airblade / paper_trail

Track changes to your models' data. Good for auditing or versioning. — Read more

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2.

3 votes

Support relations
8 comments Created 4 months ago by jalberto

Title

Body
Will be nice if paperclip support model relations
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Will be nice if paperclip support model relations

Comments

airblade Fri Sep 04 01:33:44 -0700 2009 | link

I agree. It's non-trivial though. If you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

Comment
I agree. It's non-trivial though. If you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them.
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jalberto Fri Sep 04 02:55:39 -0700 2009 | link

has_versioning(http://github.com/kkurach/has_versioning/tree/master) support it, maybe it can inspire you :)

Comment
has_versioning(http://github.com/kkurach/has_versioning/tree/master) support it, maybe it can inspire you :)
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airblade Fri Sep 04 03:54:45 -0700 2009 | link

Thanks for the reference. I'll have a look.

Comment
Thanks for the reference. I'll have a look.
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KevinTriplett Fri Sep 04 08:29:00 -0700 2009 | link

+1 for model relations and I would be happy to collaborate on this feature.

Comment
+1 for model relations and I would be happy to collaborate on this feature.
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airblade Fri Sep 04 08:43:37 -0700 2009 | link

That's an interesting blog post you wrote, Kevin, on auditing and versioning. Nice to see PaperTrail making the cut ;)

I'll have a think about model relations and give you a shout if need be.

Comment
That's an interesting blog post you wrote, Kevin, on auditing and versioning. Nice to see PaperTrail making the cut ;) I'll have a think about model relations and give you a shout if need be.
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airblade Wed Oct 28 04:17:11 -0700 2009 | link

If anyone wants to send in patches, that would be great. I can't figure out how to do this in the limited time I have available.

Comment
If anyone wants to send in patches, that would be great. I can't figure out how to do this in the limited time I have available.
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KevinTriplett Wed Oct 28 12:38:35 -0700 2009 | link

I may come up with something eventually but I'm in the same boat. :) it may be best to handle this on the application domain since the business rules dictate which associations are important and the conditions under which they should be versioned.

Comment
I may come up with something eventually but I'm in the same boat. :) it may be best to handle this on the application domain since the business rules dictate which associations are important and the conditions under which they should be versioned.
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airblade Thu Oct 29 04:00:32 -0700 2009 | link

That's certainly how I'm doing it at the moment in my apps. It's not ideal but it gets by for now...

Comment
That's certainly how I'm doing it at the moment in my apps. It's not ideal but it gets by for now...
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4.

0 votes

option to record only changed field (usefull for audit)
6 comments Created 4 months ago by jalberto

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Body
to use paper_trail as audit tool is too verbose, maybe an :audit => true will be nice :)
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to use paper_trail as audit tool is too verbose, maybe an :audit => true will be nice :)

Comments
airblade Fri Sep 04 02:23:28 -0700 2009 | link

Sorry, I don't quite follow you. Would you like to be able to specify which attributes PaperTrail pays attention to?

Comment
Sorry, I don't quite follow you. Would you like to be able to specify which attributes PaperTrail pays attention to?
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jalberto Fri Sep 04 02:33:22 -0700 2009 | link
sorry for my english :)

do you know acts_as_audited? is a version plugin too but more designed for audit. Have some nice features i will liek to see in paper_trail:

you can specify what to watch (acts_as_audited :except => [:created_at]

only save what changed, so the audit table is more easy to read. For exmaple if i change the name of a user it saves somethign like: "name: -john -newjohn" not the full object.

This is not usefull for versioning, but yes for auditing
Comment
sorry for my english :) do you know acts_as_audited? is a version plugin too but more designed for audit. Have some nice features i will liek to see in paper_trail: - you can specify what to watch (acts_as_audited :except => [:created_at] - only save what changed, so the audit table is more easy to read. For exmaple if i change the name of a user it saves somethign like: "name: -john -newjohn" not the full object. This is not usefull for versioning, but yes for auditing
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airblade Fri Sep 04 02:49:46 -0700 2009 | link

No worries about your English!

I do know acts_as_audited. In fact if you look at PaperTrail's README, you'll see it was one of my inspirations. But I wrote PaperTrail because acts_as_audited didn't really do what I needed.

I can see the usefulness of specifying what to (not) watch, so I'll incorporate that. However I think the cost of changing the way the versions are stored outweighs the benefits, so I won't change it as per your second bullet point.

Comment
No worries about your English! I do know acts_as_audited. In fact if you look at PaperTrail's README, you'll see it was one of my inspirations. But I wrote PaperTrail because acts_as_audited didn't really do what I needed. I can see the usefulness of specifying what to (not) watch, so I'll incorporate that. However I think the cost of changing the way the versions are stored outweighs the benefits, so I won't change it as per your second bullet point.
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jalberto Fri Sep 04 02:54:36 -0700 2009 | link

You are right about 2nd point, so can you explain me or show me some example how to create an audit table (not version table) with PaperTrail? becuase in my opinion is not the same.
In version table you need to keep track of the full object so you can back, but in audit table what you need is to know who changed what.

Comment
You are right about 2nd point, so can you explain me or show me some example how to create an audit table (not version table) with PaperTrail? becuase in my opinion is not the same. In version table you need to keep track of the full object so you can back, but in audit table what you need is to know who changed what.
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airblade Fri Sep 04 03:53:54 -0700 2009 | link

PaperTrail first and foremost needs to keep a version table so you can get the full object back. It also stores who was responsible for each change.

If you need a lighter-weight version table, please do fork the code and implement it. I'll be happy to consider pull requests.

Comment
PaperTrail first and foremost needs to keep a version table so you can get the full object back. It also stores who was responsible for each change. If you need a lighter-weight version table, please do fork the code and implement it. I'll be happy to consider pull requests.
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airblade Wed Oct 28 06:32:02 -0700 2009 | link

You can now ignore any attributes you want.

Comment
You can now ignore any attributes you want.
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5.

0 votes

See all changes by User
2 comments Created 3 months ago by tankow

Title

Body
Is there a way to see all of the changes made by a particular user to all of the models being watched?
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Is there a way to see all of the changes made by a particular user to all of the models being watched?

Comments

airblade Wed Sep 30 09:06:32 -0700 2009 | link

I think Version.find_by_whodunnit("user_id") would do the trick.

Comment
I think `Version.find_by_whodunnit("user_id")` would do the trick.
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airblade Wed Oct 28 04:19:05 -0700 2009 | link

I'm closing this issue now. Please re-open if my comment above didn't answer your question.

Comment
I'm closing this issue now. Please re-open if my comment above didn't answer your question.
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7.

1 vote

Can I ignore changes in certain fields?
6 comments Created 29 days ago by otaviofcs

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My model has one field that change every month. It's a depreciation value cache. But I want to ignore any change in this field (don't create a version). Is it possible? If not, I'm considering to create an class method setting paper_trail_off, changing and then paper_trail_on. Maybe that's the right way to do it. Any ideas? Maybe implement a feature that allows us to pass those setting to has_paper_trail? ps: thanks for the awesome gem
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My model has one field that change every month. It's a depreciation value cache. But I want to ignore any change in this field (don't create a version). Is it possible? If not, I'm considering to create an class method setting paper_trail_off, changing and then paper_trail_on. Maybe that's the right way to do it. Any ideas?

Maybe implement a feature that allows us to pass those setting to has_paper_trail?

ps: thanks for the awesome gem

Comments
airblade Tue Dec 08 05:24:34 -0800 2009 | link
Yes, you can do this:

class Article < ActiveRecord::Base has_paper_trail :ignore => [:title, :rating] end

I only added this recently, but you can read about it in the README. I hope it does what you want -- if not, just let me know.
Comment
Yes, you can do this: class Article < ActiveRecord::Base has_paper_trail :ignore => [:title, :rating] end I only added this recently, but you can read about it in the README. I hope it does what you want -- if not, just let me know.
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otaviofcs Tue Dec 08 05:31:36 -0800 2009 | link

thanks! Is was just building a save_without_version! instance method...

Comment
thanks! Is was just building a save_without_version! instance method...
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otaviofcs Tue Dec 08 05:59:28 -0800 2009 | link

One thing: were can I get an updated gem? gems.github.com it still in 1.1.1

Comment
One thing: were can I get an updated gem? gems.github.com it still in 1.1.1
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airblade Tue Dec 08 08:25:14 -0800 2009 | link

Oh sorry, I should update the readme: new gems are on Gemcutter.

Comment
Oh sorry, I should update the readme: new gems are on Gemcutter.
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otaviofcs Tue Dec 08 08:53:12 -0800 2009 | link

ok. thanks again

Comment
ok. thanks again
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airblade Mon Dec 14 04:20:47 -0800 2009 | link

Closing this...

Comment
Closing this...
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1.

0 votes

Write RDoc documentation
0 comments Created 6 months ago by airblade

Title

Body
Document the public API.
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Document the public API.

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3.

0 votes

Record ip of whodunit
9 comments Created 4 months ago by jalberto

Title

Body
usafull for auditing
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usafull for auditing

Comments

airblade Fri Sep 04 01:30:59 -0700 2009 | link

Currently the whodunnit field is populated by calling the current_user method on your application controller (or you can set it manually at the model/migration level).

So you could modify your current_user method to return the user's IP as well as anything else you need, though that may not be ideal for you.

Perhaps the method that PaperTrail calls on the controller to find out whodunnit should be configurable? It would default to current_user but you could then specify, say, current_user_and_ip instead. Does that sound good?

Comment
Currently the whodunnit field is populated by calling the current_user method on your application controller (or you can set it manually at the model/migration level). So you could modify your current_user method to return the user's IP as well as anything else you need, though that may not be ideal for you. Perhaps the method that PaperTrail calls on the controller to find out whodunnit should be configurable? It would default to current_user but you could then specify, say, current_user_and_ip instead. Does that sound good?
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jalberto Fri Sep 04 01:59:39 -0700 2009 | link

it would be great if its configurable, not only to get he ip, i use authlogic and the current_user method must be private.

Comment
it would be great if its configurable, not only to get he ip, i use authlogic and the current_user method must be private.
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airblade Fri Sep 04 02:21:32 -0700 2009 | link

Ok, I'll make it configurable.

By the way, PaperTrail works with authlogic's private current_user method.

Comment
Ok, I'll make it configurable. By the way, PaperTrail works with authlogic's private current_user method.
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tokumine Thu Oct 08 10:21:27 -0700 2009 | link

Another idea would be to add some hooks at certain points to the version table objects lifecycle. This would allow for easy user extension of the version table. What do you think Andy?

Comment
Another idea would be to add some hooks at certain points to the version table objects lifecycle. This would allow for easy user extension of the version table. What do you think Andy?
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airblade Fri Oct 09 01:23:18 -0700 2009 | link

Do you mean, for example, a before update hook on the version object? It sounds like an interesting idea, Simon. Did you have anything specific in mind? I don't feel I've quite grasped what you're suggesting!

Comment
Do you mean, for example, a before update hook on the version object? It sounds like an interesting idea, Simon. Did you have anything specific in mind? I don't feel I've quite grasped what you're suggesting!
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tokumine Fri Oct 09 02:01:53 -0700 2009 | link

Hi Andy, Sorry for the quick explanation! I think you've got it though, a set of before/after hooks on the version object would allow for 2 possible future scenarios:

1) Addition of user required fields to the Version table (eg. A string representation of what has changed, IP address, phase of moon etc)

2) Possibly open the door for dealing with associations.

Comment
Hi Andy, Sorry for the quick explanation! I think you've got it though, a set of before/after hooks on the version object would allow for 2 possible future scenarios: 1) Addition of user required fields to the Version table (eg. A string representation of what has changed, IP address, phase of moon etc) 2) Possibly open the door for dealing with associations.
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airblade Fri Oct 09 02:27:41 -0700 2009 | link

Thanks for the details, Simon. So would this sort of thing do?

http://gist.github.com/205881

Comment
Thanks for the details, Simon. So would this sort of thing do? http://gist.github.com/205881
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tokumine Fri Oct 09 03:54:04 -0700 2009 | link

It absolutely would! :). I guess we could also patch to pass in a proc to the has_paper_trail method to hide the opening up the Version class bit from the user? Thanks!

Comment
It absolutely would! :). I guess we could also patch to pass in a proc to the has_paper_trail method to hide the opening up the Version class bit from the user? Thanks!
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tokumine Fri Oct 09 03:54:47 -0700 2009 | link

actually, forget that. It's good to be explicit sometimes.

Comment
actually, forget that. It's good to be explicit sometimes.
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6.

0 votes

ActiveRecord::RecordNotSaved thrown, when calling clear on a new record
2 comments Created 2 months ago by 23inhouse

Title

Body
In a case where an association is build (not saved) and then cleared, rails calls destroy or delete. An exception is thrown - "ActiveRecord::RecordNotSaved: You cannot call create unless the parent is saved". I found adding this fixed it: def record_destroy return if new_record? ... end Maybe it could be added too record_update as well. Here is a case. class Blog < ActiveRecord::Base has_paper_trail has_many :posts end class Post < ActiveRecord::Base has_paper_trail belongs_to :blog end class BlogsController < ApplicationController def action @blog.posts.build @blog.posts.clear #now i dont want it any more end end Thanks for the great plugin, i learnt a lot by looking at the code. Thanks Ben
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In a case where an association is build (not saved) and then cleared, rails calls destroy or delete.
An exception is thrown - "ActiveRecord::RecordNotSaved: You cannot call create unless the parent is saved".

I found adding this fixed it:
def record_destroy
return if new_record? ... end
Maybe it could be added too record_update as well.

Here is a case.
class Blog < ActiveRecord::Base
has_paper_trail has_many :posts end
class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
has_paper_trail belongs_to :blog end

class BlogsController < ApplicationController
def action
```
@blog.posts.build
@blog.posts.clear #now i dont want it any more 
```
end end

Thanks for the great plugin, i learnt a lot by looking at the code.
Thanks
Ben
Comments

airblade Wed Oct 28 04:14:50 -0700 2009 | link

Hi Ben,

I can't seem to reproduce your problem. When I call @blog.posts.build and then @blog.posts.clear it works fine (Rails 2.3.4). Where is your RecordNotSaved exception being raised?

Thanks,
Andy

Comment
Hi Ben, I can't seem to reproduce your problem. When I call `@blog.posts.build` and then `@blog.posts.clear` it works fine (Rails 2.3.4). Where is your `RecordNotSaved` exception being raised? Thanks, Andy
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airblade Fri Nov 13 02:43:53 -0800 2009 | link

Any chance you could Gist your code?

Comment
Any chance you could Gist your code?
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8.

0 votes

ArgumentError with reify
1 comment Created 1 day ago by balloomc

Title

Body
I received the following error when attempting to revert an update: ArgumentError: syntax error on line 0, col 37: `--- \nreferred_by: Blah\noccupation: !str \n str: electrician\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nname: !str \n str: Abbey Streich\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nfax_number: !str \n str: 978.631.7298 x05457\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\ncity: !str \n str: Ipoh\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\naddress: !str \n str: 3855 Brekke Bypass\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nzip: !str \n str: "61851"\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_file_size: 74095\ncreated_at: 2009-12-28 23:02:18 Z\nupdated_at: 2010-01-05 14:58:11 Z\nphoto_file_name: OldWoman.jpg\noutpatient: true\nnotes: !str \n str: ""\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_content_type: image/jpeg\nid: 54\nuser_id: \nphoto_updated_at: 2009-12-28 15:04:52 Z\nphone_number: !str \n str: 732.727.0168 x9825\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nmale: false\nbirthday: 1889-01-05\nstatus: \nstate: !str \n str: Kuala Lumpur\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nrace: !str \n str: Indian\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\n' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/paper_trail-1.3.1/lib/paper_trail/version.rb:9:in `reify' from (irb):4 from :0
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I received the following error when attempting to revert an update:

ArgumentError: syntax error on line 0, col 37: `--- \nreferred_by: Blah\noccupation: !str \n str: electrician\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nname: !str \n str: Abbey Streich\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nfax_number: !str \n str: 978.631.7298 x05457\n "@rails_html_safe": false\ncity: !str \n str: Ipoh\n "@rails_html_safe": false\naddress: !str \n str: 3855 Brekke Bypass\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nzip: !str \n str: "61851"\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_file_size: 74095\ncreated_at: 2009-12-28 23:02:18 Z\nupdated_at: 2010-01-05 14:58:11 Z\nphoto_file_name: OldWoman.jpg\noutpatient: true\nnotes: !str \n str: ""\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_content_type: image/jpeg\nid: 54\nuser_id: \nphoto_updated_at: 2009-12-28 15:04:52 Z\nphone_number: !str \n str: 732.727.0168 x9825\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nmale: false\nbirthday: 1889-01-05\nstatus: \nstate: !str \n str: Kuala Lumpur\n "@rails_html_safe": false\nrace: !str \n str: Indian\n "@rails_html_safe": false\n'
```
from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load'
from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load'
from /usr/local/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/paper_trail-1.3.1/lib/paper_trail/version.rb:9:in `reify'
from (irb):4
from :0
```
Comments
airblade Tue Jan 05 08:22:04 -0800 2010 | link
This seems to be a problem with the YAML library bundled with Ruby 1.8. You can reproduce this in irb:

>> YAML.load %q{--- \nreferred_by: Blah\noccupation: !str \n str: electrician\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nname: !str \n str: Abbey Streich\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nfax_number: !str \n str: 978.631.7298 x05457\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\ncity: !str \n str: Ipoh\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\naddress: !str \n str: 3855 Brekke Bypass\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nzip: !str \n str: "61851"\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_file_size: 74095\ncreated_at: 2009-12-28 23:02:18 Z\nupdated_at: 2010-01-05 14:58:11Z\nphoto_file_name: OldWoman.jpg\noutpatient: true\nnotes: !str \n str: ""\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_content_type: image/jpeg\nid: 54\nuser_id: \nphoto_updated_at: 2009-12-28 15:04:52 Z\nphone_number: !str \n str: 732.727.0168 x9825\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nmale: false\nbirthday: 1889-01-05\nstatus: \nstate: !str \n str: Kuala Lumpur\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nrace: !str \n str: Indian\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\n} ArgumentError: syntax error on line 0, col 36: `--- \nreferred_by: Blah\noccupation: !str \n str: electrician\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nname: !str \n str: Abbey Streich\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nfax_number: !str \n str: 978.631.7298 x05457\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\ncity: !str \n str: Ipoh\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\naddress: !str \n str: 3855 Brekke Bypass\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nzip: !str \n str: "61851"\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_file_size: 74095\ncreated_at: 2009-12-28 23:02:18 Z\nupdated_at: 2010-01-05 14:58:11Z\nphoto_file_name: OldWoman.jpg\noutpatient: true\nnotes: !str \n str: ""\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_content_type: image/jpeg\nid: 54\nuser_id: \nphoto_updated_at: 2009-12-28 15:04:52 Z\nphone_number: !str \n str: 732.727.0168 x9825\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nmale: false\nbirthday: 1889-01-05\nstatus: \nstate: !str \n str: Kuala Lumpur\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nrace: !str \n str: Indian\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\n' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load' from (irb):24

So it looks like YAML cannot parse its own output in your case. I don't know enough about YAML to fix this, but I'll keep looking around to see if I can find a solution.
Comment
This seems to be a problem with the YAML library bundled with Ruby 1.8. You can reproduce this in irb: >> YAML.load %q{--- \nreferred_by: Blah\noccupation: !str \n str: electrician\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nname: !str \n str: Abbey Streich\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nfax_number: !str \n str: 978.631.7298 x05457\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\ncity: !str \n str: Ipoh\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\naddress: !str \n str: 3855 Brekke Bypass\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nzip: !str \n str: "61851"\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_file_size: 74095\ncreated_at: 2009-12-28 23:02:18 Z\nupdated_at: 2010-01-05 14:58:11Z\nphoto_file_name: OldWoman.jpg\noutpatient: true\nnotes: !str \n str: ""\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_content_type: image/jpeg\nid: 54\nuser_id: \nphoto_updated_at: 2009-12-28 15:04:52 Z\nphone_number: !str \n str: 732.727.0168 x9825\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nmale: false\nbirthday: 1889-01-05\nstatus: \nstate: !str \n str: Kuala Lumpur\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nrace: !str \n str: Indian\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\n} ArgumentError: syntax error on line 0, col 36: `--- \nreferred_by: Blah\noccupation: !str \n str: electrician\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nname: !str \n str: Abbey Streich\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nfax_number: !str \n str: 978.631.7298 x05457\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\ncity: !str \n str: Ipoh\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\naddress: !str \n str: 3855 Brekke Bypass\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nzip: !str \n str: "61851"\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_file_size: 74095\ncreated_at: 2009-12-28 23:02:18 Z\nupdated_at: 2010-01-05 14:58:11Z\nphoto_file_name: OldWoman.jpg\noutpatient: true\nnotes: !str \n str: ""\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nphoto_content_type: image/jpeg\nid: 54\nuser_id: \nphoto_updated_at: 2009-12-28 15:04:52 Z\nphone_number: !str \n str: 732.727.0168 x9825\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nmale: false\nbirthday: 1889-01-05\nstatus: \nstate: !str \n str: Kuala Lumpur\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\nrace: !str \n str: Indian\n "@_rails_html_safe": false\n' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load' from /usr/local/lib/ruby/1.8/yaml.rb:133:in `load' from (irb):24 So it looks like YAML cannot parse its own output in your case. I don't know enough about YAML to fix this, but I'll keep looking around to see if I can find a solution.
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