Re: Change color of Messages

Simon Coulter wrote:

Depends on where the message is displayed. Works OK when sent as a *STATUS message to the external queue of the job. I think it still works OK when sent to a message subfile. Won't work when sent to a UIM display (such as DSPMSG panel). This technique used to work ... on System/38. OS/400 has specific support to remove such shenanigans--not sure of the rationale behind that behaviour.

UIM translates all /non-displayable/ characters to avoid any 5250 data stream characters from ruining the menu; i.e. UIM does not make the effort to determine if the control characters might just be for color. It is unfortunate there is no option for the user to specify *NOXLT for the data; perhaps better if change-capable versus compile-only to enable turning off the character conversion, although probably best that such a function could be limited to specific variables, as a UIM tag option.

To understand the rationale one need only run a Query/400 query against a variety of random hex data, for which lines of the report may randomly break, colorize, or flash. Input fields may even become disabled such that only Enter or function keys allow exit from the report. The results could even be subtle to the point of incorrect output being perceived as valid. A global xlate of all character data to remove any non-displayable characters is the _simple_ preventive.

Query/400 considers attempts to display hex data as a usage problem, and the UIM just scrubs all character data to prevent any nasty side effects the control characters might otherwise effect. Query/400 sends the data and /assumes/ it is valid, and translates only if\after there is an error writing to the workstation; data with colorization, e.g. object text from DSPOBJD could write correctly on the first try [given the start & stop control characters all fit within the display width?].

Can't even embed colour in object text any more either.

Not entirely true. Just like with messages, you just have to know where the effect will be manifest. For example the panels of the Query/400 product use DDS and send untranslated results to the DSPF, so there, the colors & flashing will be displayed. Thus a DDS character variable or message subfile, for example generated from QUSLOBJ data, could still show the colorized object text.

Regards, Chuck