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# Handle Escaped Characters in RENDER Statements

When using merge fields inside a render, if the merge field pulls in either `<` or `>`, the render will not properly work. This is because when the merge field pulls in `<` and `>` it pulls in the escaped version of these characters (`&lt;` `&gt;`). As of right now, we have a couple ways to work around this if it is needed.

### Workarounds

We currently have two workarounds that are confirmed to work.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Use replaceAll in the merge field

Use a replace all in the merge field replacing the escaped characters with nothing and updating the matching statement in the render to not include `<` or `>`.

Example:

{% code title="Example 1" %}

```
<!--RENDER='{{!Opportunity.nextstep replaceAll="&lt;, ,&gt;, "}}' != 'a href="/" target="_blank" /a'-->{{!Opportunity.nextstep}}<!--ENDRENDER-->
```

{% endcode %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Use a named query to pull the data ahead of time

Use a named query to pull the data ahead of time and use the results from the named query in the render. This will avoid the characters getting escaped.

Example:

{% code title="Example 2" %}

```
<!--{{!<LineItemsSOQL>
<class>none</class>
<queryname>myQuery1</queryname>
<soql>
SELECT count(id) cid
FROM opportunity
where id = '{{!opportunity.id}}' and New_Line_Test__c = 'Test: <'
</soql>
</LineItemsSOQL>}}-->{{!myQuery1.cid}}<br />
<br />
Render Text if: <!--RENDER= {{!myQuery1.cid}} > 0 -->RENDER TEXT HERE <!--ENDRENDER-->
```

{% endcode %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}


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