get_clipboard() drops leading plus sign ('+') if clipboard contents is a valid number

[e-r-n-i-e]

Phone numbers usually look like this:

• +49-1234-56 78 90
• +491234567890

Problem: When you copy the second number to the clipboard (manually or programmatically) and afterwards try to receive it with get_clipboard(), you will only get 491234567890 instead of +491234567890 (spot the missing +). The first number is copied as-is.

You might find the following examples useful.

BUG_clipboard.py:

import ahkpy as ahk


@ahk.hotkey('^p')
def print_clipboard():
    print(ahk.get_clipboard())


def test_clipboard(test_str: str):
    print('----------')

    ahk.set_clipboard(test_str)
    ahk.sleep(.5)
    clipboard = ahk.get_clipboard()

    if clipboard == test_str:
        print("OK:", test_str)
    else:
        print("ERROR:")
        print(test_str, "!=")
        print(clipboard, type(clipboard))


# Failing:
test_clipboard('+491234567890')
test_clipboard(' +491234567890 ')
test_clipboard('+49.1234567890')

# OK:
test_clipboard('+49.1234.567890')
test_clipboard('+49-1234-56 78 90')
test_clipboard('+49 1234 56 78 90')
test_clipboard('-491234567890')
test_clipboard('Phone: +491234567890')
test_clipboard('+491234567890 x')

It looks like as if somewhere on it's way from AHK to Python the clipboard content get's interpreted as a number (if possible) and as consequence looses it's plus sign.

The following Autohotkey script works fine:

phone := "+491234567890"

clipboard := phone

MsgBox % clipboard

[Perlence]

Hello @e-r-n-i-e, thank you for investigating! I think the integer conversion happens here:

AutoHotkey.py/ahkpy/Python.ahk

Lines 475 to 478 in 94f4700

	} else if value is integer
	return PyLong_FromLongLong(value)
	else if value is float
	return PyFloat_FromDouble(value)

[Var is integer] if Var is non-empty and contains a purely numeric string (decimal or hexadecimal) without a decimal point. Leading and trailing spaces and tabs are allowed. The string may start with a plus or minus sign.
— https://www.autohotkey.com/docs/v1/lib/IfIs.htm

One option is making AHKToPython return a string and converting the value in the Python code whenever ahk_call is invoked. This will break the code that uses ahk_call directly.

Another option is annotating the return types of the AHK functions and converting their results based on that.

Yet another option is not converting the value if its numerical representation differs.