MESSAGE

When you are writing applications, you often want to give specific messages to your users about the information displayed for them or the function they should perform next. You can write your own messages and display them on QMF panels through the MESSAGE command. In ISPF, you can also specify that QMF display the message help for an ISPF error message.

The MESSAGE command syntax:

>>-Message--+--------+--+-----------------------+--------------><
            '-number-'  '-(-+-----------------+-'
                            +-Help=helppanel--+
                            +-Stopproc=Yes|NO-+
                            '-Text=value------'

number (with ISPF only)

number is only valid under ISPF. This parameter is the identification number of a message definition in an ISPF message library.

HELP

Use this parameter to specify a help panel other than the one defined with the message normally displayed in this situation. Replace helppanel with the appropriate panel ID.

If you want to display a QMF panel, the panel's definition is in DSQPNLE, so you cannot modify the panel.

In ISPF, if you want to create and display your own panel, the panel's definition must be in an ISPF panel library, and this library must be concatenated to your ISPPLIB file or data set. The panel must be a help panel, not a menu or a data-entry panel.

In ISPF, if you have specified number, helppanel defaults to the help-panel indicator for the message definition specified by number.

In ISPF, if the message definition specified by number does not define a help-panel indicator, then the MESSAGE command does not provide message help. Instead, the QMF help for the object panel appears on the user's screen when the user requests help.

STOPPROC

Use Stopproc to suppress the execution of linear procedures by setting the proceduretermination switch. The following command sets the procedure termination switch:

Message (Stopproc=Yes

When Stopproc=Yes, the procedure termination switch is on. The default value is No (off). This switch only affects linear procedures.

While this switch is on, any QMF procedure receiving control ends its execution immediately. While the switch is off, procedures run normally.

When the switch is off, only a MESSAGE command can turn it on. When the switch is on, it stays on until one of the following happens:

• Another QMF command is issued. This can be any QMF command, except a MESSAGE command with the option to turn the switch on.
• Control returns to the user when the application ends. A user can always issue online commands that run QMF procedures.

You can check to see whether the proceduretermination switch is on by examining the variable DSQCM_MESSAGE. If the termination option is in effect, this variable contains the message for the MESSAGE command that turned on the termination switch.

TEXT option

Use TEXT= to define a message or to override the text in an ISPF message definition. Replace value with the character string to be used for the message. A value that contains blank characters must be surrounded with delimiters. Valid delimiters for a message value are single quotes, parentheses, and double quotes. When the delimeters are double quotes, the double quotes are displayed as part of the message. The maximum length for message value is 78 single-byte characters. A value longer than 78 characters is truncated to contain only the first 78 characters. QMF does not fold the text into uppercase; however, ISPF might fold the text into uppercase if MESSAGE is issued through DSQCCI (the command interface).

If your message contains quotes, you need to double the quotes in the TEXT= specification.

In ISPF, the default is the long message text of the ISPF message specified by number, which becomes the generated message. The text is left as it is; no folding takes place whatever the value of the CASE setting for the user's QMF profile.