def opts_to_hash(opts_string)
  opts_hash = {}
  arr = opts_string.split(';;')
  arr.each do |option|
    option = option.split("=")
    key, value = option[0].strip, option[1].strip
    opts_hash[key] = value
  end
  opts_hash

rescue => e
    raise "error in template_filter.rb: opts_to_hash()"
end