Question

for k, v in {font-weight : "bold"}
    msgbox %k% : %v%    ; : bold

for k, v in {"font-weight" : "bold"}
    msgbox %k% : %v%    ; font-weight : bold

Is this a bug or is a string passed as a key treated as an expression when the – sign is used? The manual says double quotes are optional though.

---

This is invalid causing the error. so now it makes sense.

font-value := "bold"
msgbox % font-value

Result:

Line Text: font-value := “bold” Error: This line does not contain a
recognized action.

---

for additional notes:

for k, v in {font*weight : "bold"}
    msgbox %k% : %v%    ; : bold

for k, v in {10*2 : "10*2"}
    msgbox %k% : %v%    ; 20 : 10*2 

for k, v in { 0xeeeee : "0xeeeee"}
    msgbox %k% : %v%    ; 978670: 

Answer 1

Similar to the answer here, the minus sign is reserved. The shortcut also wouldn’t work when using any other operators. The reason it isn’t a bug is that it allows math, string manipulation, functions, etc. to be used in naming keys for objects. It may or may not be a design flaw, but it works as intended by the developer.

From the AutoHotkey_L documentation:

quote marks are optional for keys
which consist only of word characters. Any expression can be used as
a key, but to use a variable as a key, it must be enclosed in
parentheses. For example, {(KeyVar): Value} and {GetKey(): Value}
are both valid.

(emphasis added)

A word character typically means letters, numbers, and underscores.