---
name: "getText"
type: command
status: ok
groups: ["Config"]
arma3_since: "0.50"
locality: {"argument": null, "effect": null, "server_exec": false}
source: https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/getText
revid: 341205
updated: 2023-05-13T22:31:13Z
---

# getText

*Command · Config · Arma 3 v0.50 · introduced in Armed Assault v1.00*

## Description

Extracts [localize](../commands/localize.md)d text from config entry, if entry is subject to [localization](../commands/localize.md), otherwise returns text value.
To obtain the translation key itself, see [getTextRaw](../commands/getTextRaw.md).

## Syntax

```sqf
getText config
```

**Parameters:**

- `config`: [Config](../topics/Config.md)

**Returns:** [String](../topics/String.md) - text value

## Examples

### Example 1

```sqf
_text = getText (configFile >> "CfgVehicles" >> "Thing" >> "icon"); // "Get in %1 as Driver"
```

## See also

[configFile](../commands/configFile.md) · [a / b](../commands/a_~2F_b.md) · [configName](../commands/configName.md) · [count](../commands/count.md) · [getArray](../commands/getArray.md) · [getNumber](../commands/getNumber.md) · [inheritsFrom](../commands/inheritsFrom.md) · [isArray](../commands/isArray.md) · [isClass](../commands/isClass.md) · [isNumber](../commands/isNumber.md) · [isText](../commands/isText.md) · [select](../commands/select.md) · [getTextRaw](../commands/getTextRaw.md)

## Community notes

**ffur2007slx2_5** — 2014-03-28

(Arma 3 1.14) It's recommended to use [BIS_fnc_getCfgData](../functions/BIS_fnc_getCfgData.md) or [BIS_fnc_returnConfigEntry](../functions/BIS_fnc_returnConfigEntry.md) to get variable cfg data rather than conditioning via [isNumber](../commands/isNumber.md), [isText](../commands/isText.md), [isArray](../commands/isArray.md), [getNumber](../commands/getNumber.md), [getText](../commands/getText.md) and [getArray](../commands/getArray.md) combination.

Traditional workaround:

```sqf
_cfg = configFile >> "CfgVehicles" >> _SomeAddonClassName >> "DestructionEffects" >> "Smoke1" >> "type";
switch ( true ) do
{
    case (isNumber _cfg): {getNumber _cfg};
    case (isText _cfg): {getText _cfg};
    case (isArray _cfg): {getArray _cfg;};
    default { nil };
};
```

**Recommended workaround:**

```sqf
(configFile >> "CfgVehicles" >> _SomeAddonClassName >> "DestructionEffects" >> "Smoke1" >> "type") call BIS_fnc_getCfgData;
```

To return default value once entry was not found, we can use [BIS_fnc_returnConfigEntry](../functions/BIS_fnc_returnConfigEntry.md) instead of [BIS_fnc_getCfgData](../functions/BIS_fnc_getCfgData.md). e.g.

```sqf
[(configFile >> "CannonFire" >> "LightExp"),"lifeTime",0] call BIS_fnc_returnConfigEntry;//0.5
```

To compose collected [String](../topics/String.md) into [Array](../topics/Array.md), use [BIS_fnc_getCfgDataArray](../functions/BIS_fnc_getCfgDataArray.md) instead. E.g.

```sqf
(configFile >> "CfgVehicles" >> _SomeAddonClassName >> "DestructionEffects" >> "Smoke1" >> "type") call BIS_fnc_getCfgDataArray;
```

<sub>Source: [BI Community Wiki — getText](https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/getText) (revision 341205).</sub>