Bug fix for Finder comments extended attribute

osxmetadata/__main__.py

@@ -762,8 +762,8 @@ def process_single_file(
                 md.set_attribute(attr1, md.get_attribute(attr2))
 
     if get:
+        data = {}
         if json_:
-            data = {}
             data["_version"] = __version__
             data["_filepath"] = fpath.resolve().as_posix()
             data["_filename"] = fpath.name

osxmetadata/_version.py

@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.99.12"
+__version__ = "0.99.13"

osxmetadata/attributes.py

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import logging
 from collections import namedtuple  # pylint: disable=syntax-error
 
-from .classes import _AttributeList, _AttributeTagsList, _AttributeFinderInfo
+from .classes import _AttributeFinderInfo, _AttributeList, _AttributeTagsList
 from .constants import *
 from .datetime_utils import (
     datetime_has_tz,

osxmetadata/osxmetadata.py

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import datetime
 import json
 import logging
+import os.path
 import pathlib
 import plistlib
 import sys
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@
 
 import xattr
 
+from . import _applescript
 from ._version import __version__
 from .attributes import ATTRIBUTES, Attribute, validate_attribute_value
 from .classes import _AttributeList, _AttributeTagsList
@@ -45,7 +47,6 @@
     datetime_utc_to_local,
 )
 from .debug import _debug, _get_logger, _set_debug
-from .findercomments import clear_finder_comment, set_finder_comment
 from .findertags import Tag, get_tag_color_name, set_finderinfo_color
 
 __all__ = [
@@ -71,6 +72,27 @@
 # TODO: check what happens if OSXMetaData.__init__ called with invalid file--should result in error but saw one case where it didn't
 # TODO: cleartags does not always clear colors--this is a new behavior, did Mac OS change something in implementation of colors?
 
+# AppleScript for manipulating Finder comments
+_scpt_set_finder_comment = _applescript.AppleScript(
+    """
+            on run {path, fc}
+	            set thePath to path
+	            set theComment to fc
+	            tell application "Finder" to set comment of (POSIX file thePath as alias) to theComment
+            end run
+            """
+)
+
+_scpt_clear_finder_comment = _applescript.AppleScript(
+    """
+            on run {path}
+	            set thePath to path
+	            set theComment to missing value
+	            tell application "Finder" to set comment of (POSIX file thePath as alias) to theComment
+            end run
+            """
+)
+
 
 class OSXMetaData:
     """Create an OSXMetaData object to access file metadata"""
@@ -305,7 +327,7 @@ def set_attribute(self, attribute_name, value):
         if attribute.name in _FINDER_COMMENT_NAMES:
             # Finder Comment needs special handling
             # code following will also set the attribute for Finder Comment
-            set_finder_comment(self._posix_name, value)
+            self.set_finder_comment(self._posix_name, value)
         elif attribute.class_ in [_AttributeList, _AttributeTagsList]:
             getattr(self, attribute.name).set_value(value)
         else:
@@ -378,10 +400,7 @@ def append_attribute(self, attribute_name, value, update=False):
         try:
             if attribute.name in _FINDER_COMMENT_NAMES:
                 # Finder Comment needs special handling
-                # code following will also set the attribute for Finder Comment
-                set_finder_comment(self._posix_name, new_value)
-                plist = plistlib.dumps(new_value, fmt=FMT_BINARY)
-                self._attrs.set(attribute.constant, plist)
+                self.set_finder_comment(self._posix_name, new_value)
             elif attribute.class_ in [_AttributeList, _AttributeTagsList]:
                 # if tags, set_value will normalize
                 getattr(self, attribute.name).set_value(new_value)
@@ -441,7 +460,7 @@ def clear_attribute(self, attribute_name):
             if attribute.name in _FINDER_COMMENT_NAMES:
                 # Finder Comment needs special handling
                 # code following will also clear the attribute for Finder Comment
-                clear_finder_comment(self._posix_name)
+                self.clear_finder_comment(self._posix_name)
 
             if attribute.name in ["finderinfo", "tags"]:
                 # don't clear the entire FinderInfo attribute, just delete the color
@@ -472,6 +491,35 @@ def list_metadata(self):
         ]
         return mdlist
 
+    def set_finder_comment(self, path, comment):
+        """ set finder comment for object path (file or directory)
+            path: path to file or directory in posix format
+            comment: comment string
+        """
+        if not os.path.exists(path):
+            raise FileNotFoundError(f"Could not find {path}")
+
+        if comment:
+            _scpt_set_finder_comment.run(path, comment)
+            plist = plistlib.dumps(comment, fmt=FMT_BINARY)
+            self._attrs.set(ATTRIBUTES["findercomment"].constant, plist)
+        else:
+            self.clear_finder_comment(path)
+
+    def clear_finder_comment(self, path):
+        """ clear finder comment for object path (file or directory)
+            path: path to file or directory in posix format
+        """
+        if not os.path.exists(path):
+            raise FileNotFoundError(f"Could not find {path}")
+
+        _scpt_clear_finder_comment.run(path)
+        try:
+            self._attrs.remove(ATTRIBUTES["findercomment"].constant)
+        except (IOError, OSError):
+            # exception raised if attribute not found and attempt to remove it
+            pass
+
     def __getattr__(self, name):
         """ if attribute name is in ATTRIBUTE dict, return the value
             otherwise raise KeyError """

tests/test_findercomment.py

@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ def test_finder_comments(temp_file):
     fc += ", foo"
     assert meta.findercomment == fc
 
-    # set finder comment to "" results in null string but not deleted
+    # set finder comment to "" deletes it as this mirrors Finder and mdls
     meta.findercomment = ""
-    assert meta.findercomment == ""
+    assert meta.findercomment is None
 
     meta.findercomment = "foo"
     assert meta.findercomment == "foo"
@@ -68,16 +68,16 @@ def test_finder_comments_2(temp_file):
     fc += ", foo"
     assert meta.findercomment == fc
 
-    # set finder comment to "" results in null string but not deleted
+    # set finder comment to "" deletes it as this mirrors mdls and Finder
     meta.set_attribute(attribute, "")
-    assert meta.get_attribute(attribute) == ""
+    assert meta.get_attribute(attribute) is None
 
     meta.set_attribute(attribute, "foo")
     assert meta.get_attribute(attribute) == "foo"
 
     # set finder comment to None deletes it
-    meta.set_attribute(attribute, "")
-    assert meta.get_attribute(attribute) == ""
+    meta.set_attribute(attribute, None)
+    assert meta.get_attribute(attribute) is None
 
     meta.clear_attribute(attribute)
     assert meta.get_attribute(attribute) is None

tests/test_osxmetadata.py

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
+import platform
 from tempfile import NamedTemporaryFile, TemporaryDirectory
 
 import pytest
-import platform
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(params=["file", "dir"])