[Charter]

>> ...may be a beginner with 1.8.0 and only recently promoted junior to member in this forum, I am not a novice on string literals...

Hi. It seems you have taken offense where none was intended. Please keep in mind that, if I provide code or answer questions, I do so free of charge, on my own time, to be helpful.

>> The fact remains that, when looking at the mysql_query around line 217 in search_function...

Like I said, perhaps add a line in search_function.php that removes backslashes, but only if not followed by a character that should be escaped.

<?php

$query_to_parse = "I\'m_wearing_a%white%shirt\with\sleeves!";
$query_to_parse = addslashes($query_to_parse);

$query_to_parse = str_replace('_','\_',$query_to_parse);
$query_to_parse = str_replace('%','\%',$query_to_parse);
$query_to_parse = str_replace('\"',' ',$query_to_parse);

$what_query_chars = "[^ a-z0-9\\'.\_~@#$:&\%/;,=-]+";

$query_to_parse = eregi_replace("[\][^_%'\"]"," ",preg_replace('/[\0]/is',' ',$query_to_parse));
// TMTOWTDI $query_to_parse = eregi_replace("[\]{2}"," ",$query_to_parse);

if (eregi($what_query_chars,$query_to_parse)) {
$query_to_parse = eregi_replace($what_query_chars," ",$query_to_parse);
}

echo $query_to_parse; // I\\'m\_wearing\_a\%white\%shirt with sleeves

?>

If this method does not suit your fancy, then just rework the code to something that would be a palatable solution for you.