# #EscapeChar (and explanation of escape sequences)

Changes the script's escape character (e.g. accent vs. backslash).

    #EscapeChar NewChar

### Parameters

NewChar | Specify a single character.

### Remarks

The escape character is used to indicate that the character immediately following it should be interpreted differently than it normally would.

The default escape character is accent/backtick (`).

### Escape Sequences (when accent is the escape character)

Type This | To Get This
--- | ---
`, | , (literal comma). Note: Commas that appear within the last parameter of a command do not need to be escaped because the program knows to treat them literally. The same is true for all parameters of MsgBox because it has smart comma handling.
`% | % (literal percent)
`` | ` (literal accent; i.e. two consecutive escape characters result in a single literal character)
`; | ; (literal semicolon). Note: This is necessary only if a semicolon has a space or tab to its left. If it does not, it will be recognized correctly without being escaped.
`:: | :: (literal pair of colons). In v1.0.40+, it is no longer necessary to escape these.
`n | newline (linefeed/LF)
`r | carriage return (CR)
`b | backspace
`t | tab (the more typical horizontal variety)
`v | vertical tab -- corresponds to Ascii value 11. It can also be manifest in some applications by typing Control+K.
`a | alert (bell) -- corresponds to Ascii value 7. It can also be manifest in some applications by typing Control+G.
`f | formfeed -- corresponds to Ascii value 12. It can also be manifest in some applications by typing Control+L.
Send | When the Send command or Hotstrings are used in their default (non-raw) mode, characters such as {}^!+# have special meaning. Therefore, to use them literally in these cases, enclose them in braces. For example: Send {^}{!}{{}
"" | Within an expression, two consecutive quotes enclosed inside a literal string resolve to a single literal quote. For example: Var := "The color ""red"" was found."

### Related

The following rarely used directives also exist; their usage is shown in these examples:

    #DerefChar #  ; Change it from its normal default, which is %.
    #Delimiter /  ; Change it from its normal default, which is comma.

### Example

    #EscapeChar \  ; Change it to be backslash instead of the default of accent (`).