Formatting Tokens

Foswiki defines some standard special tokens that can be used to replace characters in some parameters - notably those to FormattedSearch and IfStatements - to defer evaluation of the parameter until later. These special tokens are often called "escapes", because they allow the character to "escape" from its normal meaning.
$n or $n() New line. Use $n() if followed by alphanumeric character, e.g. write Foo$n()Bar instead of Foo$nBar

TIP Most macros accept parameter strings which are split over multiple lines. This is usually more readable than using $n tokens. If you are familiar with sectional includes, you might also consider nested sectional includes to hold the newline content outside of the parameter string entirely.

TIP Note that newline is not a line break. The browser will wrap the lines together. If you require a line break, displaying the results on two lines, use %BR%. Or use two consecutive newlines to create a TML "Paragraph".

$nop or $nop() Is a "no operation". This token gets removed; useful for nested search
$quot Double quote (") (\" also works)
$percent Percent sign (%) ($percnt also works)
$dollar Dollar sign ($)
$lt Less than sign (<)
$gt Greater than sign (>)
$amp Ampersand (&)
$comma Comma (,)

If you ever find yourself needing to escape an escape, you can use $dollar to escape the leading dollar, thus: $dollarpercent.

Interactive Example

Click the buttons below to escape or unescape the sample text.

Escape Unescape
Topic revision: r1 - 21 Nov 2014, ProjectContributor
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