Google Shopping Feed issue -- Double encoding

[ids]

Have a Google shopping feed file where the product description is sourced from a custom field. For example, Data contains ™ I am told this is in error because it's "double" encoding. So my question, How should ™ be represented in the text file so that google feed won't complain about html characters? I don't think it will work, but Should it be & # 153; without spaces, or directly in UTF-8; %E2 %84 %A2 ?

Thanks,

Scott

[dcarver]

Are you using the Template Based Feed module to generate this feed? We wouldn't be encoding anything like that by default. I would imagine the ™ is stored that way in the custom field. If Google is complaining about HTML, you should just store the value directly as ™ as long as it won't break anything else. OR you could edit the iterator template of the feed and convert it there if you wanted. You could to see if the value was ™ and if so output ™ directly.

[ids]

No, someone else wrote the template feed file manually, so not the feed module. There was a reason not to, but I don't know what that was, or this is from before the module was available.

So the question then is: when the ™ needs to be written in the custom field, How? Right now I am trying to find out if there is a way to do a glosub when the custom field is read.

Scott

[dcarver]

How is the feed being generated now?

You can't do a glosub directly in the reading of the custom field but you can do it before outputting the custom field value.

[ids]

Yes, trying to glosub after getting the value. Sorry, didn't accurately describe what I was doing.

So the header is written to the file, then that file is appended through a Foreach when the conditions match.

Example attempt:

<mvt:assign name="l.settings:customs:prod_description" value="glosub(g.prod_description, '&trade;', '& #153;' )" />

NOTE: this forum doesn't easily render the actual code correctly -- there's a space...

Thanks,

Scott

[dcarver]

So what is happening now exactly? Google is still complaining? Can you not just pass '™' as the replacement character?

[ids]

In the raw text file, the character exists as & trade ; or & # 153 ; That is how it loads in the text file, as text. When the text file or the variable renders to the browser, it's the TM symbol.

[dcarver]

Sorry if I'm still confused but would this / does this not work?

<mvt:assign name="l.settings:customs:prod_description" value="glosub(g.prod_description, '&trade;', '™™<tm_symbol_here>' )" />

The forum won't show this symbol ™ in that code snippet.

[ids]

Can you not just pass '™' as the replacement character?

This is exactly what I am trying to find out how to do.

This is control character keystroke stuff. How do I do that with a glosub or other method in a template?

Scott

[ids]

OK, between your answers and mine...I need to figure out the keys/strokes I need to use.

[dcarver]

I just wrote this code in a template and it worked for me

<mvt:eval expr="glosub( '&trade;', '&trade;', '<trademark_symbol_here>')" />

This output to the screen <actual trademark symbol>

[dcarver]

OK, between your answers and mine...I need to figure out the keys/strokes I need to use.

Are you trying to hit the ALT / CTRL key and then some random numbers so your keyboard generates that character for you?

[ids]

This is so stupid I don't remember how to do this.

Yes, trying to use CTRL-ALT-T.

no results.

Scott

[dcarver]

The unicode character is U+2122. On my Mac keyboard if I hold down the Option key and then press 2122 it outputs the trademark symbol for me. You should be able to do something similar on your Mac / Windows machine. Can you not just copy the symbol to your clipboard and paste it?

[ids]

Can you not just copy the symbol to your clipboard and paste it?

Huh? Why would I want it to be that simple?

I'll see if that is all it takes for this when the store own submits the feed.

Thanks.

Scott