shell/docs/tui-newline-fix-summary.md

TUI Newline Fix Implementation Summary

Problem

The TUI application was displaying literal \n characters as text strings instead of rendering them as actual line breaks in the right-hand panel when viewing backup output.

Root Cause

Backup scripts were outputting literal escape sequences (e.g., \n, \t, \r) as text strings, which were being displayed directly in the TUI viewport without processing.

Solution

Implemented a processEscapeSequences() helper function that converts literal escape sequences to their actual character representations before displaying content in the viewport.

Implementation Details

1. Added Helper Function

// Helper function to process escape sequences in output text
func processEscapeSequences(text string) string {
    processed := strings.ReplaceAll(text, "\\n", "\n")
    processed = strings.ReplaceAll(processed, "\\t", "\t")
    processed = strings.ReplaceAll(processed, "\\r", "\r")
    return processed
}

2. Integration Points

The function is called in three key locations where backup output is displayed:

1. Backup Success Messages (line ~584)

   processedOutput := processEscapeSequences(msg.output)
   

2. Backup Error Messages (line ~621)

   processedError := processEscapeSequences(msg.error)
   

3. Running Backup Output (line ~677)

   processedOutput := processEscapeSequences(outputForDisplay)
   

Testing

• Created test scripts that generate literal escape sequences
• Verified the fix converts \n to actual newlines
• Confirmed TUI compiles and runs successfully
• Tested with demonstration scripts

Files Modified

• /home/acedanger/shell/tui/main.go - Main TUI application

Files Created for Testing

• /home/acedanger/shell/test-plex-backup.sh - Test script with literal newlines
• /home/acedanger/shell/test-newline-fix.go - Standalone test of the fix
• /home/acedanger/shell/demonstrate-newline-fix.sh - Demonstration script

Result

✅ Issue Resolved: The TUI now properly displays newlines, tabs, and carriage returns in backup output instead of showing them as literal escape sequence characters.

Usage

The fix is automatically applied to all backup output displayed in the TUI. No user action required - the escape sequence processing happens transparently.

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Fix implemented on May 30, 2025