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<@U03KNBYAD3K> no, you can't convert an output to a string. you can only resolve the output and then use the string value. see here for an explanation as to why:

<https://leebriggs.co.uk/blog/2021/05/09/pulumi-apply>

for your specific example though, you can do:

```natGatewayName := pulumi.Sprintf("natgw+ %s", publicSubnets[0].AvailabilityZone)```


If I do that, then natGatewayName is of type StringOutput and I cannot give that as an input to any function as a string. For example,
```ec2.NewNatGateway(ctx, natGatewayName, ... )```
wont work

you cannot use an output as a resource name, unfortunately. it needs to be known at run time. if you want to do what you're trying to do, you'd have to do it inside an `ApplyT` but then your previews wouldn't be valid