Multi-Line Text Inputs in Tasks

Multi-Line Text Inputs in the makeData Task (2023.1.1)

This release alert pertains to unexpected behavior in the makeData task that was inadvertently introduced in a prior bug fix for Itential Automation Platform (IAP).

Problem Explanation

A change to the makeData task designed to resolve an issue with multi-line text inputs also impacted the handling of other input variables (i.e., integer, character) by always stringifying them, thereby causing the task to error on output. Moreover, the ASCII representation of "pressing the Enter key" does not actually insert a new line or save (encode) string inputs that contain new lines.

What should I do?

If the task output type is JSON, make sure escape sequences such as newline characters are properly escaped with a backlash (i.e., \\\\n instead of \\n). You also need to wrap variables with <!!>.

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