Bug 126044

Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.5.2)
Installed from:    SuSE RPMs
OS:                Linux

The Comments edit box lets the user type multiple lines of text. Indeed, because word wrap is disabled, it encourages the user to enter hard newline characters. Unfortunately, those newline characters are passed to the fax program, which can't cope.

HylaFax is the only fax program that actually does anything with comments, and if your comments include a hard newline, sendfax reports the following error:

500 'JPARM COMMENTS "testing.': Syntax error, unmatched quote mark

You can see how other programs might copy, too. For example, use "echo <%comment>" as a custom fax program. If the Comments contain a hard newline, the following error results:

Sending to fax using: echo <'testing.
more testing'> 
/bin/sh: -c: line 1: syntax error near unexpected token `newline'
/bin/sh: -c: line 1: `more testing'>  '

A workaround for HylaFax is to use \n instead of newline. That makes the text hard to read and hard to edit, but at least, you can get a hard newline in the fax comments.