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Create Message

The message section has simple Telegram Markdown v1 parser this means thet you can use some markdown like:

  • * * for bold text (e.g. bold)
  • _ _ for italic text (e.g. italic)
  • ` ` for copy text (e.g. copy)
  • ``` ``` for code block
  • [text](URL) for links (e.g. example)
note

We can't show the code block example because we deal with markdown files on this website.

Message Syntax​

To send messages to Telegram, use the m:( keyword to define the start of the section and the ):endm keyword to define the end of the message section. Let's explain the syntax:

  ╭────────── The start of the message section
  |
  |            ╭────────── Bold text
╭──╮           |                        ╭────────── Italic text
m:(       ╭────────╮                    |      ╭────────── Click to copy text
This is a *markdown* message            |      |               ╮
                                    ╭──────╮   |               |
you can use this command to run the _checks_:  |               |
`mcqp check ./example/message.mcq`             |               |────────── The message
╰────────────────────────────────╯─────────────╯               |
you can download the new version of *mcqp*                     |
from the [release page](https://github.com/mcqp/mcqp/releases) ╯ 
):endm   ╰───────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
╰─────╯─────╮                    |
            |                    ╰───────── Link as text
            |
            ╰───────── The end of the message section
warning

The Telegram Markdown v1 parser is simple, it has many issues. If you send a file and the MCQP CLI throw an error in the message section (e.g. Can NOT send the message!) please check the syntax of the markdown. The MCQP CLI by default escape any simple error in the markdown syntax (e.g. if you forget to close the *, _ etc), it can't deal with complex issues (e.g. if you have nested square bracket [[[example(https://example.com)).

You must follow these rules:

  1. Add a new line between sections.
  2. The section start must not contain spaces before m:(.
  3. The start m:( and the end ):endm must be in a different lines.
  4. The message length must be at least 1 character long.

Example​

Create a file named message.mcq (it must have the .mcq extension) and write:

message.mcq
m:(
*Hello world* from `.mcq` file!
):endm

m:(
This is a *markdown* message

you can use this command to run the _checks_: `mcqp check ./example/message.mcq`

you can download the new version of *mcqp* from [release page](https://github.com/mcqp/mcqp/releases)
):endm

You can add as many messags as you want. After writing, check the syntax using:

mcqp check message.mcq

You will see a message like this:

[INFO] @parser - found 0/poll and 0/question and 2/message
[INFO] @checker - Everything looks good.
note

You don't need to check every time - syntax checking is performed by default before sending to Telegram.

To send the file to Telegram, use:

mcqp send message.mcq

This command will check the syntax and then send the message.mcq file to your bot on Telegram.

Common Errors​

Let's look at some common errors and their explanations.

Start and End in Same Line​

message_error.mcq
m:( *Hello world* from .mcq file! ):endm

It will throw error at line 2. because the parser will skip what is after m:( this means it will not see the *Hello world* from .mcq file! ):endm.

Empty Message​

message_error.mcq
m:(

):endm

It will throw error at line 3. because the message length is 0.

Escape a Valid Markdown​

message_error.mcq
m:( 
\*Hello world* from .mcq file!
):endm

It will throw error, and it will not send the message. because the parser sees it as a valid syntax, but in real the message send to Telegram API like this \*Hello world* from .mcq file! the Telegram Markdown Parser will throw an error because the * did not closed. to solve this error, escape the closed start (e.g. \*Hello world\* from .mcq file!).

Nested Square Bracket Error​

message_error.mcq
m:( 
Hello world* from .mcq file!
[[release page(https://github.com/mcqp/mcqp/releases)
):endm

It will throw error, and it will not send the message. because the parser can't escape the nested square bracket ([[), it can escape one square bracket (e.g. [release page). to solve this error, escape the first square bracket (e.g. \[[release page) and the MCQP parser will escape the last one (e.g. \[\[release page).