Powershell backslash in string

Powershell Backslash in String

In Powershell, the backslash character (\) is used as an escape character to represent certain special characters or to include characters that are not allowed within a string. When using a backslash within a string, you need to be aware of its usage and potential escape sequences.

1. Escape Sequences

Some common escape sequences in Powershell are:

• \r – Carriage return
• \n – Line feed
• \t – Tab
• \’ – Single quote
• \” – Double quote
• \\ – Backslash character itself

When using these escape sequences, the backslash needs to be preceded by another backslash. Here are a few examples:

        $string1 = "This is a line with a backslash: \\"
        $string2 = 'This is a string with a tab: `tThis is indented.'
        $string3 = "This is a string with a double quote: `"Hello`"."'
    

2. Literal Strings

If you want to use a backslash within a string without triggering any escape sequences, you can use a single quote to create a literal string. Literal strings are interpreted exactly as they are written. Here’s an example:

        $literalString = 'C:\Program Files\Example'
    

3. Joining Strings

To concatenate string values that include backslashes, you can use the concatenation operator (+) or the Join-Path cmdlet. Here are examples of both approaches:

        $string1 = "C:\Windows" + "\" + "System32"
        $string2 = Join-Path "C:\Windows" "System32"