@whitequark @wyatt8740 @jannem @dalias @unnick

if you need a variable that has iterable characters, you have to do something to the tune of:

choice /t:=,1 /c=%1= R:\bat\str2.bat > %TEMP%\test.bat
%TEMP%\test.bat

where str2.bat is the script to actually process the iterable (in my case, it's up to three splits in a string, and it's 1.2KB.)

this relies on error logic in choice to accomplish this, and needs tweaking for the version of DOS it's running on (this precise line only works on MS-DOS 6+ or equal IBM-DOS, and I don't think DR-DOS needs this at all, since it has some string comprehension extensions iirc)