# Noob questions abound; open quote error **URL:** \ **Category:** ChoiceScript Help\ **Created:** [June 27, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631 "2016-06-27T00:02:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/1 "2016-06-27T00:02:46Z")
A few years back I took an introductory computer science course and we went through html and java; the aspects of coding are at least somewhat familiar to me but it has been a while and ChoiceScript certainly is no html… I wrote my first choice and wanted to see if I’m doing this properly and of course–just like I remember from CSCI 101–bugs and error codes that leave me puzzled and frustrated. My title and name appear, with the error: line 12: Invalid string, open quote with no close quote: "unknown I got rid of line 12 entirely and it says the same exact error. so then i finished off my little snippet with: \*label todo This isn’t done yet \*page\_break \*ending as mentioned in the wiki, and still. same error code. I checked the forums but haven’t found any answers to this specific error. I haven’t even gotten to the complicated parts of coding, but this is too promising and exciting to give up. Thanks for any help ---
**Author:** ![CitizenShawn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/citizenshawn/32/1386_2.png) [@CitizenShawn](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/CitizenShawn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/2 "2016-06-27T00:05:05Z")
Is it in one of your startup variables? Kind of hard to diagnose without the original code in its entirety. ---
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:07am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/3 "2016-06-27T00:07:01Z")
Hadn’t thought of that. Here’s my startup.txt document in entirety: \*title First Choice: Demo \*author Nicolette Sauveterre \*scene\_list startup pro one two \*create name “unknown” \*create gender "unknown \*create gold 0 \*create satisfaction 50 \*create clever 50 \*create eloquence 50 \*create leadership 50 \*create strength 50 \*create health 100 \*create leo 50 \*create gabriel 50 \*create chiara 50 \*create elise 50 ---
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/4 "2016-06-27T00:12:12Z")
Oh duh–I thought the “unknown” was it saying it wasn’t sure what was causing the error, but that was the quote it’s referencing. I am an idiot. So yes, you were right–it was a startup variable. ---
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/5 "2016-06-27T00:18:38Z")
So I fixed that error, and the next error, and now it’s saying: line 8: It is illegal to fall out of a \*choice statement; you must \*goto or \*finish before the end of the indented block. but i have a goto after each option, like so, She raises her eyes at him, then glances to you and crosses her arms. “What’d you do to get caught up in his mess?” \*choice –#Tell her you and Leo are good friends, you’d do anything for him. This favor is well worth the danger. – --“Danger?” She asks. “What danger?” – --\*goto explain\_whats\_going\_on –#Explain that Elise is a dear friend and a good soul, and you won’t let her be punished for something she isn’t at fault for. – --“Little Elise…has something happened?” – --\*goto explain\_whats\_going\_on –#You may not see eye-to-eye with Leo’s strict adherence to the rules but he’s in need of aid, and you’re not one to let anyone down. – --\*set leadership +10% – --“Leo, in need of aid? That’ll be the day.” She snickers, rolling her eyes, but the quiet tension of the room draws her attention back. Quietly she says, “You’re…serious?” – --\*goto explain\_whats\_going\_on –#Ensure her there’s no mess at all–you have everything under control. – --“And yet the two of you barge in here on my only day off with wild looks on your faces. You can’t lie to me, there’s a mess and you need my help getting it cleaned up.” – --\*goto explain\_whats\_going\_on \*label explain\_whats\_going\_on Chiara shakes her head and takes a steadying breath. “Explain what’s going on, please.” \*page\_break \*ending so why are my goto’s wrong? If I can get this first segment under way I can at least mimic it in the future ---
**Author:** ![CitizenShawn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/citizenshawn/32/1386_2.png) [@CitizenShawn](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/CitizenShawn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/6 "2016-06-27T00:35:50Z")
The way nice found is to use \*fake\_choice instead of \*choice. That should fix it. The second way is you’ll need to add another \*goto immediately after all the choices, at least I think. ---
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/7 "2016-06-27T00:50:49Z")
Hm. neither \*fake\_choice nor an extra \*goto fixed it. Could it be my indentation is off? \*choice is against the margin with the #options indented once, the replies twice, and the \*goto’s twice ---
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/8 "2016-06-27T01:05:15Z")
I think it was partly the \*fake\_choice and partly indentation issues; it seems to be in working order now. thanks for the help @CitizenShawn :] ---
**Author:** ![FairyGodfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/user_avatar/forum.choiceofgames.com/fairygodfeather/32/16709_2.png) [@FairyGodfeather](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/FairyGodfeather)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/9 "2016-06-27T03:52:17Z")
How to format your code so it can be seen on the forum. Paste code into window. Highlight all of the code. Click the preformatted text button. (It looks like \ and is next to the quote one and on the same bar as the other formatting and smilies choice.) Click reply. ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/choiceofgames/original/2X/4/42ad6b6f83fcee0cf73c37f5a6503deac46ad12f.png) ---
**Author:** ![NicoSauveterre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@NicoSauveterre](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/u/NicoSauveterre)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/noob-questions-abound-open-quote-error/18631/10 "2016-07-17T21:45:18Z")
Wonderful, thanks for the tip!