Value

The value part of an edit macro assignment statement can be:

A literal character string can be one of these types:
Simple

Any series of characters not enclosed within quotes (either ' or "), parentheses, or less-than (<) and greater-than signs (>), and not containing any embedded blanks or commas.

Delimited

Any string starting and ending with a quote (either ' or "), but not containing embedded quotes. The delimiting quotes are not considered to be part of the data.
A dialog variable name enclosed in parentheses (varname). If the dialog variable name is on the right, the entire contents of the variable are considered part of the data, including any quotes, apostrophes, blanks, commas, or other special characters. If the dialog variable name is on the left, its content is totally replaced.
Note:
1. In the CLIST environment, the CLIST variable pool and the dialog function variable pool are merged. Therefore, variables in parentheses are the same as ampersand variables, except that the editor does the symbolic substitution rather than the CLIST processor.
2. In the REXX environment, the REXX variable pool and the dialog function variable pool are also merged. Therefore, quoted variable names in parentheses are the same as unquoted variable names, except that the editor does the symbolic substitution rather than the REXX processor.
3. In a program macro, you must use the VDEFINE service for any variables that are passed to the editor.