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Last updated: 2 Dec 2000
In the info box, you can select or specify how you want data displayed, by selecting an option in the '#' tab.
Note: There is a known problem with form letter views, that the format of the included field sometimes mysteriously changes from "display as entered" to "numeric" which alters the way the data is displayed. It can happen to text fields as well as other types! The only solution is to fix the format and save the APR file, hoping it does not change again before you finish fixing it! This occurs in v97 to v9.5 (I think)
To display a combination of formatted a numbers and text when a number has been entered into a field, first make sure the field has been defined with the number of significant digits and decimal places that you require, e.g. if you need to display currency up to $1000 make sure you have defined the field as a NUMBER, with a length of 4.2.
When displaying the field, either select or enter the format you require in the Styles / Field Format menu item. E.g. Using a field format of:
#,##0.00 " Miles"
The following will be displayed:
entered displayed
12 12.00 Miles
.3 0.30 Miles
#,000.## " Miles"
The following will be displayed:
entered displayed
12 012 Miles
.3 000.3 Miles
Check the manual and / or the help files for all the rules and options governing the format codes. This does not change the stored data. It only changes the way it appears in the field box you are working on.
[For some strange reason, when using above example in v2.1, and v3.0* (v96?), the data is only displayed correctly if there is a space after the first quotation mark. If this space is left out so it reads: #,##0.00 "Miles" it will incorrectly display 12.1 as 1.21 Miles. Strange, but true!]
Any information that includes anything other than numbers, or even a number that needs to be stored with leading zeros, must use a text field. E.g. zip / postal codes in many countries, or USA Social Security Numbers which have leading zeros. However, you can still use numeric format to control the display of a text field.