Flash 8 Documentation 
ActionScript 2.0 Language Reference > ActionScript classes > Object > toString (Object.toString method)

toString (Object.toString method)

public toString() : String

Converts the specified object to a string and returns it.

Availability: ActionScript 1.0; Flash Player 5

Returns

String - A string.

Example

This example shows the return value for toString() on a generic object: 

var myObject:Object = new Object();
trace(myObject.toString()); // output: [object Object]

This method can be overridden to return a more meaningful value. The following examples show that this method has been overridden for the built-in classes Date, Array, and Number:

// Date.toString() returns the current date and time
var myDate:Date = new Date();
trace(myDate.toString()); // output: [current date and time]

// Array.toString() returns the array contents as a comma-delimited string
var myArray:Array = new Array("one", "two");
trace(myArray.toString()); // output: one,two

// Number.toString() returns the number value as a string
// Because trace() won't tell us whether the value is a string or number
// we will also use typeof() to test whether toString() works.
var myNumber:Number = 5;
trace(typeof (myNumber)); // output: number
trace(myNumber.toString()); // output: 5
trace(typeof (myNumber.toString())); // output: string

The following example shows how to override toString() in a custom class. First create a text file named Vehicle.as that contains only the Vehicle class definition and place it into your Classes folder inside your Configuration folder.

// contents of Vehicle.as
class Vehicle {
    var numDoors:Number;
    var color:String;
    function Vehicle(param_numDoors:Number, param_color:String) {
    this.numDoors = param_numDoors;
    this.color = param_color;
    }
    function toString():String {
    var doors:String = "door";
    if (this.numDoors > 1) {
        doors += "s";
    }
    return ("A vehicle that is " + this.color + " and has " + this.numDoors + " " + doors);
    }
}

// code to place into a FLA file
var myVehicle:Vehicle = new Vehicle(2, "red");
trace(myVehicle.toString());
// output: A vehicle that is red and has 2 doors

// for comparison purposes, this is a call to valueOf()
// there is no primitive value of myVehicle, so the object is returned
// giving the same output as toString().
trace(myVehicle.valueOf());
// output: A vehicle that is red and has 2 doors

Version 8