Extension: all_symbols_escapable
Except inside a code block or inline code, any punctuation or space character preceded by a backslash will be treated literally, even if it would normally indicate formatting. Thus, for example, if one writes
*\*hello\**
one will get
<em>*hello*</em>
instead of
<strong>hello</strong>
This rule is easier to remember than standard Markdown’s rule, which allows only the following characters to be backslash-escaped:
\`*_{}[]()>#+-.!
(However, if the markdown_strict
format is used, the standard Markdown rule will be used.)
A backslash-escaped space is parsed as a nonbreaking space. It will appear in TeX output as ~
and in HTML and XML as \ 
or \
.
A backslash-escaped newline (i.e. a backslash occurring at the end of a line) is parsed as a hard line break. It will appear in TeX output as \\
and in HTML as <br />
. This is a nice alternative to Markdown’s “invisible” way of indicating hard line breaks using two trailing spaces on a line.
Backslash escapes do not work in verbatim contexts.