JavaScript Special Characters

In JavaScript you can add special characters to a text string by using the backslash sign.

Insert Special Characters

The backslash (\) is used to insert apostrophes, new lines, quotes, and other special characters into a text string.

Look at the following JavaScript code:

Code:

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var txt="We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.";
document.write(txt);

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In JavaScript, a string is started and stopped with either single or double quotes. This means that the string above will be chopped to:

Code:

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We  are the so-called

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To solve this problem, you must place a backslash (\) before each double quote in "Viking". This turns each double quote into a string literal:

Code:

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var txt="We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";
document.write(txt);

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JavaScript will now output the proper text string: We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.

The table below lists other special characters that can be added to a text string with the backslash sign:

Code:

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Code    Outputs
\'        single quote
\"        double quote
\\        backslash
\n        new line
\r        carriage return
\t        tab
\b        backspace
\f        form feed

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