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# propertiesToFetch

A collection of either property descriptions or string property names that specify which properties should be returned by the fetch.

```
var propertiesToFetch: [Any]? { get set }
```

## Discussion

Property descriptions can either be instances of [`NSPropertyDescription`](/documentation/CoreData/NSPropertyDescription) or <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/Foundation/NSString>. The property descriptions may represent attributes, to-one relationships, or expressions. The name of an attribute or relationship description must match the name of a description on the fetch request’s entity.

### Special Considerations

You must set the entity for the fetch request before setting this value; otherwise, [`NSFetchRequest`](/documentation/CoreData/NSFetchRequest) throws an <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/Foundation/NSExceptionName/invalidArgumentException> exception.

This property can be set with [`managedObjectResultType`](/documentation/CoreData/NSFetchRequestResultType/managedObjectResultType) and thereby implement a partial faulting (whereby only some of the properties are populated) of the returned objects, as well as the [`dictionaryResultType`](/documentation/CoreData/NSFetchRequestResultType/dictionaryResultType) to define what properties are included in the resulting <doc://com.apple.documentation/documentation/Foundation/NSDictionary>.

---

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