Is there an escaping character (when using double-quotes in string declarations)?

Question

This is the code I'm running:

RunWait("ComSpec & " /c Start 'D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe'")

I have also tried without semiquotes and with quotes but then I get syntax errors.

You definitely have a quote mismatch. There's 3 double quotes and 2 single quotes. It's not clear what string you meant to use. — jpmc26, May 27 '19 at 03:15

MrAutoIt · Accepted Answer · 2015-11-27T13:15:30.627

The problem is that the file path on your computer has spaces in it and needs double-quotations around it.

Try "D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe" from the command prompt with the double-quotations and make sure the program starts.

Once you know it works you can add it to your AutoIt code like so (notice that it is surrounded by single-quotations).

RunWait(@ComSpec & " /c " & '"D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe"')

Jefrey Sobreira Santos · Answer 2 · 2017-06-11T20:52:47.603

3

In AutoIt, you can escape quotes simply by repeating them (same way it happens on Batch/DOS):

RunWait(@ComSpec & " /c ""Start D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe""")

edited Jun 11 '17 at 20:52

answered Apr 23 '17 at 22:30

Jefrey Sobreira Santos

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Yes, this is probably the real answer. But can you add a reference (e.g. to documentation) to back up the claim? – Peter Mortensen May 27 '19 at 02:51

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 20 '20 at 02:41

1

It looks like a problem with the amount of quotes in your code. I would do something like this:

(RunWait(@ComSpec & " /c Start" & "D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe")

edited Nov 20 '20 at 02:41

user4157124

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answered Nov 24 '15 at 18:39

Pear666

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score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

As per Documentation - FAQ - Double quotes:

If you want to use double-quotes inside a string then you must "double them up". So for every one quote you want you should use two. ...

or use single quotes instead ...

Examples:

RunWait(@ComSpec & " /c " & """D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe""")
RunWait(@ComSpec & ' /c ' & '"D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe"')

However, there is no need for the "SPECified secondary COMmand interpreter" (or @ComSpec), nor escaping of double-quotes. Example:

Global Const $g_sFile = "D:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe"

Run($g_sFile, "")

Related.

score -1 · Answer 5 · edited May 27 '19 at 02:43

-1

You have an unmatched " in the middle.

Usually / or \ are used for escaping. Try /" or \" because I'm not sure which of both works with AutoIt.

edited May 27 '19 at 02:43

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 24 '15 at 18:37

Fookiee

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They both don't work in AutoIt. The only way seems to be string concatenation using different string characters (`'` and `"`) – Victor Marchuk Oct 04 '16 at 07:50
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It's possible to escape by double-typing it (i.e. `MsgBox(0, "Test", "Hello, ""world""")` will output Hello, "world" – Jefrey Sobreira Santos Apr 23 '17 at 22:33

Is there an escaping character (when using double-quotes in string declarations)?

5 Answers5