diff --git a/lib/std/private/miscdollars.nim b/lib/std/private/miscdollars.nim
index 840fedf54..6c3436308 100644
--- a/lib/std/private/miscdollars.nim
+++ b/lib/std/private/miscdollars.nim
@@ -6,9 +6,8 @@ template toLocation*(result: var string, file: string | cstring, line: int, col:
   # it can be done in a single place.
   result.add file
   if line > 0:
-    result.add "("
+    result.add ":"
     addInt(result, line)
     if col > 0:
-      result.add ", "
+      result.add ":"
       addInt(result, col)
-    result.add ")"