OutputForm

OutputForm[expr]

prints as a two-dimensional representation of expr using only keyboard characters.

Details

  • OutputForm is an approximation to StandardForm which uses only ordinary keyboard characters.
  • The OutputForm of many kinds of expressions is quite different from their internal representation.
  • When an input evaluates to OutputForm[expr], OutputForm does not appear in the output. »
  • OutputForm cannot be used directly for input to the Wolfram Language.
  • When possible, OutputForm uses approximations to special characters. Thus ≥ is given as >= and é as e'. »

Examples

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Basic Examples  (2)

OutputForm of a typeset expression:

OutputForm of a graphic:

Scope  (8)

Basic Objects  (2)

Integer, Rational, Real, and Complex numbers:

Arbitrary-precision Real and Complex numbers:

Special constants:

Characters and strings of characters:

Control characters for strings:

Special Input Forms  (4)

Different Power expressions:

Special typeset expressions:

Different list structures:

Inputs with subscripts, superscripts, etc.:

Special Output Forms  (2)

Some objects use a special output representation:

Compare the OutputForm with the underlying FullForm of the expression:

Some objects use an elided output representation:

The elided information is visible in the FullForm:

Properties & Relations  (5)

When an input evaluates to OutputForm[expr], OutputForm does not appear in the output:

Out is assigned the value x2, not OutputForm[x^2]:

Special characters format as keyboard characters:

OutputForm formats in two dimensions:

StandardForm and TraditionalForm are two-dimensional with additional formatting:

InputForm and FullForm provide one-dimensional formatting:

Use ToString to generate a string in OutputForm:

Add formatting via Format:

Possible Issues  (1)

Even when an output omits OutputForm from the top level, it is not stripped from subexpressions:

The output does not have OutputForm in it:

However, the variable e does have OutputForm in it, which may affect subsequent evaluations:

The product is not evaluated due to the intervening OutputForm:

Assign variables first and then apply OutputForm to the result to maintain computability:

Wolfram Research (1988), OutputForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/OutputForm.html (updated 1996).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), OutputForm, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/OutputForm.html (updated 1996).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "OutputForm." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 1996. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/OutputForm.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). OutputForm. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/OutputForm.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_outputform, author="Wolfram Research", title="{OutputForm}", year="1996", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/OutputForm.html}", note=[Accessed: 05-July-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_outputform, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={OutputForm}, year={1996}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/OutputForm.html}, note=[Accessed: 05-July-2025 ]}