# Question about dollar sign coding **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 16, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497 "2026-03-16T17:28:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/1 "2026-03-16T17:28:23Z")
A couple of times recently I have used the dollar sign in posts (I’m hesitant to do it here) and my post comes out with portions italicized and spaces and text deleted. I assume that is some handy dandy coding? How can I use dollar signs without the software helping me out by fucking up my posts? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/2 "2026-03-16T17:37:25Z")
I believe that a backslash $ will do the trick. So type \ followed immediately by “?” ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/3 "2026-03-16T17:39:10Z")
Boy, I’m sorry, but I don’t understand your response. Are you saying that instead of typing “I spent $10k” I should type “I spent \?10k”? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/4 "2026-03-16T17:39:32Z")
`\$` in other words. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/5 "2026-03-16T17:41:10Z")
$10,000 Preview looks fine. Yup. There is no issue with just typing a $. You must be doing something else as well. I also just wrote it by itself in that sentence and it’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/6 "2026-03-16T17:41:16Z")
So instead of typing $ - which is what I want to say, I have to remember to add an additional character (which I had to search for on my keyboard) to avoid some auto-coding? Damn - I hate tech. Sure wouldn’t want the persons who WANTED whatever that coding to remember to use the \! 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/7 "2026-03-16T17:42:35Z")
I think it is when you use multiple $ in a single sentence? Paragraph? Post? I don’t know what triggers it until I hit submit and see a mess of italicized gibberish - which I am unable to edit/correct. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/8 "2026-03-16T17:43:24Z")
Test ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/9 "2026-03-16T17:43:45Z")
That’s it. If you type two in a row turns to italics. $$$ three is fine ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/10 "2026-03-16T17:45:04Z")
I surrounded it with dollars here. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/11 "2026-03-16T17:45:45Z")
That’s not just italics – the font changed into a serif font as well. Is that the mathematical-formula coding? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/12 "2026-03-16T17:45:56Z")
I never did 2 $ in a row. Instead, it was $text text $text ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/13 "2026-03-16T17:46:25Z")
Somehow, doing something like that had the stuff between the $ italicized. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/14 "2026-03-16T17:47:47Z")
It’s not something that you’re intended to need often. The formatting in question is in the form ` $stuff in between$ `. As long as you use the dollar sign “normally”, i.e. putting it before a number or letter, you won’t run into it. It’s when the second dollar sign is followed by a space, or so it appears. And, yes, it is the math coding, which we asked for because it is useful. It uses TeX, which is where the $ stuff comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/15 "2026-03-16T17:48:13Z")
It happened twice today. One time, I deleted the post and rewrote it. Second time, I just said “fuck it” and deleted the post. I suppose that is it, but yours is not italicized. I can imagine I used $ alone - followed by a space. Tho I may have mistyped. Who is the “we” that asked for it and how is it useful? ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/16 "2026-03-16T17:48:20Z")
SYour textS will doo it (where s is ) it shoud have no space between the first and the first word and no space between the 2nd $% and the last word. Edit never mind I triggered it whilst not meaning to so that’s not quite the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/17 "2026-03-16T17:51:13Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I never did 2 $ in a row. Instead, it was $text text $text But text text text (now I put the $ at the beginning and at the end, not like you before the last word). That feature has driven me crazy a couple of times too. $text text text$ when preceded by \ (which is not the same as /). The \ then turns invisible and makes the $ at the beginning and at the end visible. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/18 "2026-03-16T17:51:29Z")
Maybe when it happens I mistype and skip a space before the 2d $. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/19 "2026-03-16T18:01:31Z")
we: this people on this message board. usefulness: because it allows us to express math formulas. even with colors. The issue comes up when you type a second $ without a number (or letter) after it in the same paragraph. `$stuff inside$ ` → stuff inside `$200 and then $400` → $200 and then $400 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497/20 "2026-03-16T18:05:38Z")
test: 200 and then addl spent. On edit: intended “two hundred dollars and then addl dollars spent.” Once it “corrects” the formatting, I could not figure out how to get rid of it. Makes me fondly recall wordperfect’s “reveal codes” way back when… I guess I stay out of the colorful math formula threads. Is this really used frequently? Or are you using the royal we? 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-dollar-sign-coding/1028497.md?page=2)