C# String - PadLeft() Method

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The C# String PadLeft() method returns a new string of a specified length, with the beginning of the current string padded with space or a specified Unicode character (i.e., the string is right-aligned by padding it with space or the specified character on the left).

Syntax

Following are the syntax of the C# string PadLeft() method −

Default Syntax

Returns a new string that right-aligns the characters in the current string by padding them with spaces on the left by the specified length.

public string PadLeft (int totalWidth);

Parametrised Syntax

Returns a new string that right-aligns the characters in the current string by padding them with a specified character on the left by the specified length.

public string PadLeft (int totalWidth, char paddingChar);

Parameters

This method accepts the following parameters −

• totalWidth: The number of character in the resulting string, including the original string and any padding characters.
• paddingChar: It is an optional parameter that represent a padding character.

Return Value

This method returns a new string. That is equivalent to the current string, but right-aligned and padded on the left with spaces or characters.

Example 1: Default Padding with Space

Following is a basic example of the PadLeft() method to align the string right by padding with space on the left by a specified length −

    
using System;
class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string original = "tutorialspoint";
      string padded_left = original.PadLeft(20);

      Console.WriteLine($"'{padded_left}'");
   }
}

Output

Following is the output −

'      tutorialspoint'

Example 2: Padding with Custom Character

Let's look at another example. Here, we use the PadLeft() method to align the string right by padding with specified character on the left −

using System;
class Program {
   static void Main() {
      string original = "Tutorialspoint";
      string padded_left = original.PadLeft(20, '-');

      Console.WriteLine($"'{padded_left}'");
   }
}

Output

Following is the output −

'------Tutorialspoint'

Example 3: What if Total Length is Small than String

The below example shows how the PadLeft() method works if the total length is smaller than the string. If totalWidth is less than the length of the current string, the method returns a reference to the existing string −

using System;
class Program { 
   static void Main() {
      string original = "Tutorialspoint";
      string padded_left = original.PadLeft(13, '-');

      Console.WriteLine($"'{padded_left}'");
   }
}

Output

Following is the output −

'Tutorialspoint'