$ptext =~ s/^\"//;
      $ptext =~ s/\"$//;
      $ptext =~ s/^\'//;
      $ptext =~ s/\'$//;
      $ptext =~ s/\'/\\\'/g;
      $ptext =~ s/\"/\\\"/g;
      $ptext =~ s/\{/\\\{/g;
      # ...