more robust handling that still accepts unitless empty string

CHANGES.rst

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 0.4.1 (unreleased)
 ------------------
 
-* Fixes CDIPS support by handling units stored as empty strings. [#122]
+* Fixes CDIPS support by handling columns filled with strings with empty units. [#122]
 
 0.4.0 (06-11-2024)
 ------------------

lcviz/utils.py

@@ -277,12 +277,18 @@ def to_object(self, data_or_subset):
                 continue
             component = data.get_component(component_id)
 
-            values = component.data[glue_mask]
+            values = np.asarray(component.data[glue_mask])
 
             if len(values) and isinstance(values[0], Time):
                 values = Time(values.base)
-            elif hasattr(component, 'units') and component.units not in ("None", ""):
-                values = u.Quantity(values, component.units)
+            elif hasattr(component, 'units') and component.units != "None":
+                try:
+                    values = u.Quantity(values, component.units)
+                except TypeError:
+                    if component.units != "":
+                        raise
+                    # values could have been an array of strings with units ""
+                    values = values
 
             if component_id.label not in names:
                 columns.append(values)