Print raw string from variable? (not getting the answers)

In general, to make a raw string out of a string variable, I use this:

string = "C:\\Windows\Users\alexb"

raw_string = r"{}".format(string)

output:

'C:\\\\Windows\\Users\\alexb'

I had a similar problem and stumbled upon this question, and know thanks to Nick Olson-Harris' answer that the solution lies with changing the string.

Two ways of solving it:

1. Get the path you want using native python functions, e.g.:

   test = os.getcwd() # In case the path in question is your current directory
   print(repr(test))
   

   This makes it platform independent and it now works with .encode. If this is an option for you, it's the more elegant solution.

2. If your string is not a path, define it in a way compatible with python strings, in this case by escaping your backslashes:

   test = 'C:\\Windows\\Users\\alexb\\'
   print(repr(test))