# bizarre error
**URL:** https://forum.highend3d.com/t/bizarre-error/6839
**Category:** Maya
**Tags:** mel
**Created:** [October 1, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/bizarre-error/6839 "2001-10-01T04:43:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@wcy93](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/wcy93)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/bizarre-error/6839/1 "2001-10-01T04:43:02Z")
can anyone tell me why I might be getting an error when the command for this menu item is executed? It gives me an "unterminated string" error. whats the deal with that?
menuItem -l "no selected items" -command ( "print "no selected itemsn" " );
cheers,.
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### Author:  [@tnt](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/tnt)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2001, 6:57am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/bizarre-error/6839/2 "2001-10-01T06:57:14Z")
the line has to look like this:
menuItem -l "no selected items" -command ("print "no selected itemsn"");
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### Author:  [@\-mike--1](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/-mike--1)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2001, 7:11am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/bizarre-error/6839/3 "2001-10-01T07:11:14Z")
> [@](#):
>
> In reply to:
> can anyone tell me why I might be getting an error when the command for this menu item is executed? It gives me an "unterminated string" error. whats the deal with that?
>
> menuItem -l "no selected items" -command ( "print "no selected itemsn" " );
>
> cheers,.
Hi,
if you want to use a `` in your output string (here in the escape sequence for new line) you have to
mask it, so using `n` instead `n` should work for you.
menuItem -l "no selected items" -command ( "print "no selected itemsn" " );
[mike]
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### Author:  [@wcy93](https://forum.highend3d.com/u/wcy93)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2001, 7:30am UTC](https://forum.highend3d.com/t/bizarre-error/6839/4 "2001-10-01T07:30:12Z")
awesome, thanks for that...