Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!oliveb!orc!decwrl!argosy!freeman
From: freeman@argosy.UUCP (Jay R. Freeman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Leading dashes in menu items.
Message-ID: <573@argosy.UUCP>
Date: 11 Jun 90 05:39:29 GMT
Sender: news@argosy.UUCP
Reply-To: freeman@cleo.UUCP (Jay R. Freeman)
Distribution: na
Organization: MasPar Computer Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 20

I need to create a menu item whose entire text consists merely of a
single minus sign.  Of course I can't just do that, because a single
minus sign is menu-manager meta-syntax for drawing a dashed line
across the menu.  And it appears that a leading minus sign is NOT one
of the meta-characters whose effect you can get around by using
SetItem (I think it is) on the actual text.

At the moment I am faking it satisfactorily by using option-minus-sign
instead, but I'm enough of a purist that the compromise bothers me.  I
expect I could write my own versions of lots of ToolBox routines
and/or definition functions, but I wondered if anyone knew of a better
hack?

(The menu is for on-line help with a programming-language interpreter;
that particular menu item will remind the user that yes indeedy, "-"
has to do with subtraction ...)

                                      -- Jay Freeman

       <canonical disclaimer -- all opinions herein are my own>