Formatting fields

For many fields, you can choose a format in which the field is displayed from the Format list. The list of formats varies depending on the type of field selected. In some cases, you can also leave the Format choice blank or use code letters to enter a custom format.

If you have existing records in the database, you can preview the effects of most display formats by right-clicking the relevant entity, and selecting Records. Due to the potential scale of format conversion, Multi-Line Text formats cannot be previewed.

This table lists all field types where you can choose a format:

Field Type	Formats Available	Examples
Text	Upper Case, Lower Case, Upper First, or left blank to show the text as entered	Upper case - EXAMPLE Lower Case - example Upper first - Example
Calculated Date	Long Date, Medium Date, Short Date, Custom (with m d y)	Custom: mmmm dd, yyyy - August 23, 2022 yy mmm dd - 22 Aug 23 d-m-yy 23-8-22
Calculated Number	Custom (with #.0)	#.000 - 34.567 #.00 - 34.56
Real Number	Custom (with #.0)	#.000 - 34.567 #.00 - 34.56
Date	Long Date, Medium Date, Short Date, Custom	Custom: mmmm dd, yyyy - August 23, 2022 yy mmm dd - 22 Aug 23 d-m-yy 23-8-22
Hyperlink	Upper Case, Lower Case, Upper First, or left blank to show the text as entered	Upper case - EXAMPLE Lower Case - example Upper first - Example
Time	Long Time, Medium Time, Short Time, Custom (with h, m or n, s am/pm and a separator)	Custom: hh:mm:ss am/pm - 12:20:08 am nn:ss - 20:00
Currency	Currency (using Windows currency symbol), Custom (with #.0)	#.000 - 34.567 #.00 - 34.56
Multi-Line Text, Multi-Line Text (Append Only)	Upper Case, Lower Case, Upper First, or left blank to show the text as entered	Upper case - EXAMPLE Lower Case - example Upper first - Example

You can define a custom format by entering code letters and extra text, or display the field unformatted by leaving the entry blank. If you specify a custom format, the field either contains the code that you enter or is blank; it never contains the word Custom.

Note: Be aware that when formats are applied to numerical field types (Currency, Calculated Number, and Real Number fields), the displayed accuracy or number of decimal places might be limited. Add a hint to the Description of such fields that queries should test for a difference of plus or minus the least significant digit rather than absolute equality.