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Topic: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags? (Read 3249 times) previous topic - next topic
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Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Does anyone know why EAC converts the quote character (") to a single quote (') in FLAC tags?

As far as I can tell, all of the other character substitutions are made in filenames, but not in tags.

I found this original forum post from over 10 years ago, but no one had ever responded to it:
EAC and double quotes in tags...

I'm using Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23 June 2015 with FLAC encoder/decoder version 1.3.1.

Thanks,
Bartier

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #1 –
The " can cause problems in the command-line options.

example:
If %title%=A Hit Record
-T "TITLE=%title%" is read as T "TITLE=A Hit Record"
If %title%=A "Hit" Record
-T "TITLE=%title%" is read as T "TITLE=A "
and Hit" Record" will not be recognized as a valid command-line option.
korth

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #2 –
Thanks, korth.

It sounds like this is intended behaviour for EAC, not a bug that will be fixed in a future release.

Does this mean I need to use a tag editing tool if I want to encode the proper quote character?

Should I even bother or will this cause me problems if I try to convert my FLACs to MP3s later?

Thanks,
Bartier

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #3 –
You shouldn't have problems depending on how you convert FLAC to MP3.

Try MP3 Tag for your tagging needs.  It's free and it'll get the job done.  Works with FLACs, too.

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: korth on
The " can cause problems in the command-line options.
I don't understand the context for your example. Is that (part of) a command that EAC would be running as part of its business, or is it something that a user would be running? If it's the former, can't the double quotes be escaped to keep the intended tag? If it's the latter, shouldn't it be up to a command line user to understand that he needs an escape character?

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding entirely...

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #5 –
Quote from: tppytel on
Quote from: korth on
The " can cause problems in the command-line options.
I don't understand the context for your example. Is that (part of) a command that EAC would be running as part of its business, or is it something that a user would be running? If it's the former, can't the double quotes be escaped to keep the intended tag? If it's the latter, shouldn't it be up to a command line user to understand that he needs an escape character?

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding entirely...

I don't know why anyone would waste their time using a command line for tagging instead of using a GUI interface and this doesn't seem terribly difficult to fix either using a different program.

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #6 –
My example is flawed. I originally showed a single double-quote " but changed the example to show two " " right before posting. That changes what happens. I didn't return in time to edit the post.

If %title%=A 12" Record
-T "TITLE=%title%" is read as T "TITLE=A 12"
and  Record" will not be recognized as a valid command-line option.
If %title%=A "Hit" Record
-T "TITLE=%title%" is read as T "TITLE=A Hit Record"
The command-line syntax doesn't pass that character as text.
Using the command-line outside of EAC an escape (\") would work but with EAC changing the character it won't help here.
I don't know if there are "coding issues" that would prevent the developer from changing this behavior. I've tried to get him to fix the 'default' values for some of the placeholders (%tracknr%=02 is default when using Action>Copy Image & Create CUE Sheet and Tools>Compress WAVs for example) but he said he couldn't change it due to "coding issues". I didn't push for more information.

Quote from: tppytel on
I don't understand the context for your example. Is that (part of) a command that EAC would be running as part of its business, or is it something that a user would be running? If it's the former, can't the double quotes be escaped to keep the intended tag? If it's the latter, shouldn't it be up to a command line user to understand that he needs an escape character?

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding entirely...
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=EAC_Compression_Options
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=EAC_and_FLAC
korth

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Bartier on
Does anyone know why EAC converts the quote character (") to a single quote (') in FLAC tags?
AFAIK, this is part of a feature named "Free choice of replacement characters for filenames" that was introduced in 2010.

I cannot get EAC running here on my working pc, but I'm pretty sure, I saw a settings tab, where I could define which special character should be substituted ...

If you want the look of ", I'd suggest to replace it using two single apostrophes like this: ''

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Bartier on
Does this mean I need to use a tag editing tool if I want to encode the proper quote character?
I recommend using a separate tag editor in general. foobar2000 has a decent one built-in if you use that software for playback, but Mp3tag is the best standalone program I've used.

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Maggi on
I cannot get EAC running here on my working pc, but I'm pretty sure, I saw a settings tab, where I could define which special character should be substituted ...
Yep. It can be found under EAC > EAC Options> Character Replacements.
daefeatures.co.uk
 

Re: Why does EAC convert quotes to single quotes when writing FLAC tags?

Reply #10 –
Quote from: korth on
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=EAC_Compression_Options
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=EAC_and_FLAC
OK, I see where the potential issue is. Still, I'd say that's properly EAC's responsibility to get right. The user can configure the command line options however he likes, but EAC should be smart enough to understand that if there's a double-quote in %title% then it needs to be escaped when used in a command-line context. There is no situation where a quote in the tag data *shouldn't* be escaped, correct?

It's hardly the end of the world, since you're likely to use some other tool to finish tagging anyway, but it seems like EAC could do a better job here.