title: How to specify a path in a properties file to be loaded with Java Properties
body: <p>I have a .properties file I want to load in a Java Properties object.
  The file contains some paths. In order to be able to load the properties file without getting a <code>java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Malformed \uxxxx encoding.</code> when loading the properties from the file with the method Properties.load(), I need to use the escape character '\' in the path.</p>
  
  <p>So my path looks like: <code>C:\\Users\\Harald\\Folder1\\Version1\\Folder2</code>. And it works this way, no exception is thrown.</p>
  
  <p>The problem is that I can't explain to my user (because this path can be changed by the user!) that he needs to use double '\' in the path.</p>
  
  <p>Does anybody knows a work-around for this problem?
  Thanks!</p>