[square brackets] in keywords

[grafton84]

I have a number of special purpose keywords enclosed in [square brackets]. These read and write with no difficulty in iMatch and Lightroom. However, they don't work in category formulas. I get a 15010 error code (Category not found). I tried escaping the brackets like /[keyword/], but that didn't work either. Short of changing all of these, any suggestions?

Rob...

[Mario]

Remember to enclose category names in " => "[My Category]"

[grafton84]

Remember to enclose category names in " => "[My Category]"

I did that. The following examples fail:

"@Keywords|Years|[unknown]"
"[unknown]"

Rob...

[JohnZeman]

It seems to work ok here with the following test example.

Code Select Expand

"@Folder[file://D:/Mine/Photos/Years/2020-2029/2020/]" AND "Workflow|[My temp Category]"

[grafton84]

Thanks @JohnZeman! Hmm, I wonder what's different in my setup.

Rob...

[Mario]

Give us the exact category name and your exact formula.

Note: Using [ ] in your keywords (or any other 'special' characters) may cause trouble downstream, when exchanging data with other applications.
Because some applications use [] to indicate group keywords or associate other meanings with [] or {} or ().

[grafton84]

Give us the exact category name and your exact formula.

It was in my earlier post. Here's the exact formula (though I tried many different variations, all failed).

"@Keywords|Activity|Railfan" AND "@Keywords|Years|[unknown]"

Also attached screenshot of the keyword in the list.

Rob...

[Mario]

Category formulas use [] for specific purposes, for indexing and more. For example: @Category[Index] or @FileRegExp[[a-z]*] and similar formulas.
Your keywords with [] breaks that logic. As I said, using [] or () or any other 'special' characters in your keywords may be a bad idea.
I may look into for a future version. Not sure, though. You are the first ever user running into this, so it seems that this is a not a problem for most. And it could complicate things alot for the IMatch formula parser.

[grafton84]

OK, thanks. I'll try some other workarounds. It is curious that it works for others, though.

Rob...

[Mario]

It is curious that it works for others, though.
Rob...

Not really. It's wise to use only standard characters (if possible, from the ASCII set) in keywords. KISS.
Using special characters, symbols etc. in keywords is often a real nuisance when you have to exchange your data with other software, services or you work with clients or on multiple platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux).

For example, using common characters like ÄÖÜ, Á, á can break keyword interoperability, especially if you have to support legacy IPTC in typical image agency, web service or institutional contexts. Using () or {} or [] in keywords is begging for problems when it comes to exchanging data between applications.