Variable names with space

[gebes]

Hello!

Up until version 1.2.5, it was possible to use variable names with spaces in between, like the following, to make templates more readable for users:

{{Customer Firstname}} {{Customer Surname}}

Could you please bring this feature back? Every version after 1.2.5 no longer supports it.

[bobiverse]

Oh! I didn't notice this. Thanks for your comment. I think this happened after variable triggers were introduced which use space and color as separator.

[gebes]

Hey! Any chance you can fix this?

[bobiverse]

It's a bit tricky.

Don't you have control over the incoming data?
For example:

1. Replace data in golang code incoming data key Customer Firstname --> CustomerFirstname.
2. (Also before rendering, you can replace data key strings.Replace(..) as you wish)
3. And then replace in .docx file {{Customer Firstname}} --> {{Customer.Firstname}} (or {{CustomerFirstname}})

If you chose to use struct option then document would contain variable like this {{Customer.Firstname}} (almost readable as space :D)

[gebes]

I could, but it will require migrating a lot of documents and communicating with people who are using those. This way, it's more readable to the average user, who is already struggling with using Word documents at all.

It would be great, but if not, I will have to stick to the older versions. Or maybe I can fix it? I’m not familiar with the code, though.

[bobiverse]

who is already struggling with using Word documents at all.
:D ok, i know this struggle.

I have a few ideas. Let me try them out, and I'll get back to you next week. 🏃

[bobiverse]

Hi @gebes and sorry!
I was on a roll to fix this issue, and after running tests it became clear that it's not possible to use space-separated param keys.

The problem is that there are now various possible param keys with flavors:

• {{SimpleKey}}
• {{My.Struck.Key}}
• {{ListVariables / }} ❗ which is blocker for your issue fix
• {{KeysWithTriggers :empty:remove:row}}
• {{Mega.Complex.With.All - :empty:remove:row}}

❗ Separator feature

Which is necessary for any kind of slices: strings, numbers.

0. {{ListVariables}} – default list

Results in: ABCDE

1. {{ListVariables /}} – no space

Results in: A/B/C/D/E

2. {{ListVariables / }} – suffix space is part of the separator now

Results in: A /B /C /D /E

No solution

Because a space can be part of the separator, it becomes clear that param keys must not contain a space.

🙇

[gebes]

Oh, still, thanks for doing this, @bobiverse! I really appreciate it.

1. {{ListVariables /}} – no space
   Results in: A/B/C/D/E

2. {{ListVariables / }} – suffix space is part of the separator now
   Results in: A /B /C /D /E

Wouldn't it make more sense, to have {{ListVariables "/ "}}? Makes it clearer while reading

Could you create more detailed documentation on all of those features? It would be really helpful

Also, as an idea: is there a way to include if clauses? For example, if I want to show a paragraph only when a certain condition is met?

[bobiverse]

It all started with a single format, {{SingleKey}}. I agree that features were added incrementally along the way, and so far, there hasn’t been a quility refactoring.

Now I might add "/ " to the format, but for compatibility reasons, I’ve left some formats it as is. 🤷

There were a few suggestions to add conditional blocks, but I’m not a fan. I’d rather keep the logic outside the template and use simple triggers like {{MyKey :empty:remove:row}} (DOCUMENTATION!!!). Honestly, I'm waiting for someone else to implement it. Maybe after that, I'll warm up to the idea.

---

Thanks for the feedback—it's motivating me to:

• Write proper documentation.
• Rethink the placeholder format.

[bobiverse]

💡 Quick Idea:

In your template, do you only use a simple key format such as:

• {{Simple}}
• {{Customer Firstname}}

(without the separators and triggers I mentioned before)?

I could add something like template.UseBasicMode(), which would use placeholders exactly as they appear:

• {{Simple}}
• {{Customer.Firstname}}
• {{Customer Firstname}} (would be replaced too)
• {{Footer note on every page}} (would also be replaced)
  This would avoid more complex parameter matching.

[gebes]

That would work well! However, to make it a bit more well-rounded, I think creating a template.SetArgDelimiter, which defaults to a whitespace, would be a cleaner solution. For instance, I would set the delimiter to "," or something similar.

[bobiverse]

ah! Like {{Customer Name,/ ,:empty:bla:bla}} ?

[gebes]

Exactly

[gebes]

While playing around with the new version, I noticed an issue with tables like these:

Name;Age
{{E27.Firstname}} {{E27.Surname}};{{E27.Age}}{{E27.Birthday}}

or

{{E.Firstname}} {{E.Surname}};{{E.Age}}{{E.Birthday}}

These tables worked well in the previous version 1.2.5, but in 1.4.4 they don't work at all somehow? Did something change?

Additionally, I have a feature idea: E is the array of objects, and E27 means the table should have at least 27 lines. If I only have 10 rows, it would add 17 empty rows. This is currently solved by adding 50 E arrays (from 1 to 50).

[bobiverse]

See: https://github.com/bobiverse/docxplate/tree/saving-private-gebes
I got an idea and looks good. Current tests passes, but noticed other issues.

Could you test from that branch?

[gebes]

saving-private-gebes

I see what you did there :D

I'll check it out now

[gebes]

It is working partially.
Can you add me on Discord @gebes?

[bobiverse]

It looks it's fixed "variables with spaces", but other issues let's move to new issues.

I wanted to fix at once, but there is such a mess. I'll better rewrite whole params replace logic 🤷