unescape()
Deprecated
Avoid using this feature in new projects.
TC39 included the escape() and unescape() methods in Annex B of the ECMAScript specification, which covers JavaScript features with "one or more undesirable characteristics and in the absence of legacy usage would be removed."
This feature may be a candidate for removal from web standards or browsers.
Note:
unescape() is a non-standard function implemented by browsers and was only standardized for cross-engine compatibility. It is not required to be implemented by all JavaScript engines and may not work everywhere. Use decodeURIComponent() or decodeURI() if possible.
The unescape() function computes a new string in which hexadecimal escape sequences are replaced with the characters that they represent. The escape sequences might be introduced by a function like escape().
Syntax
unescape(str)
Parameters
str-
A string to be decoded.
Return value
A new string in which certain characters have been unescaped.
Description
unescape() is a function property of the global object.
The unescape() function replaces any escape sequence with the character that it represents. Specifically, it replaces any escape sequence of the form %XX or %uXXXX (where X represents one hexadecimal digit) with the character that has the hexadecimal value XX/XXXX. If the escape sequence is not a valid escape sequence (for example, if % is followed by one or no hex digit), it is left as-is.
Note:
This function was used mostly for percent-encoding and is partly based on the escape format in RFC 1738. The unescape() function does not evaluate escape sequences in string literals. You can replace \xXX with %XX and \uXXXX with %uXXXX to get a string that can be handled by unescape().
Examples
Using unescape()
unescape("abc123"); // "abc123"
unescape("%E4%F6%FC"); // "äöü"
unescape("%u0107"); // "ć"
Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| ECMAScript® 2027 Language Specification # sec-unescape-string |