How to Fix the Unicode Error Found in a File Path in Python

In Python and other programming languages, file paths are represented as strings. Backslashes or \ distinguish directories in a file path.

But in Python, \ is a unique character known as an escape character. It is used to ignore or escape single characters next to it within a string.

Using them to represent a file path in the form of a string can run into bugs.

For example, in Windows, C:\Users\Programs\Python\main.txt is a valid path, but if this path is represented as "C:\Users\Programs\Python\main.txt" in Python, it will result in a Unicode error.

This is because \U in Python is an eight-character Unicode escape. This article will guide us on how to solve this problem.

Solve Unicode Error Found in a File Path in Python

We can use double backslashes or \\ in place of single backslashes or \ to solve this issue. Refer to the following Python code for this.

a = "C:\\Users\\Programs\\Python\\main.txt"
print(a)

Output:

C:\Users\Programs\Python\main.txt

We can also use raw strings or prefix the file paths with an r instead of double backslashes. Refer to the following Python code for the discussed approach.

a = r"C:\Users\Programs\Python\main.txt"
print(a)

Output:

C:\Users\Programs\Python\main.txt