.NET Framework Class Library
Enum..::.GetName Method

Updated: August 2009

Retrieves the name of the constant in the specified enumeration that has the specified value.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
Visual Basic (Declaration) 
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Shared Function GetName ( _
    enumType As Type, _
    value As Object _
) As String
Visual Basic (Usage) 
Dim enumType As Type
Dim value As Object
Dim returnValue As String

returnValue = Enum.GetName(enumType, _
    value)
C# 
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public static string GetName(
    Type enumType,
    Object value
)
Visual C++ 
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public:
static String^ GetName(
    Type^ enumType, 
    Object^ value
)
JScript 
public static function GetName(
    enumType : Type, 
    value : Object
) : String

Parameters

enumType
Type: System..::.Type
An enumeration type.
value
Type: System..::.Object
The value of a particular enumerated constant in terms of its underlying type.

Return Value

Type: System..::.String
A string containing the name of the enumerated constant in enumType whose value is value, or nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) if no such constant is found.
Exceptions
ExceptionCondition
ArgumentNullException

enumType or value is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).

ArgumentException

enumType is not an Enum.

-or-

value is neither of type enumType nor does it have the same underlying type as enumType.

Remarks

If multiple enumeration members have the same underlying value, the GetName method guarantees that it will return the name of one of those enumeration members. However, it does not guarantee that it will always return the name of the same enumeration member. As a result, when multiple enumeration members have the same value, your application code should never depend on the method returning a particular member's name.
Examples

The following example illustrates the use of GetName.

Visual Basic 
Imports System

Public Class GetNameTest

    Enum Colors
        Red
        Green
        Blue
        Yellow
    End Enum 'Colors

    Enum Styles
        Plaid
        Striped
        Tartan
        Corduroy
    End Enum 'Styles

    Public Shared Sub Main() 
        Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Colors Enum is {0}", [Enum].GetName(GetType(Colors), 3))
        Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Styles Enum is {0}", [Enum].GetName(GetType(Styles), 3))
    End Sub 'Main
End Class 'GetNameTest
' The example displays the following output:
'       The 4th value of the Colors Enum is Yellow
'       The 4th value of the Styles Enum is Corduroy
C# 
using System;

public class GetNameTest {
    enum Colors { Red, Green, Blue, Yellow };
    enum Styles { Plaid, Striped, Tartan, Corduroy };

    public static void Main() {

        Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Colors Enum is {0}", Enum.GetName(typeof(Colors), 3));
        Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Styles Enum is {0}", Enum.GetName(typeof(Styles), 3));
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       The 4th value of the Colors Enum is Yellow
//       The 4th value of the Styles Enum is Corduroy
Visual C++ 
using namespace System;

enum class Colors
{
   Red, Green, Blue, Yellow
};

enum class Styles
{
   Plaid, Striped, Tartan, Corduroy
};

int main()
{
   Console::WriteLine(  "The 4th value of the Colors Enum is {0}", Enum::GetName( Colors::typeid, 3 ) );
   Console::WriteLine(  "The 4th value of the Styles Enum is {0}", Enum::GetName( Styles::typeid, 3 ) );
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       The 4th value of the Colors Enum is Yellow
//       The 4th value of the Styles Enum is Corduroy
JScript 
import System;

public class GetNameTest {
    enum Colors { Red, Green, Blue, Yellow };
    enum Styles { Plaid, Striped, Tartan, Corduroy };

    public static function Main() {

        Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Colors Enum is {0}", Enum.GetName(Colors, 3));
        Console.WriteLine("The 4th value of the Styles Enum is {0}", Enum.GetName(Styles, 3));
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       The 4th value of the Colors Enum is Yellow
//       The 4th value of the Styles Enum is Corduroy
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
See Also

Reference

Enum Class
Enum Members
System Namespace
Change History

Date

History

Reason

August 2009

Added the Remarks section.

Customer feedback.

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