How do I put a \n into a property file's value?

Question

I'm using Java Property files and would like to have a newline character put into a value (used as the contents of a message to the user), so that this output contains a new line.

I tried putting it in as a \\n (as I have to escape the backslash character), but I just end up with a message with \n written in it.

ie.

message=Dear Foo,\\n\\nThank you for signing up for Bar.

gives:

Dear Foo,\n\nThank you for signing up for Bar.

I want:

Dear Foo,

Thank you for signing up for Bar.

How can I fix this? Thanks!

yeah I caught it, but apparently not before anybody else saw it. Doh. — Steve's a D, Jun 26 '12 at 19:37

score 18 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 26 '12 at 19:35

18

Simply use \n for this purpose

You are escaping the escape character using \\ hence you are getting \n printed

answered Jun 26 '12 at 19:35

Nitin Chhajer

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I did that because I was under the impression that Properties will remove the \ character. I wanted it to be preserved for when it goes into the string. – iank Jun 26 '12 at 19:38

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 26 '12 at 19:37

3

This should do it:

message=Dear Foo,\nThank you for signing up for Bar.

answered Jun 26 '12 at 19:37

GETah

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How do I put a \n into a property file's value?

2 Answers2