---
title: toString() function
description: >
  `toString()` converts all values in the `_value` column to string types.
menu:
  flux_v0_ref:
    name: toString
    parent: universe
    identifier: universe/toString
weight: 101
flux/v0/tags: [transformations, type-conversions]
introduced: 0.7.0
---

<!------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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To make updates to this documentation, update the function comments above the
function definition in the Flux source code:

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Fluxdoc syntax: https://github.com/influxdata/flux/blob/master/docs/fluxdoc.md

------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

`toString()` converts all values in the `_value` column to string types.



##### Function type signature

```js
(<-tables: stream[{A with _value: B}]) => stream[{A with _value: B, _value: string}]
```

{{% caption %}}
For more information, see [Function type signatures](/flux/v0/function-type-signatures/).
{{% /caption %}}

## Parameters

### tables

Input data. Default is piped-forward data (`<-`).




## Examples

### Convert the _value column to strings

```js
import "sampledata"

sampledata.float()
    |> toString()

```

{{< expand-wrapper >}}
{{% expand "View example input and output" %}}

#### Input data

| _time                | *tag | _value  |
| -------------------- | ---- | ------- |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z | t1   | -2.18   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:10Z | t1   | 10.92   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:20Z | t1   | 7.35    |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:30Z | t1   | 17.53   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:40Z | t1   | 15.23   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:50Z | t1   | 4.43    |

| _time                | *tag | _value  |
| -------------------- | ---- | ------- |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z | t2   | 19.85   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:10Z | t2   | 4.97    |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:20Z | t2   | -3.75   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:30Z | t2   | 19.77   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:40Z | t2   | 13.86   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:50Z | t2   | 1.86    |


#### Output data

| _time                | _value  | *tag |
| -------------------- | ------- | ---- |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z | -2.18   | t1   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:10Z | 10.92   | t1   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:20Z | 7.35    | t1   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:30Z | 17.53   | t1   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:40Z | 15.23   | t1   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:50Z | 4.43    | t1   |

| _time                | _value  | *tag |
| -------------------- | ------- | ---- |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z | 19.85   | t2   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:10Z | 4.97    | t2   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:20Z | -3.75   | t2   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:30Z | 19.77   | t2   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:40Z | 13.86   | t2   |
| 2021-01-01T00:00:50Z | 1.86    | t2   |

{{% /expand %}}
{{< /expand-wrapper >}}