- given a path, "/" is replaced by "-", and all
- unprintable characters and the "-" are replaced by
- C-style "\x2d" escapes. The root directory "/" is
- encoded as single dash, while otherwise the initial
- and ending "/" is removed from all paths during
- transformation. This escaping is reversible.</para>
+ given a path, "/" is replaced by "-" and all other
+ characters which are not ASCII alphanumerics are
+ replaced by C-style "\x2d" escapes (except that "_"
+ is never replaced and "." is only replaced when it
+ would be the first character in the escaped path).
+ The root directory "/" is encoded as single dash,
+ while otherwise the initial and ending "/" are removed
+ from all paths during transformation. This escaping
+ is reversible. Properly escaped paths can be generated
+ using the <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd-escape</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
+ command.</para>