unicode error preventing creation of text file

Question

What is causing this error and how can I fix it?

(unicode error) \'unicodeescape\' codec can\'t decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \\UXXXXXXXX escape

Answer 1

\U is being treated as the start of a Unicode literal. Use a raw string (a preceding r) to prevent this translation:

>>> 'C:\Users'
  File "", line 1
SyntaxError: (unicode error) 'unicodeescape' codec can't decode bytes in position 2-3: truncated \UXXXXXXXX escape
>>> r'C:\Users'
'C:\\Users'