[IPython-user] more information about Windows directory names with spaces

[Jerry McRae]

It isn't the space that is the problem.  It is the ampersand (&).

I wrote:

> > One [possibly] new bug:  The feature that updates the window's caption
> > it great!  However, on Windows, if I am in a folder that contains
> > directory names with spaces in them (like "Richard Thompson - [1991]
> > Rumor and Sigh"), then pressing the TAB changes all the spaces to
> > backslash-space, INSTEAD of surrounding with quotes.  (this is as it
> > was), HOWEVER, if I accidentally hit <enter> instead of <esc>, it
> > displays a couple errors, then EVERY TIME I use the CD command after
> > this I get the error:
> >
> > UnboundLocalError: local variable 'ret' referenced before assignment
> >
> > at line 33 in platutils_win32.py


I have been doing some CD ripping lately, and checking the files from within
iPy.  The file and folder names generated are real long and have spaces in
them.  I had other folder names that were similar, namely Flim & the BB's.

Apparently cmd.exe treats a & as a command separator.  (I thought that was
suppose to be &&).  Anyway, folder/files expansion using back-slash space
DOES work correctly IF there is no & in the name.  This has caused problem
in trying to process these ripped files, since the BATCH files I have use
the "cd" command, which doesn't need quotes in any other case, and doesn't
work at all with folders with a "&" in the name.

I solved the problem by renaming any album to change the "&" to "and".  Just
don't put a "&" in your file or folder names.

FYI:  if you DO have a & in your folder name, this is what will happen:

   1. c:\> cd dum&er
      1. attempts to cd to "dum"
      2. attempts to run program "er"
   2. c:\> cd "dum&er"
      1. changes to "dum&er" directory

and in Ipython (at least 0.8.1, probably all):

   1. In [1]: cd dum&er
   2. In [1]: cd "dum&er"
      1. both versions will correctly change to directory "dum&er"
      2. both versions will attempt to run the program 'er'
      3. until a patch, your caption title (version 0.8+) will be
      screwed up
   3. In [1]: !cd "dum&er" & cd
      1. will change to directory dum&er
      2. will execute the second command (cd), which shows it did
      change directories
      3. will return you to where you were, because you only changed
      the directory in a shell.
         1. There are obscure uses for the &.  Iet's say you wanted
         to run a command somewhere else, then return to where you
are.  Instead of
         pushd dirName, then yourCommand1, then yourCommand2, then
popd, you could
         just !cd dirName & yourCommand1 & yourCommand2.

(No you are not allowed to laugh at use for not using a "real operating
system") ;)

Once Ville fixes the line that updates the caption from the current
directory, I think this will be a very minor issue.

TGFI*
--Jerry

*Thank God For IPython
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