Formatting Tokens

Foswiki defines some standard special tokens that can be used to replace characters in some parameters - notably those to Formatted Search and If Statements - 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 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. 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