Javascript double quote escape character?

[Alden Streeter]

Here is the HTML that is being output by my asp page:

<a href='Files/category/computers/bigimages/computers-sub-monitors.jpg'
target='_blank' onMouseOver="window.status='Click for a larger image of
MONITOR, 19\" CODAR EAGLE.';return true;"
onMouseOut="window.status='';return true;">
<img width='98' height='96' border='0'
src='Files/category/computers/bigimages/computers-sub-monitors.jpg'
alt='MONITOR, 19" CODAR EAGLE'></a>

Notice the \" . AFAIK this escape character is what I am supposed to do to
use a double quote in a string in javascript. But my browser (IE 6.0)
doesn't like it - it says it is an "unterminated string constant".

If I change the double quote to a single quote - \' - then the browser works
as expected: it shows 19' in the status bar. But the monitor I am
describing is really only 19 inches, not 19 feet, so that's not a real
option.

So am I using the escape character wrong, or have I just run into a bug in
IE6?

 

[Alden Streeter]

You are using the escape character wrong. This is not a bug. You need to
use &quot; instead. As in:

...
MONITOR, 19&quot; CODAR EAGLE';return true;"

See this portion of the HTML spec for more info on this:
http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/appendix/notes.html#h-B.3.2.1

Regards,
Peter Foti

Thanks! That works without the hack. I knew it couldn't have been a bug in
IE ;-)