Insert 'illegal' characters into file name for print label?

Question

Hey all (Happy New Year)
I actually see some people here who helped me with this originally so many years ago (hi 'x'). Any way, I'm using this .js file to annotate aerial imagery prior to printing, and I know just enough about scripting to make changes to the basic layout as needs arise - until now. A new rather anal retentive mgr doesn't like substitutions I've made for a few 'illegal' characters that windows doesn't allow in file names. For example, the file name used for the annotation is:
001    0003    1in = 660ft    CFL 154_074    01-01014   503-013.tif
But Mr. mgr doesn't like the in, the ft and the use of the _ instead of a period (.) so what I need is a modification that goes something like (and note I DO NOT CODE, so stop laughing) -
"look for in and replace with ", look for ft and replace with ' and look for _ and replace with , " so the final annotation written to the image is:
001    0003    1" = 660'    CFL 154.074    01-01014   503-013.tif
My current .js is below, I'd really appreciate any assistance. Thanks! TLL
// CREATE NEW CANVAS W/SPACE ON TOP
var deltaW = 0; // add 'N' pixels to the width
var deltaH = 150; // add 'N' pixels to the height
var anchor = AnchorPosition.BOTTOMCENTER; // anchor point for canvas resize
// SET FONT TYPE AND SIZE - use GetFontName.js to get exact name
var fontName = "ArialMT";
var fontSize = 18;
   // Check if a document is open
   if ( documents.length > 0 ) {
   var originalRulerUnits = preferences.rulerUnits;
   preferences.rulerUnits = Units.PIXELS;
   try {
     var docRef = activeDocument;
     docRef.resizeCanvas(docRef.width + deltaW, docRef.height + deltaH, anchor);
   // Create a text layer at the front
   var myLayerRef = docRef.artLayers.add();
   myLayerRef.kind = LayerKind.TEXT;
   myLayerRef.name = "Filename";
   var myTextRef = myLayerRef.textItem;
   // ADD FILE EXTENSION, change the n to y below
   var ShowExtension = "n";
   myTextRef.size = fontSize;
   myTextRef.font = fontName;
// SET TEXT COLOR in RGB values
var newColor = new SolidColor();
    newColor.rgb.red = 0;
    newColor.rgb.green = 0;
    newColor.rgb.blue = 0;
    myTextRef.color = newColor;
// SET POSITION OF TEXT - PIXELS from left first, then from top.
myTextRef.position = new Array( 30,110);
    // Set the Blend Mode of the Text Layer. The name must be in CAPITALS
    // ie change NORMAL to DIFFERENCE.
    myLayerRef.blendMode = BlendMode.NORMAL;
    // select opacity in percentage
    myLayerRef.opacity = 100;
    // The following code strips the extension and writes tha text layer.
    // fname = file name only
    //use extension if set
    if ( ShowExtension == "y" ) {
       fname = docRef.name;
     } else {
       di=(docRef.name).indexOf(".");
       fname = (docRef.name).substr(0, di);
     myTextRef.contents = fname;
     // docRef.flatten("n");
   } catch( e ) {
     // An error occurred. Restore ruler units, then propagate the error back
     // to the user
     preferences.rulerUnits = originalRulerUnits;
     throw e;
   // Everything went Ok. Restore ruler units
   preferences.rulerUnits = originalRulerUnits;
}  else {
   alert( "You must have a document open to add the filename!" );

Answer 1

I did some quick testing and here is what I have seen.
I went into a cygwin shell and successfully did this:
$ touch t\"est\'t.jpg
$ ls t\"*
t"est't.jpg
This means that the underlying file system (NTFS) is able to correctly encode both the ' and " characters, at least as far as cygwin is concerned.
However, from the Windows command line and Explorer point of view, the ' is OK but the " is not. The characters /\"*?<>:| can't be used in file names in Win. This means you can get the ' and . characters working but not the " character.
From the js side, the code would look like:
var x = "001    0003    1in = 660ft    CFL 154_074    01-01014   503-013.tif";
var str = x.replace(/in/, '"').replace(/ft/, "'").replace(/_/, '.');
alert(str);
Which displays
001    0003    1" = 660'    CFL 154.074    01-01014   503-013.tif
The string stuff is easy, but while you can save a file with ' and . you can't use " via js. You can't even do it using the PS UI manually.
I've tested and verified this. Let Mr. Mgr know that it is not possible to completely comply with his requests. Unless, of course, you upgrade to OS X : )
-X