Unicode Variant selectors on some emojis work, while others are parsed incorrectly

[techy-robot]

Please check that this issue hasn't been reported before.

• I searched previous Bug Reports didn't find any similar reports.

Steps to reproduce

1. Launch an Obsidian vault the latest Tasks 7.13.0 plugin
2. Create a task by manually entering scheduled or due date emojis (hour glass not done, or calendar) using an emoji picker, not the prompt
3. Create a tasks query that uses the emojis, e.g.

not done
has scheduled date
sort by description
group by scheduled

Result:
Recognized: - [ ] test ⏳ 2024-11-18, Not recognized: - [ ] test ⏳️ 2024-11-18

Expected Behavior

Tasks should ignore emoji variants like what is described in #2273, except on all emojis. Emoji variants should have no effect on its parsing behavior.

Current behaviour

Currently, Tasks ignores the variant selector on the priority arrows (a previous issue), however it does not ignore it on other emojis like Scheduled. The solution appears to be focused on a specific emoji case, when really it can show up in all emojis. I was initially confused as to why tasks wouldn't show up using a filter, until I played around with different methods of getting the emoji and realized that it must be a variant selector. Sure enough, I was getting \ufe0f\u23f3 on the hour glass emoji that didn't work, and just \ufe0f on the one that did.

Which Operating Systems are you using?

• Android
• iPhone/iPad
• Linux
• macOS
• Windows

Obsidian Version

1.6.7

Tasks Plugin Version

7.13.0

Checks

• I have tried it with all other plugins disabled and the error still occurs

Possible solution

Implement a solution similar to #2695, except ignoring variant selectors in all emojis.

[claremacrae]

Thanks for logging the issue.

Do you know how the variant selectors got added in the first place?

[claremacrae]

using an emoji picker, not the prompt

Can you please be more specific than that. What exact emoji picker did you use?

[claremacrae]

Why would an emoji picker need to add a variant? What is going on here?

[techy-robot]

I don't know exactly why the emoji picker added a variant selector on, but over half the emojis I regularly use multiple several Unicode characters instead of one. I'm guessing it's to ensure that the emojis are displayed in color instead of text mode in some applications. Emote is the picker I'm using to enter emojis.

[Cito]

I was getting \ufe0f\u23f3 on the hour glass emoji that didn't work, and just \ufe0f on the one that did.

Do you mean \u23f3\ufe0f on the one that didn't work and just \u23f3 on the one that did? That would make more sense. \ufeof is the variant selector VS16, and it should come after the actual character.

We had a similar issue #2273 which was solved, but it looks like the fix covered only the priority selector, not the other icons.

[claremacrae]

Hi @techy-robot and @Cito,

Thank you both for pointing out the link to #2273.
With that PR I solved the single case, as there was no evidence of any systems adding variant selectors to any other emojis.

Obviously this issue changes that, and a more general solution is now required.

I've added the priority: high label, and will look at it when I have a block of free time. No ETAs.

[claremacrae]

Reopening.
I didn't intend the above preparatory PR to mark this as closed...

[claremacrae]

Reopening. I didn't intend the above preparatory PR to mark this as closed...

This time it is really fixed - and with some earlier refactorings, the code is less repetitive and easier to maintain too.

Thanks again for reporting it, @techy-robot.

I have to write some docs for a new feature before I can do the next release. So I'll leave a note here when the release is done...

[claremacrae]

Just released in Tasks 7.14.0 - Enjoy!