The :back symbol in Rails is often used to generate a URL that represents the previous page or location the user came from. It's commonly utilized in conjunction with methods like redirect_to redirecting users back to where they were before performing a specific action.


Here's a brief explanation:

- Usage with redirect_to you can use :back with the redirect_to method to send the user back to the previous page:

redirect_to :back

- Usage with Links, You can also use :back as the path in a link to create a "Back" button or link:

<%= link_to 'Back', :back, class: 'btn btn-primary' %>