Special chars are not fully replaced

[sergeevabc]

OS and browser

• Windows 7 SP1 x64, Edge 109.0.1518.115 x64

SingleFile

• Version: 1.22.79
• Filename template: {year-locale}-{month-locale}-{day-locale} %if-empty<{page-title}|No title>.{filename-extension}
• other-singlefile-settings.zip (JSON exported)

URL in title (for KeePass)

• Version: 4.0.0
• Tab title template: {title} - {protocol}://{hostname}/

Example URL

• https://www.wired.com/2015/08/the-end-of-the-internet-dream/
• Tab title is The End of the Internet Dream? | WIRED - https://www.wired.com/
• SingleFile saves as 2025-03-06 The End of the Internet Dream？ ｜ WIRED - https：_www.wired.com_.html

Complaint
Special chars such as ?, |, : are still there, expected to be replaced with safe _ char.

[gildas-lormeau]

This is done on purpose. However you can change the replacement of special characters by clicking on the second button in the title of the options page, see below.

This will open the JSON editor. Then, you have to replace:

"filenameReplacedCharacters": [
    "~",
    "+",
    "?",
    "%",
    "*",
    ":",
    "|",
    "\"",
    "<",
    ">",
    "\\\\",
    "\u0000-\u001f",
    "�"
],

with:

"filenameReplacedCharacters": [
    "~",
    "+",
    "%",
    "*",
    "\"",
    "<",
    ">",
    "\\\\",
    "\u0000-\u001f",
    "�"
],

And replace:

"filenameReplacementCharacters": [
    "～",
    "＋",
    "？",
    "％",
    "＊",
    "：",
    "｜",
    "＂",
    "＜",
    "＞",
    "＼"
],

with:

"filenameReplacementCharacters": [
    "～",
    "＋",
    "％",
    "＊",
    "＂",
    "＜",
    "＞",
    "＼"
],

Then, click on the "Save" button.

[gildas-lormeau]

That's because there's no graphical interface at the moment. If a lot of people complain about that, I'll implement one. FYI, these hidden options are briefly described here: https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/SingleFile/wiki/Hidden-options

[sergeevabc]

Major question, dear Gildas, is why SingleFile uses forbidden chars when saving files in the first place? I believe it is better to be an option for hardcore users, not a default out-of-the-box behaviour, because forbidden chars are called so for a reason — they promise trouble, especially on Windows OS.

[gildas-lormeau]

It does not use forbidden chars, it actually replaces them with "full-width symbols", see #1614, and filenameReplacementCharacters in the options data.

[sergeevabc]

What a bizarre feature request… came from… a user from another dimension Korea.
And you made that not an option, but a default out-the-box behavior, seriously? Aggrrhh.

[gildas-lormeau]

Well, I think it's a good idea, but it's also quite subjective. As I was saying, if there are too many complaints, I'll propose a solution. It could be yet another checkbox in the options page if it's going to be simple.

Note that these options give you a certain flexibility, for example you can use - or or . instead of _ for forbidden characters (or not), on a case-by-case basis.