Number.prototype.toExponential()

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.

The toExponential() method of Number values returns a string representing this number in exponential notation.

Try it

Syntax

js
toExponential()
toExponential(fractionDigits)

Parameters

fractionDigits Optional

Optional. An integer specifying the number of digits after the decimal point. Defaults to as many digits as necessary to specify the number.

Return value

A string representing the given Number object in exponential notation with one digit before the decimal point, rounded to fractionDigits digits after the decimal point.

Exceptions

RangeError

Thrown if fractionDigits is not between 0 and 100 (inclusive).

TypeError

Thrown if this method is invoked on an object that is not a Number.

Description

If the fractionDigits argument is omitted, the number of digits after the decimal point defaults to the number of digits necessary to represent the value uniquely.

If you use the toExponential() method for a numeric literal and the numeric literal has no exponent and no decimal point, leave whitespace(s) before the dot that precedes the method call to prevent the dot from being interpreted as a decimal point.

If a number has more digits than requested by the fractionDigits parameter, the number is rounded to the nearest number represented by fractionDigits digits. See the discussion of rounding in the description of the toFixed() method, which also applies to toExponential().

Examples

Using toExponential

js
const numObj = 77.1234;

console.log(numObj.toExponential()); // 7.71234e+1
console.log(numObj.toExponential(4)); // 7.7123e+1
console.log(numObj.toExponential(2)); // 7.71e+1
console.log((77.1234).toExponential()); // 7.71234e+1
console.log((77).toExponential()); // 7.7e+1

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript Language Specification
# sec-number.prototype.toexponential

Browser compatibility

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See also