$ASR and $ALR are both fantastic functions. I'll give a couple examples of how I've used them.
Say I wanted to embed a 0-width space in a virtual function (yes, I know, "But why?" - have patience
)... I'd first create a preset which looks like
Search for: ^(.*)
Replace with: \@char[[200B]]
In the "Assign virtual function id", I would just enter "0Width", which can then be used in a virtual expression like:
$IsNull(<Playlist>,,{color: 128,255,255}
$ASR(<URL>,0Width))<Title (vf)>
The effect is that the embedded 0-Width Space character actually "activates" the {color} code, allowing <Title (vf)> to be one colour or another, whereas without the 0-Width Space just using <Title (vf)> in a conditional virtual expression the {color} doesn't activate for any following text. (If that makes sense.)
An even better example (which I imagine Boroda would find amusing) is in the use of $ALR. Say I wanted to store the length of a classical "work" (as the sum of individual movements), I would first define an Auto-Library-Report as:
<Grouping>: Album Artist, Album, Work, Sum(Time) -> Save Field: Sum(Time)
and assign that ALR a virtual function ID of "SetWorkDur".
Then create the ASR preset that looks like this:
Search for: ^(.*)
Replace with: \@eval[[$IsNull(<Work>,"0:00",
$ALR(<URL>,SetWorkDur))]]
where the result is assigned (conditionally!) to a custom tag <Work Duration (c)>.
This allows me to set a hotkey to the ASR (since ALR's don't have hotkeys), and I can apply it on an ad-hoc/one-off basis, instead of it being used as a normal ALR auto-executed command.
So... yeah. A little complex, but infinitely useful once you get the hang of it. I actually meant to request Boroda export the \@char[[]] function as a full virtual $Char() function (since none of the usual \xnnnn regex codes seem to work as they should), but I found the use of the virtual ID name easier to use than remembering the code for 0-width space to begin with. Unfortunately I have to create a new preset for each unicode character I need (hence $Char makes sense), but the "Assign virtual ID" code makes it recognisable in a complex expression.
