Using Python to Replace Backslash in String

To replace backslashes in a string with Python, the easiest way is to use the Python built-in string replace() function.

string_with_backslashes = r"This\is\a\string\with\backslashes."

string_with_underscores = string_with_backslashes.replace("\\","_")

print(string_with_underscores)

#Output:
This_is_a_string_with_backslashes.

When working with strings in Python, being able to manipulate your variables easily is important. There are a number of built in string methods which allow us to get information and change string variables.

One such function which is very useful is the string replace() function. With the replace() function, we can create a new string where the specified value is replaced by another specified value.

We can use the replace() function to replace the backslashes in a string with another character.

To replace all backslashes in a string, we can use the replace() function as shown in the following Python code.

string_with_backslashes = r"This\is\a\string\with\backslashes."

string_with_underscores = string_with_backslashes.replace("\\","_")

print(string_with_underscores)

#Output:
This_is_a_string_with_backslashes.

Something to note here is that we need to use “r” before the string so that it is a raw string. This will tell Python to treat backslashes as a literal character.

Typically, Python interprets backslashes as the start of an escape sequence. Therefore, we also need to add two backslashes in the replace() function because Python can then recognize that we want a backslash and not an escape sequence.

Using the replace() function to Make Replacements in Strings in Python

Below are a few more examples of how you can use the replace() function to make replacements in strings in Python.

For example, if we want to replace spaces with dashes, we can do the following.

string_with_spaces = "This is a string."

string_with_dashes = string_with_spaces.replace(" ","-")

print(string_with_dashes)

#Output:
This-is-a-string.

If we want to replace all the spaces with periods, we can do so easily in the following Python code.

string_with_spaces = "This is a string."

string_with_periods = string_with_spaces.replace(" ","-")

print(string_with_periods)

#Output:
This.is.a.string.

You can also remove specific characters with replace() For example, you can remove all apostrophes from a string as shown below.

string_with_apostrophe = "I'm looking for the dog's collar."

string_without_apostrophe = string_with_apostrophe.replace("'","")

print(string_without_apostrophe)

#Output:
Im looking for the dogs collar.

Hopefully this article has been useful for you to learn how to replace backslashes in string variables in Python.