TOPIC
	about_Escape_Characters

SHORT DESCRIPTION
	Introduces the escape character in Windows PowerShell and explains
	its effect.


LONG DESCRIPTION
	Escape characters are used to assign a special interpretation to
	the characters that follow it.


	In Windows PowerShell, the escape character is the backtick (`), also
	called the grave accent (ASCII 96). The escape character can be used
	to indicate a literal, to indicate line continuation, and to indicate
	special characters.


  Indicating a Literal
	When an escape character precedes a variable, it prevents a value from
	being substituted for the variable. When an escape character precedes a
	double quotation mark, Windows PowerShell interprets the double quotation
	mark as a character, not as a string delimiter.


	For example:


		C:\>$a = 5
		C:\>"The value is stored in $a."
		The value is stored in 5.

		C:\>$a = 5
		C:\>"The value is stored in `$a."
		The value is stored in $a.

		C:\> "Use quotation marks (") to indicate a string."
		Unexpected token ')' in expression or statement.
		At line:1 char:25
		+ "Use quotation marks (") <<<<  to indicate a string."

		C:\> "Use quotation marks (`") to indicate a string."
		Use quotation marks (") to indicate a string.
  

  Indicating Line Continuation
	The escape character tells Windows PowerShell that the command continues 
	on the next line.


	For example:


		C:\> get-process `
		>> powershell

		Handles  NPM(K)	PM(K)	WS(K) VM(M)   CPU(s)	 Id ProcessName
		-------  ------	-----	----- -----   ------	 -- -----------
			340	 8	34556	31864   149	 0.98   2036 powershell


  
  Indicating Special Characters
	When used within quotation marks, the escape character indicates a 
	special character that provides instructions to the command parser.

	
	The following special characters are recognized by Windows PowerShell:


		`0	Null
		`a	Alert
		`b	Backspace
		`f	Form feed
		`n	New line
		`r	Carriage return
		`t	Horizontal tab
		`v	Vertical tab


	For example:


		C:\> "12345678123456781`nCol1`tColumn2`tCol3"
		12345678123456781
		Col1	Column2 Col3


	For more information, type:


		get-help about_special_characters


SEE ALSO
	about_Quoting_Rules