# 044. List-directed vs. explicitly formatted output topic: {ref}`input-and-output` List-directed output (format `*`) is convenient, ```fortran ! Examples print *, x, y, z write (*, *) x, y, z write (unit_integer, *) x, y, z ``` but don't use it when you care about layout as you'll lose control over spacing, line breaks and number of significant digits. If you care, use explicit formats instead. ```{literalinclude} ../../src/list-directed.f90 :language: fortran :caption: list-directed.f90 | |

``` ```{code-block} text :caption: Output[^gfortran-version] 1 3.1415927410125732 6.6260701499999998E-034 1 3.1415927410125732 0.66260701499999998E-33 1,3.142,0.6626E-33 1 and 3.14159 and 6.626E-34 ``` [^gfortran-version]: Compiled using `GNU Fortran (Ubuntu 11.3.0-1ubuntu1~22.04) 11.3.0` with no flags See Tip 041 for `g0.d` and `:` meaning in format syntax. ---

List-directed output (format *) is convenient, but don't use it when you care about layout as you'll lose control over spacing, line breaks and number of significant digits. If you care, use explicit formats instead.
— FortranTip (@fortrantip) December 23, 2021