OutputForm
✖
OutputForm
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
open allclose allBasic Examples (2)Summary of the most common use cases
OutputForm of a typeset expression:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-fq0gy4

OutputForm of a graphic:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-ivdlwz

Scope (8)Survey of the scope of standard use cases
Basic Objects (2)
Integer, Rational, Real, and Complex numbers:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-i75qpv

Arbitrary-precision Real and Complex numbers:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-q8qr8


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-bf2gka

Characters and strings of characters:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-29qm2

Control characters for strings:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-3woc0

Special Input Forms (4)
Different Power expressions:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-pcg7g


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-c7uctz


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-e1jvdo


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-efjkce

Inputs with subscripts, superscripts, etc.:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-ecvx1a

Special Output Forms (2)
Some objects use a special output representation:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-eq2pmz

Compare the OutputForm with the underlying FullForm of the expression:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-3ibds


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-cs4rmg

Some objects use an elided output representation:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-h195x1


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-df6lvb

The elided information is visible in the FullForm:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-ep7frw

Properties & Relations (5)Properties of the function, and connections to other functions
When an input evaluates to OutputForm[expr], OutputForm does not appear in the output:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-9iyae5

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

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-dzob7u

Special characters format as keyboard characters:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-ondsdr


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-i7ssqo

OutputForm formats in two dimensions:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-drkrll

StandardForm and TraditionalForm are two-dimensional with additional formatting:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-49wbp


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-j5uvv

InputForm and FullForm provide one-dimensional formatting:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-b6p9l6


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-dy2ag4

Use ToString to generate a string in OutputForm:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-gc18d0


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-b1o8lf

Add formatting via Format:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-cycfzl


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-mfc89b

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-bqs8xs

Possible Issues (1)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior
Even when an output omits OutputForm from the top level, it is not stripped from subexpressions:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-76wfdz

The output does not have OutputForm in it:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-xamvyd

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

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-6ud93h

The product is not evaluated due to the intervening OutputForm:

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-089dvg

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

https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-qq7iho


https://wolfram.com/xid/0j48mpay-rsvzif

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).
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.
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
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: 08-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: 08-July-2025
]}