Format Property

Sets the formats of the source expression for various data types.

Applies To

All data types in C/AL.

Remarks

You can set the Format property to a predefined format, or you can build your own format. For more information, see FORMAT Function (Code, Text).

Basic Settings

To choose a predefined format, use the syntax: <Standard Format,X>, where X is one of the entries in the Value column of the following table.

Value	Description
0	Standard Display Format (the default for all data types)
1	Standard Display Format 2 (edit)
2	C/AL Code Constant Format

Note
You must enter the < and > angle brackets, such as <Standard Format,2>.

Building Formats

You can use the Format property to create your own formats. To create a format, use the following rules:

A format property consists of zero or more Chars, Fields, or Attributes.
Fields and Attributes are expressed by using an identifier enclosed in brackets (<>).
Attributes must contain a comma (,) and a parameter after the identifier.
Fields can optionally take a comma (,) and a FieldLen.

The following table shows the syntax.

FormatProperty :=	[<Char> \| <Field> \| <Attribute>]

<Char> :=	character with ASCII value [32..255]

<Field> :=	'<' <FieldName> [',' <FieldLen>] '>' [, <Attribute>]
<FieldName> :=	literal name of field (format component)
<FieldLen> :=	length of field (0 or no entry means that the length is dynamic)

<Attribute> :=	['<' <AttributeName> ',' <Char> '>']
<AttributeName> :=	[Standard Format \| 1000Character \| Comma \| Overflow \| Filler Character \| Precision]

The 1000Character attribute specifies the character that separates the thousandths place digit from the hundredths place digit, the millionth place digit from the hundred thousandths place digit, and so on. The 1000Character attribute must be after the Integer or Integer Thousand field name and before the Decimals field name.

The Comma attribute specifies the character that separates the integer from the decimals. The Comma attribute must be after the Decimals field name.

Filler Character indicates the character that is used to fill empty spaces.

The FieldName is a component that you can use to build a format expression. Depending on the data type in the field, you can choose the appropriate FieldName from this list.

Data type

FieldName values

Decimal

Sign, Integer, Decimals, Integer Thousand

Date

Day, Month, Month Text, Quarter, Year, Year4, Week, Week Year, Week Year4, Weekday, Weekday Text, Closing

Time

Hours24, Hours12, Minutes, Seconds, Thousands, AM/PM, Second dec

DateTime

Day, Month, Month Text, Quarter, Year, Year4, Week, Week Year, Week Year4, Weekday, Weekday Text, Hours24, Hours12, Minutes, Seconds, Thousands, AM/PM, Second dec

Note
"Second dec" specifies a fraction of a second, in decimal format.

Integer, BigInteger

Sign, Integer, Integer Thousand

Boolean

Text, Number

Option

Text, Number

Code

Text

Char

Char/Number, Char, Number

Text

Example

The following examples demonstrate how to use the Format property:

Choosing a standard format.
Use the Standard Format attribute to select one of the standard formats (these are listed at the end of this Help topic).
For example, <Standard Format,5> selects Standard Format 5.
Using a standard format with an attribute.
<Precision,2:3><Standard Format,0> will use Standard Format 0 and will format the data with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 decimal places. For more information, see DecimalPlaces Property. If you do not specify a precision, then the page uses the precision that is specified in the DecimalPlaces Property of the corresponding field in the table.
Building a format.
You can create your own formats using Chars (which are displayed literally), Fields (to choose specific components of a value, for example the year-part of a date) and Attributes (for example to select which character to use as a filler).
For example, a field that is based on a source expression of the Date data type can use the following format string:
<Weekday Text>, <Month Text> <Day>
This expression displays the date as Monday, April 15.
Note
The settings that are specified under the Regional and Language Options in Windows determine how some separators are displayed.

Note
The settings that are specified under the Regional and Language Options in Windows determine how some separators are displayed.

Standard Formats

The following tables list the predefined formats for each data type. This table shows the standard Decimal formats with the regional setting of a European country/region.

Europe Decimal	Format	Example
<Sign><Integer Thousand><Decimals>	0	-76.543,21
<Sign><Integer><Decimals>	1	-76543,21
<Sign><Integer><Decimals><Comma,.>	2	-76543.21
<Integer Thousand><Decimals><Sign,1>	3	76.543,21-
<Integer><Decimals><Sign,1>	4	76543,21-
XML format	9	-76543.21

The following table shows the standard Decimal formats with the regional setting of English (US).

US Decimal	Format	Example
<Sign><Integer Thousand><Decimals>	0	-76,543.21
<Sign><Integer><Decimals>	1	-76543.21
<Sign><Integer><Decimals>	2	-76543.21
<Integer Thousand><Decimals><Sign,1>	3	76,543.21-
<Integer><Decimals><Sign,1>	4	76543.21-
XML format	9	-76543.21

The following table shows the standard Date formats with the regional setting of a European country/region.

Europe Date	Format	Example
<Closing><Day,2>-<Month,2>-<Year>	0	05-04-03
<Closing><Day,2>-<Month,2>-<Year>	1	05-04-03
<Day,2><Month,2><Year><Closing>D	2	050403D
<Closing><Year>-<Month,2>-<Day,2>	3	03-04-05
<Closing><Day>. <Month Text> <Year4>	4	5. April 2003
<Closing><Day,2><Month,2><Year>	5	050403
<Closing><Year><Month,2><Day,2>	6	030405
<Day,2><Filler Character, >. <Month Text,3> <Year4>	7	5. Apr 2003
XML format	9	2016-08-11

The following table shows the standard Date formats with the regional setting of English (US).

US Date	Format	Example
<Closing><Month,2>/<Day,2>/<Year>	0	04/05/03
<Closing><Month,2>/<Day,2>/<Year>	1	04/05/03
<Month,2><Day,2><Year><Closing>D	2	040503D
<Closing><Year>/<Month,2>/<Day,2>	3	03/04/05
<Month Text> <Closing><Day>, <Year4>	4	April 5, 2003
<Closing><Month,2><Day,2><Year>	5	040503
<Closing><Year><Month,2><Day,2>	6	030405
<Day,2><Filler Character, >. <Month Text,3> <Year4>	7	5. Apr 2003
XML format	9	2016-08-11

The following table shows the standard Time formats with the regional setting of a European country/region.

Europe Time	Format	Example
<Hours24>.<Minutes,2>.<Seconds,2>	0	4.35.55
<Hours24>.<Minutes,2>.<Seconds,2><Second dec.>	1	4.35.55.553
<Hours24,2><Filler Character,0><Minutes,2><Seconds,2> <Second dec.><Comma,.>T	2	043555.553T
XML format	9	04:35:55.553

The following table shows the standard Time formats with the regional setting of English (US).

US Time	Format	Example
<Hours12>:<Minutes,2>:<Seconds,2><Second dec.> <AM/PM>	0	4:35:55 AM
<Hours12>:<Minutes,2>:<Seconds,2><Second dec.> <AM/PM>	1	4:35:55.553 AM
<Hours24,2><Filler Character,0><Minutes,2><Seconds,2> <Second dec.>T	2	043555 .553T
XML format	9	04:35:55.553

The following table shows the standard DateTime formats with the regional setting of a European country/region.

Europe DateTime

Format

Example

<Day,2>-<Month,2>-<Year> <Hours24>.<Minutes,2>

05-04-03 04:35

<Day,2>-<Month,2>-<Year> <Hours24>.<Minutes,2>.<Seconds,2><Second dec>

05-04-03 04:35:55,553

<Day,2>-<Month,2>-<Year> <Hours24>.<Minutes,2>

05-04-03 04:35

<Day,2>-<Month,2>-<Year> <Hours24>.<Minutes,2>.<Seconds,2>

05-04-03 04:35:55

XML format

Warning
A DateTime is stored in the database as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, on a computer in the (UTC+01:00) Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Paris time zone, UTC is one hour earlier than local time on the computer and probably two hours earlier during summer time.

2016-08-11T03:35:55.553Z

The following table shows the standard DateTime formats with the regional setting of English (US).

US DateTime

Format

Example

<Month,2>/<Day,2>/<Year> <Hours12,2>:<Minutes,2> <AM/PM>

04/05/03 04:35 AM

<Month,2>/<Day,2>/<Year> <Hours12,2>:<Minutes,2>:<Seconds,2><Second dec> <AM/PM>

04/05/03 04:35:55.553 AM

<Month,2>/<Day,2>/<Year> <Hours12,2>:<Minutes,2> <AM/PM>

04/05/03 04:35 AM

<Month,2>/<Day,2>/<Year> <Hours12,2>:<Minutes,2>:<Seconds,2> <AM/PM>

04/05/03 04:35:55 AM

XML format

Warning
A DateTime is stored in the database as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, on a computer in the (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time zone, UTC is eight hours later than local time on the computer.

2016-08-11T12:35:55.553Z

Integer and BigInteger	Format	Example
<Sign><Integer>	0	-567
<Sign><Integer>	1	-567
<Sign><Integer>	2	-567
XML format	9	-567

Boolean	Format	Example
<Text>	0	Yes/No
<Text>	1	Yes/No
<Number>	2	1/0
XML format	9	true/false

Option	Format	Example
<Text>	0	Blue
<Text>	1	Blue
<Number>	2	1
XML format	9	1

Standard format 9 is used to display the data in the standard XML formats.

For Chars, all formats should resemble the following: <Char/Number>.

For Text and Code, all formats should resemble the following: <Text>.