escape()

Note: escape() is a non-standard function implemented by browsers and was only standardized for cross-engine compatibility. It is not required to be implemented by all JavaScript engines and may not work everywhere. Use encodeURIComponent() or encodeURI() if possible.

The escape() function computes a new string in which certain characters have been replaced by hexadecimal escape sequences.

Syntax

escape(str)

Parameters

• str
  • : A string to be encoded.

Return value

A new string in which certain characters have been escaped.

Description

escape() is a function property of the global object.

The escape() function replaces all characters with escape sequences, with the exception of ASCII word characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, ) and `@*+-./. Characters are escaped by UTF-16 code units. If the code unit's value is less than 256, it is represented by a two-digit hexadecimal number in the format %XX, left-padded with 0 if necessary. Otherwise, it is represented by a four-digit hexadecimal number in the format %uXXXX`, left-padded with 0 if necessary.

Note: This function was used mostly for URL encoding and is partly based on the escape format in rfc(1738). The escape format is not an escape sequence in string literals. You can replace %XX with \xXX and %uXXXX with \uXXXX to get a string containing actual string-literal escape sequences.