Name

return

Syntax

Set theStr to "one line" & return & "another line"

Description

The return predefined variable represents a return character. You will use this predefined variable a lot with the concatenation character (&) in order to make strings more presentable:

"a long sentence divided into" & return & "two lines with the return 
character"

Make sure not to confuse the return statement with the return predefined variable. AppleScript also uses return as a statement inside of subroutines. If you use the return statement, the subroutine or function will return to the part of the script that called the function. The return character is a predefined variable while return, as used in functions, is a flow-control statement (see Chapter 7). This code illustrates the difference between the two:

set aString to "String with " & return & "one return character." 
(* use the return constant *)
run_it(aString) -- call the function
on run_it(str) -- function definition
   display dialog str¬
      buttons {"okay", "Big deal", "cancel"} default button 2
   (*  use return statement to return the value of the button the user 
clicked to dismiss the dialog box *)
   return (button returned in the result) (* return statement, not constant *)
end run_it