ColorConsole [Version 1.7.1000] PowerShell 2.0-Export
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.

C:\Windows-7>Powershell get-help about_escape_characters -full
# TOPIC
about_Escape_Characters

# SHORT DESCRIPTION
Introduces the escape character in Windows PowerShell and explains
its effect.

# LONG DESCRIPTION
Escape characters are used to assign a special interpretation to
the characters that follow it.

In Windows PowerShell, the escape character is the backtick (`), also
called the grave accent (ASCII 96). The escape character can be used
to indicate a literal, to indicate line continuation, and to indicate
special characters.

Indicating a Literal
When an escape character precedes a variable, it prevents a value from
being substituted for the variable. When an escape character precedes a
double quotation mark, Windows PowerShell interprets the double quotation
mark as a character, not as a string delimiter.

For example:

C:\>$a = 5
C:\>"The value is stored in $a."
The value is stored in 5.

C:\>$a = 5
C:\>"The value is stored in `$a."
The value is stored in $a.

C:\> "Use quotation marks (") to indicate a string."
Unexpected token ')' in expression or statement.
At line:1 char:25
+ "Use quotation marks (") <<<< to indicate a string."

C:\> "Use quotation marks (`") to indicate a string."
Use quotation marks (") to indicate a string.

Indicating Line Continuation
The escape character tells Windows PowerShell that the command continues
on the next line.

For example:

C:\> get-process `
>> powershell

Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
340 8 34556 31864 149 0.98 2036 powershell

Indicating Special Characters
When used within quotation marks, the escape character indicates a
special character that provides instructions to the command parser.

The following special characters are recognized by Windows PowerShell:

`0 Null
`a Alert
`b Backspace
`f Form feed
`n New line
`r Carriage return
`t Horizontal tab
`v Vertical tab

For example:

C:\> "12345678123456781`nCol1`tColumn2`tCol3"
12345678123456781
Col1 Column2 Col3

For more information, type:

get-help about_special_characters

SEE ALSO
about_Quoting_Rules

C:\Windows>powershell get-help about_eventlogs -full