Enum.ToString Method

Definition

Namespace:

System

Assembly:

System.Runtime.dll

Converts the value of this instance to its equivalent string representation.

Overloads

ToString(String, IFormatProvider)	Obsolete. This method overload is obsolete; use ToString(String).
ToString()	Converts the value of this instance to its equivalent string representation.
ToString(String)	Converts the value of this instance to its equivalent string representation using the specified format.
ToString(IFormatProvider)	Obsolete. This method overload is obsolete; use ToString().

ToString(String, IFormatProvider)

Source:

Enum.cs

Caution

The provider argument is not used. Use ToString(String) instead.

This method overload is obsolete; use ToString(String).

public:
 virtual System::String ^ ToString(System::String ^ format, IFormatProvider ^ provider);

[System.Obsolete("The provider argument is not used. Use ToString(String) instead.")]
public string ToString (string? format, IFormatProvider? provider);

[<System.Obsolete("The provider argument is not used. Use ToString(String) instead.")>]
override this.ToString : string * IFormatProvider -> string

Public Function ToString (format As String, provider As IFormatProvider) As String

Parameters

format

String

A format specification.

provider

IFormatProvider

(Obsolete.)

Returns

String

The string representation of the value of this instance as specified by format.

Implements

ToString(String, IFormatProvider)

Attributes

ObsoleteAttribute

Exceptions

FormatException

format does not contain a valid format specification.

InvalidOperationException

format equals "X", but the enumeration type is unknown.

Remarks

The format parameter can be one of the following format strings: "G" or "g", "D" or "d", "X" or "x", and "F" or "f" (the format string is not case-sensitive). If format is null or an empty string (""), the general format specifier ("G") is used. For more information about the enumeration format strings and formatting enumeration values, see Enumeration Format Strings. For more information about formatting in general, see Formatting Types.

Specify only format; the provider parameter is obsolete.

See also

• Format(Type, Object, String)
• Formatting Types in .NET
• Enumeration Format Strings

ToString()

Source:

Enum.cs

Converts the value of this instance to its equivalent string representation.

public:
 override System::String ^ ToString();

public override string ToString ();

override this.ToString : unit -> string

Public Overrides Function ToString () As String

Returns

String

The string representation of the value of this instance.

Examples

The following example demonstrates converting an enumerated value to a string.

using namespace System;
public ref class EnumSample
{
public:
   enum class Colors
   {
      Red = 1,
      Blue = 2
   };

   static void main()
   {
      Enum ^ myColors = Colors::Red;
      Console::WriteLine( "The value of this instance is '{0}'", myColors );
   }

};

int main()
{
   EnumSample::main();
}

/*
Output.
The value of this instance is 'Red'.
*/

using System;

public class EnumSample {
    enum Colors {Red = 1, Blue = 2};

    public static void Main() {
        Enum myColors = Colors.Red;
        Console.WriteLine("The value of this instance is '{0}'",
           myColors.ToString());
    }
}
/*
Output.
The value of this instance is 'Red'.
*/

type Colors =
    | Red = 1
    | Blue = 2

let myColors = Colors.Red
printfn $"The value of this instance is '{myColors.ToString()}'"

// Output.
// The value of this instance is 'Red'.

Public Class EnumSample    
    Enum Colors
        Red = 1
        Blue = 2
    End Enum
    
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim myColors As Colors = Colors.Red
        Console.WriteLine("The value of this instance is '{0}'", _
           myColors.ToString())
    End Sub
End Class

'Output.
'The value of this instance is 'Red'.

Remarks

The return value is formatted with the general format specifier ("G"). That is, if the FlagsAttribute is not applied to this enumerated type and there is a named constant equal to the value of this instance, then the return value is a string containing the name of the constant. If the FlagsAttribute is applied and there is a combination of one or more named constants equal to the value of this instance, then the return value is a string containing a delimiter-separated list of the names of the constants. Otherwise, the return value is the string representation of the numeric value of this instance. For more information about formatting enumeration values, see Enumeration Format Strings. For more information about formatting in general, see Formatting Types.

Notes to Callers

If multiple enumeration members have the same underlying value and you attempt to retrieve the string representation of an enumeration member's name based on its underlying value, your code should not make any assumptions about which name the method will return. For example, the following enumeration defines two members, Shade.Gray and Shade.Grey, that have the same underlying value.

enum Shade
{
    White = 0, Gray = 1, Grey = 1, Black = 2
}

type Shade =
    | White = 0
    | Gray = 1
    | Grey = 1
    | Black = 2

Public Enum Shade
   White = 0
   Gray = 1
   Grey = 1
   Black = 2
End Enum

The following method call attempts to retrieve the name of a member of the Shade enumeration whose underlying value is 1. The method can return either "Gray" or "Grey", and your code should not make any assumptions about which string will be returned.

string shadeName = ((Shade) 1).ToString();

let shadeName = (enum<Shade> 1).ToString()

Dim shadeName As String = CType(1, Shade).ToString()

See also

• Format(Type, Object, String)
• Parse(Type, String)

ToString(String)

Source:

Enum.cs

Converts the value of this instance to its equivalent string representation using the specified format.

public:
 System::String ^ ToString(System::String ^ format);

public string ToString (string? format);

override this.ToString : string -> string

Public Function ToString (format As String) As String

Parameters

format

String

A format string.

Returns

String

The string representation of the value of this instance as specified by format.

Exceptions

FormatException

format contains an invalid specification.

InvalidOperationException

format equals "X", but the enumeration type is unknown.

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to convert an enumerated value to a string.

// Sample for Enum::ToString(String)

using namespace System;

public enum class Colors
{
   Red, Green, Blue, Yellow = 12
};

int main()
{
   Colors myColor = Colors::Yellow;
   Console::WriteLine( "Colors::Red = {0}", Colors::Red.ToString( "d" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "Colors::Green = {0}", Colors::Green.ToString( "d" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "Colors::Blue = {0}", Colors::Blue.ToString( "d" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "Colors::Yellow = {0}", Colors::Yellow.ToString( "d" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( " {0}myColor = Colors::Yellow {0}", Environment::NewLine );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"g\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "g" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"G\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "G" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"x\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "x" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"X\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "X" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"d\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "d" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"D\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "D" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"f\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "f" ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "myColor->ToString(\"F\") = {0}", myColor.ToString( "F" ) );
}

/*
This example produces the following results:
Colors::Red = 0
Colors::Green = 1
Colors::Blue = 2
Colors::Yellow = 12

myColor = Colors::Yellow

myColor->ToString("g") = Yellow
myColor->ToString("G") = Yellow
myColor->ToString("x") = 0000000C
myColor->ToString("X") = 0000000C
myColor->ToString("d") = 12
myColor->ToString("D") = 12
myColor->ToString("f") = Yellow
myColor->ToString("F") = Yellow
*/

// Sample for Enum.ToString(String)
using System;

class Sample
{
    enum Colors {Red, Green, Blue, Yellow = 12};

    public static void Main()
    {
    Colors myColor = Colors.Yellow;

    Console.WriteLine("Colors.Red = {0}", Colors.Red.ToString("d"));
    Console.WriteLine("Colors.Green = {0}", Colors.Green.ToString("d"));
    Console.WriteLine("Colors.Blue = {0}", Colors.Blue.ToString("d"));
    Console.WriteLine("Colors.Yellow = {0}", Colors.Yellow.ToString("d"));

    Console.WriteLine("{0}myColor = Colors.Yellow{0}", Environment.NewLine);

    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"g\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("g"));
    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"G\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("G"));

    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"x\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("x"));
    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"X\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("X"));

    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"d\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("d"));
    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"D\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("D"));

    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"f\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("f"));
    Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(\"F\") = {0}", myColor.ToString("F"));
    }
}
/*
This example produces the following results:
Colors.Red = 0
Colors.Green = 1
Colors.Blue = 2
Colors.Yellow = 12

myColor = Colors.Yellow

myColor.ToString("g") = Yellow
myColor.ToString("G") = Yellow
myColor.ToString("x") = 0000000C
myColor.ToString("X") = 0000000C
myColor.ToString("d") = 12
myColor.ToString("D") = 12
myColor.ToString("f") = Yellow
myColor.ToString("F") = Yellow
*/

// Sample for Enum.ToString(String)
open System

type Colors =
    | Red = 0 
    | Green = 1 
    | Blue = 2 
    | Yellow = 12

let myColor = Colors.Yellow

printfn $"""Colors.Red = {Colors.Red.ToString "d"}"""
printfn $"""Colors.Green = {Colors.Green.ToString "d"}"""
printfn $"""Colors.Blue = {Colors.Blue.ToString "d"}"""
printfn $"""Colors.Yellow = {Colors.Yellow.ToString "d"}"""

printfn "\nmyColor = Colors.Yellow\n"

printfn $"""myColor.ToString("g") = {myColor.ToString "g"}"""
printfn $"""myColor.ToString("G") = {myColor.ToString "G"}"""

printfn $"""myColor.ToString("x") = {myColor.ToString "x"}"""
printfn $"""myColor.ToString("X") = {myColor.ToString "X"}"""

printfn $"""myColor.ToString("d") = {myColor.ToString "d"}"""
printfn $"""myColor.ToString("D") = {myColor.ToString "d"}"""

printfn $"""myColor.ToString("f") = {myColor.ToString "f"}"""
printfn $"""myColor.ToString("F") = {myColor.ToString "F"}"""

// This example produces the following results:
//     Colors.Red = 0
//     Colors.Green = 1
//     Colors.Blue = 2
//     Colors.Yellow = 12
//    
//     myColor = Colors.Yellow
//    
//     myColor.ToString("g") = Yellow
//     myColor.ToString("G") = Yellow
//     myColor.ToString("x") = 0000000C
//     myColor.ToString("X") = 0000000C
//     myColor.ToString "d" = 12
//     myColor.ToString "d" = 12
//     myColor.ToString("f") = Yellow
//     myColor.ToString("F") = Yellow

' Sample for Enum.ToString(String)
Class Sample
   Enum Colors
      Red
      Green
      Blue
      Yellow = 12
   End Enum 'Colors
   
   Public Shared Sub Main()
      Dim myColor As Colors = Colors.Yellow
      
      Console.WriteLine("Colors.Red = {0}", Colors.Red.ToString("d"))
      Console.WriteLine("Colors.Green = {0}", Colors.Green.ToString("d"))
      Console.WriteLine("Colors.Blue = {0}", Colors.Blue.ToString("d"))
      Console.WriteLine("Colors.Yellow = {0}", Colors.Yellow.ToString("d"))
      
      Console.WriteLine("{0}myColor = Colors.Yellow{0}", Environment.NewLine)
      
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""g"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("g"))
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""G"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("G"))
      
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""x"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("x"))
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""X"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("X"))
      
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""d"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("d"))
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""D"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("D"))
      
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""f"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("f"))
      Console.WriteLine("myColor.ToString(""F"") = {0}", myColor.ToString("F"))
   End Sub
End Class
'
'This example produces the following results:
'
'Colors.Red = 0
'Colors.Green = 1
'Colors.Blue = 2
'Colors.Yellow = 12
'
'myColor = Colors.Yellow
'
'myColor.ToString("g") = Yellow
'myColor.ToString("G") = Yellow
'myColor.ToString("x") = 0000000C
'myColor.ToString("X") = 0000000C
'myColor.ToString("d") = 12
'myColor.ToString("D") = 12
'myColor.ToString("f") = Yellow
'myColor.ToString("F") = Yellow
'

Remarks

The format parameter can be one of the following format strings: "G" or "g", "D" or "d", "X" or "x", and "F" or "f" (the format string is not case-sensitive). If format is null or an empty string (""), the general format specifier ("G") is used. For more information about the enumeration format strings and formatting enumeration values, see Enumeration Format Strings. For more information about formatting in general, see Formatting Types.

Notes to Callers

If multiple enumeration members have the same underlying value and you attempt to retrieve the string representation of an enumeration member's name based on its underlying value, your code should not make any assumptions about which name the method will return. For example, the following enumeration defines two members, Shade.Gray and Shade.Grey, that have the same underlying value.

enum Shade
{
    White = 0, Gray = 1, Grey = 1, Black = 2
}

type Shade =
    | White = 0
    | Gray = 1
    | Grey = 1
    | Black = 2

Public Enum Shade
   White = 0
   Gray = 1
   Grey = 1
   Black = 2
End Enum

The following method call attempts to retrieve the name of a member of the Shade enumeration whose underlying value is 1. The method can return either "Gray" or "Grey", and your code should not make any assumptions about which string will be returned.

string shadeName = ((Shade) 1).ToString("F");

let shadeName = (enum<Shade> 1).ToString "F"

Dim shadeName As String = CType(1, Shade).ToString("F")

See also

• Format(Type, Object, String)
• Parse(Type, String)
• ToString(String, IFormatProvider)
• Formatting Types in .NET
• Enumeration Format Strings

ToString(IFormatProvider)

Source:

Enum.cs

Caution

The provider argument is not used. Use ToString() instead.

This method overload is obsolete; use ToString().

public:
 virtual System::String ^ ToString(IFormatProvider ^ provider);

[System.Obsolete("The provider argument is not used. Use ToString() instead.")]
public string ToString (IFormatProvider? provider);

[<System.Obsolete("The provider argument is not used. Use ToString() instead.")>]
override this.ToString : IFormatProvider -> string

Public Function ToString (provider As IFormatProvider) As String

Parameters

provider

IFormatProvider

(obsolete)

Returns

String

The string representation of the value of this instance.

Implements

ToString(IFormatProvider)

Attributes

ObsoleteAttribute