For the prompt, error, null, info, break, message, and fs commands, a "\" character is treated as an escape if it is the first non-white space (space or tab) character after the keyword. You must also be aware that a backslash "\" is an indicator for an escape sequence within an ESL string literal, so for the result string to contain a single backslash, you must use a double-backslash otherwise the ESL compiler will issue a warning or convert to a different non-printable character. You can use this character to enter a string parameter containing leading tabs or spaces. For example, to set the prompt to the following:

 > (two spaces followed by a > character) 

use the command:

send "prompt \\ >\n" to sql 

To enter a string that begins with a backslash, use two backslashes. For example, to set the prompt to the following:

\ > (a backslash, two spaces, and a > character) 

use the command:

send "prompt \\\\ >\n" to sql