, I'm not denying that, all I want is users to know when they are safe to use and when not.

Cheers and thanks for all the fish!

Thank you! 🌞

[wealthychef1]

Thanks again. Your addition to the documentation is perfect for my mind. To be honest, it's just hard to use Obsidian still, as powerful as it is, most users would not spend the time I have trying to understand it. Shell Commands is a huge win for someone like me obviously. You have done a great job in providing this plugin. I can't stress how useful I find it. Thank you!

[Taitava]

Thank you a lot for your kind feedback! 😃

[Taitava]

I moved this conversation from Ideas to Q & A.