---
type: "fhirpath-function"
title: "FHIRPath Function: toChars"
function: "toChars"
category: "String Manipulation"
section: "5.6.14"
source: "fhirpath/functions.json"
---
# FHIRPath Function: toChars
Returns the list of characters in the input string. If the input collection is empty (`{ }`), the result is empty.

If the input collection contains multiple items, the evaluation of the expression will end and signal an error to the calling environment.

``` fhirpath
'abc'.toChars() // { 'a', 'b', 'c' }
```
## Summary
- **Category**: String Manipulation
- **Section**: `5.6.14`
- **Return Type**: `collection`
- **Empty Input Result**: `empty`
- **Errors on Multiple Input**: `true`
## Description
Returns a collection with one string for each character in the input, in the order in which they appear in the string.
## Arguments
- none
## Type Mapping
- `String-String`
## Example
```fhirpath
'abc'.toChars() // {'a', 'b', 'c'}
```