<p>You can just use PHP's <a href="https://secure.php.net/manual/en/function.echo.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">echo</a> method to directly output to the browser.</p>

<pre><code>$returnValue = "abc,123";
echo $returnValue;
</code></pre>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T18:12:20.330Z
2016-11-16T18:12:20.330Z
Brad Bell
<p>So I realized I can just do die("abc,123") and get the result I need.  I am definitely open to better or more "correct" solutions though.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T18:07:40.980Z
2016-11-16T18:07:40.980Z
Daniel Boggs
<p>Nothing wrong with a plain old <code>echo()</code> statement, even <code>returnJson()</code> <a href="https://github.com/pixelandtonic/Craft-Release/blob/master/app/controllers/BaseController.php#L324" rel="nofollow noreferrer">essentially just echoes</a> your data (after JSON encoding it, of course).</p>

<p>If it <em>feels</em> better, you can use <code>$this-&gt;renderText('abc,123');</code> – although <a href="https://github.com/yiisoft/yii/blob/1.1.17/framework/web/CController.php#L840" rel="nofollow noreferrer">it'll also basically just call <code>echo()</code></a> for you.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-16T20:14:03.957Z
2016-11-16T20:14:03.957Z
Mats Mikkel Rummelhoff
<p>I feel like I'm missing something very obvious, all I need to do is return plain text (not JSON) in response to an action.  If I use <code>returnJson()</code> it returns the value with quotation marks around it.  I'm dealing with a closed system that expects a VERY specific format, so the added quotations cause the submission to fail.</p>

<p>So for added clarification:</p>

<pre><code>$returnValue = "abc,123"
$this-&gt;returnJson($returnValue)
</code></pre>

<p>I get: <code>"abc,123"</code></p>

<p>I NEED: <code>abc,123</code></p>

<templating>
Return plain text
# Return plain text

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-16)

I feel like I'm missing something very obvious, all I need to do is return plain text (not JSON) in response to an action.  If I use returnJson() it returns the value with quotation marks around it.  I'm dealing with a closed system that expects a VERY specific format, so the added quotations cause the submission to fail.
So for added clarification:
$returnValue = "abc,123"
$this->returnJson($returnValue)

I get: "abc,123"
I NEED: abc,123

**Tags:** templating


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-11-16. Score: 1

You can just use PHP's echo method to directly output to the browser.
$returnValue = "abc,123";
echo $returnValue;


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### Answer by username_0 on 2016-11-16. Score: 1

So I realized I can just do die("abc,123") and get the result I need. I am definitely open to better or more "correct" solutions though.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2016-11-16. Score: 1

Nothing wrong with a plain old `echo()` statement, even `returnJson()` [essentially just echoes](https://github.com/pixelandtonic/Craft-Release/blob/master/app/controllers/BaseController.php#L324) your data (after JSON encoding it, of course).

If it *feels* better, you can use `$this->renderText('abc,123');` – although [it'll also basically just call `echo()`](https://github.com/yiisoft/yii/blob/1.1.17/framework/web/CController.php#L840) for you.


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