text.lpad

Description

Pads the start (left side) of a string with a specified character until it reaches the desired length.

Syntax 

flex.text.lpad(string, length, padChar)

Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |———–|——|———-|————-| | string | string/number | Yes | The string to pad (will be converted to string if number) | | length | number | Yes | The target length after padding | | padChar | string | No | The character to use for padding (default: space ‘ ‘) |

Returns

Type: string

The padded string. If the original string is already longer than the target length, it is returned unchanged. Returns null if input is null.

Examples

Example 1: Basic Left Padding 

RETURN flex.text.lpad('5', 3, '0') AS result

Output:

result
------
005

Example 2: Formatting Numbers with Leading Zeros 

MATCH (o:Order)
RETURN flex.text.lpad(toString(o.id), 8, '0') AS orderId

Output:

orderId
--------
00000123
00000456

Example 3: Aligning Text 

WITH ['Total:', 'Subtotal:', 'Tax:'] AS labels
UNWIND labels AS label
RETURN flex.text.lpad(label, 12, ' ') AS aligned

Output:

aligned
--------------
      Total:
   Subtotal:
        Tax:

Notes

  • Returns null if input is null
  • Converts numbers to strings automatically
  • Default padding character is a space
  • If string is already longer than target length, returns original string
  • Useful for formatting IDs, aligning columns, or creating fixed-width output

See Also