# GetAsText ( “” )

**URL:** <https://the.fmsoup.org/t/getastext/2473>\
**Category:** Lounge (Discussions)\
**Tags:** scripting, calculations\
**Created:** [September 10, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/getastext/2473 "2021-09-10T19:06:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 8

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**Author:** ![xochi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/0ea827/32.png) [@xochi](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/xochi)\
**Post date:** [September 11, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/getastext/2473/8 "2021-09-11T21:46:23Z")

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I think this also depends on the field type. For example, with a Number field, you can store a text value, and FileMaker ignores the alpha and only processes the numerics. I have some tables where my SerialNumber field is a Number, but stored with a prefix indicating the table name, e.g.

Table: Customers Field:Serial Number AutoEnter Serial, starting value "cu0000001", autoincrement

Also, I just ran into a potetial "gotcha" where FileMaker would accept an "invalid" date during data entry, parse as as a valid date in all FileMaker situations, but then export it using the original (invalid) date format to an external service. See [Partially Valid Dates - #2 by xochi](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/partially-valid-dates/2461/2)

I'm intrigured by this idea that empty string (''") is not the same as NULL in FileMaker. Are there situations where this matters?

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