Sets the format for system messages or specifies a process level message file. Lets you override or supplement the system messages.

Format

SET MESSAGE [filespec]

Parameter

filespec

Specifies the name of the process level message file. Messages in this file supersede messages for the same conditions in the system message file or in an existing process message file. The file type defaults to .EXE. The asterisk (*) and the percent sign (%) wildcard characters are not allowed. If you do not specify this parameter, the qualifiers apply to the system message file.

Description

The SET MESSAGE command specifies which message fields the OpenVMS system displays. The message format is as follows:

%FACILITY-L-IDENT, text

When a process is created, the default is to display all four message fields: facility, severity, identification, and text. To control which fields of a message are displayed, specify the appropriate qualifiers. For example, to omit the FACILITY field in message displays, specify SET MESSAGE /NOFACILITY.

By including the SET MESSAGE command in your login command file, you can select specific portions of the messages for your process.

Use the SET MESSAGE command, also, to override or supplement system messages. Whenever any software detects an error and invokes the $GETMSG system service, the message files are searched in the following order: image message sections first, process-permanent message files second, and the system message file last. Thus, with the SET MESSAGE command, you can introduce messages earlier in the searching order; you can either override or supplement the system messages. (Note that the new message definitions affect only your process.)

If a process-permanent message file exists when you specify the SET MESSAGE command with a file specification, the old file is removed and the new file is added.

The message definitions you specify must result from a successful compilation with the MESSAGE command. For full details on how to create your own messages with the Message utility, see the HP OpenVMS Command Definition, Librarian, and Message Utilities Manual.

Qualifiers

/DELETE

Removes any process-permanent message files currently in effect. Do not specify the filespec parameter with the /DELETE qualifier.

/FACILITY (default)

/NOFACILITY

Formats messages so that the facility name prefix appears.

/IDENTIFICATION (default)

/NOIDENTIFICATION

Formats messages so that the message identification prefix appears.

/SEVERITY (default)

/NOSEVERITY

Formats messages so that the severity level appears.

/TEXT (default)

/NOTEXT

Formats messages so that the message text appears.

Examples

$ TYPE XXX
%TYPE-W-OPENIN, error opening DB1:[MARSHALL]XXX.LIS; as input
-RMS-E-FNF, file not found
   .
   .
   .
$  SET MESSAGE/NOIDENTIFICATION
   .
   .
   .
$ TYPE XXX
%TYPE-W, error opening DB1:[MARSHALL]XXX.LIS; as input
-RMS-E, file not found
      

When the first TYPE command is entered in this example, the error messages include all fields. Later, the SET MESSAGE command establishes that the IDENT portion (the abbreviation for the message text) is omitted in future messages.

$ SET MESSAGE NEWMSG
      

The SET MESSAGE command in this example specifies that the message text in NEWMSG.EXE supplements the existing system messages.