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SHORT DESCRIPTION
Describes the special characters that you can use to control how Windows PowerShell interprets the next character in a command or parameter.
LONG DESCRIPTION
Windows PowerShell supports a set of special character sequences that are used to represent characters that are not part of the standard character set. The special characters in Windows PowerShell begin with the backtick character, also known as the grave accent (ASCII 96).
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
These characters are case-sensitive.
NULL (`0)
Windows PowerShell recognizes a null special character (`0) and represents it with a character code of 0. It appears as an empty space in the Windows PowerShell output. This allows you to use Windows PowerShell to read and process text files that use null characters, such as string termination or record termination indicators. The null special characteris not equivalent to the $null variable, which stores a value of NULL.
ALERT (`a)
The alert (`a) character sends a beep signal to the computer's speaker. You can use this to warn a user about an impending action. The following command sends two beep signals to the local computer's speaker:
for ($i = 0; $i -le 1; $i++){"`a"}
BACKSPACE (`b)
The backspace character (`b) moves the cursor back one character, but it does not delete any characters. The following command writes the word "backup", moves the cursor back twice, and then writes the word "out" (preceded by a space and starting at the new position):
"backup`b`b out"
FORM FEED (`f)
The form feed character (`f) is a print instruction that ejects the current page and continues printing on the next page. This character affects printed documents only; it does not affect screen output.
NEW LINE (`n)
The new line character (`n) inserts a line break immediately after the character. The following example shows how to use the new line character in a Write-Host command:
"There are two line breaks`n`nhere."
CARRIAGE RETURN (`r)
The carriage return character (`r) eliminates the entire line prior to the `r character, as though the prior text were on a different line.
For example:
Write-Host "Let's not move`rDelete everything before this point." The output from this command is: Delete everything before this point.
HORIZONTAL TAB (`t)
The horizontal tab character (`t) advances to the next tab stop and continues writing at that point. By default, the Windows PowerShell console has a tab stop at every eighth space.
For example, the following command inserts two tabs between each column.
"Column1`t`tColumn2`t`tColumn3"
The output from this command is:
Column1 Column2 Column3
VERTICAL TAB (`v
The horizontal tab character (`t) advances to the next vertical tab stopped and writes all subsequent output beginning at that point. This character affects printed documents only. It does not affect screen output.
Describes the special characters that you can use to control how Windows PowerShell interprets the next character in a command or parameter.
LONG DESCRIPTION
Windows PowerShell supports a set of special character sequences that are used to represent characters that are not part of the standard character set. The special characters in Windows PowerShell begin with the backtick character, also known as the grave accent (ASCII 96).
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
These characters are case-sensitive.
NULL (`0)
Windows PowerShell recognizes a null special character (`0) and represents it with a character code of 0. It appears as an empty space in the Windows PowerShell output. This allows you to use Windows PowerShell to read and process text files that use null characters, such as string termination or record termination indicators. The null special characteris not equivalent to the $null variable, which stores a value of NULL.
ALERT (`a)
The alert (`a) character sends a beep signal to the computer's speaker. You can use this to warn a user about an impending action. The following command sends two beep signals to the local computer's speaker:
for ($i = 0; $i -le 1; $i++){"`a"}
BACKSPACE (`b)
The backspace character (`b) moves the cursor back one character, but it does not delete any characters. The following command writes the word "backup", moves the cursor back twice, and then writes the word "out" (preceded by a space and starting at the new position):
"backup`b`b out"
FORM FEED (`f)
The form feed character (`f) is a print instruction that ejects the current page and continues printing on the next page. This character affects printed documents only; it does not affect screen output.
NEW LINE (`n)
The new line character (`n) inserts a line break immediately after the character. The following example shows how to use the new line character in a Write-Host command:
"There are two line breaks`n`nhere."
CARRIAGE RETURN (`r)
The carriage return character (`r) eliminates the entire line prior to the `r character, as though the prior text were on a different line.
For example:
Write-Host "Let's not move`rDelete everything before this point." The output from this command is: Delete everything before this point.
HORIZONTAL TAB (`t)
The horizontal tab character (`t) advances to the next tab stop and continues writing at that point. By default, the Windows PowerShell console has a tab stop at every eighth space.
For example, the following command inserts two tabs between each column.
"Column1`t`tColumn2`t`tColumn3"
The output from this command is:
Column1 Column2 Column3
VERTICAL TAB (`v
The horizontal tab character (`t) advances to the next vertical tab stopped and writes all subsequent output beginning at that point. This character affects printed documents only. It does not affect screen output.