How to convert a GUID to a string in C#?

Here are examples of output from each of the format specifiers:

N: cd26ccf675d64521884f1693c62ed303
D: cd26ccf6-75d6-4521-884f-1693c62ed303
B: {cd26ccf6-75d6-4521-884f-1693c62ed303}
P: (cd26ccf6-75d6-4521-884f-1693c62ed303)
X: {0xcd26ccf6,0x75d6,0x4521,{0x88,0x4f,0x16,0x93,0xc6,0x2e,0xd3,0x03}}

The default is D.

Run this yourself.

In Visual Basic, you can call a parameterless method without the braces (()). In C#, they're mandatory. So you should write:

String guid = System.Guid.NewGuid().ToString();

Without the braces, you're assigning the method itself (instead of its result) to the variable guid, and obviously the method cannot be converted to a String, hence the error.

According to MSDN the method Guid.ToString(string format) returns a string representation of the value of this Guid instance, according to the provided format specifier.

Examples:

• guidVal.ToString() or guidVal.ToString("D") returns 32 hex digits separated by hyphens: 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
• guidVal.ToString("N") returns 32 hex digits:00000000000000000000000000000000
• guidVal.ToString("B") returns 32 hex digits separated by hyphens, enclosed in braces:{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
• guidVal.ToString("P") returns 32 hex digits separated by hyphens, enclosed in parentheses: (00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000)

You're missing the () after ToString that marks it as a function call vs. a function reference (the kind you pass to delegates), which incidentally is why c# has no AddressOf operator, it's implied by how you type it.

Try this:

string guid = System.Guid.NewGuid().ToString();