Perhaps someone knows the solution to my problem.

I'm using message catalogs (those created by MAKECAT.PUB.SYS, not the kind
created by GENCAT.PUB.SYS) in an application.  I need to use the older,
more flexible version (which uses MAKECAT and the GENMESSAGE intrinsic)
because the newer version is less flexible.

I'm placing HTML fragments in the message catalog, and then using the
parameter substitution to insert the page title, page heading, table data,
etc. into the page.  This cuts down on the amount of code, makes it really
easy to change the page title, layout, etc. without recompiling the
application program.

Unfortunately, I also need to be able to include the "!" character in the
page text, as in the "<!-- comment -->" construct.  This is a problem
because "!" is a special character in messages, and indicates where a
parameter is to be inserted into a message.

Thus, my question is this:

   Is there a way to escape the "!" and indicate to GENMESSAGE that this "!"
   is not where a parameter is to be inserted, but is an "!" that is to be
   displayed?

The CATREAD intrinsic (used with GENCAT) allows escaping with a "~", but
that doesn't work with the older message catalogs, and GENMESSAGE can't
read the newer catalogs created with GENCAT.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

John


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John Korb                            email: [log in to unmask]
Innovative Software Solutions, Inc.

The thoughts, comments, and opinions expressed herein are mine
and do not reflect those of my employer(s), or anyone else.