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FormatX$ Functions Details
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The FormatX$ functions provide a wide range of formats for numeric and
date/time data. See "Usage Notes" below for a description of all available
formats.
FormatI$ (expression# , fmt$)
FormatL$ (expression# , fmt$)
FormatS$ (expression# , fmt$)
FormatD$ (expression# , fmt$)
FormatC$ (expression# , fmt$)
■ If the argument fmt$ is not specified for a null string, the general
format--that which would give output identical to output with no
formatting--is used.
Usage Notes
■ To use any of the FormatX$ functions, you must first start BASIC
with the correct Quick library, link your program with FORMAT.LIB,
or use the FORMAT.QLB Quick library.
■ The following symbols are used to create formats:
This symbol Means this
═══════════════ ════════════════════════════════════════════════
Null string Display the number in general format.
0 Digit place holder:
- If the number has fewer digits on either side
of the decimal point than there are zeros on
either side of the decimal point in the format,
then the extra zeros are displayed.
- If the number has more digits to the right of
the decimal point than there are zeros to the
right in the format, the number is rounded
to as many decimal places as there are zeros to
the right.
- If the number has more digits to the left of
the decimal point than there are zeros to the
left in the format, the extra digits are
displayed.
# Digit placeholder:
- Follows the same rules as for the 0 digit
placeholder, except that extra zeros are not
displayed if the number has fewer digits on
either side of the decimal point than there
are #'s on either side of the format.
. Decimal point:
- This symbol determines how many digits (0's or
#'s) BASIC displays to the right and left of
the decimal point. Depending on the country
code set using the SetFormattCC routine, BASIC
may use the comma as the decimal point.
- If the format contains only #'s to the left
of this symbol, then numbers smaller than 1
are begun with a decimal point. To avoid this,
you should use 0 as the first digit placeholder
to the left of a decimal point instead of #.
% Percentage:
- The expression is multiplied by 100 and the
% character is inserted.
, Thousands separator:
- BASIC separates thousands by commas (or by
periods if the country code has been set to
a country other than the United States) if
the format contains a comma surrounded by #'s
or 0's.
- Two adjacent commas, or a comma immediately to
the left of the decimal point location (whether
there is a decimal specified or not) means
"Omit the three digits that fall between these
commas, or between the comma and the decimal
point, rounding as needed."
E- E+ e- e+ Scientific format:
- If a format contains one digit placeholder
(0 or #) to the right of an E-, E+, e-, or e+,
BASIC displays the number in scientific format
and inserts an E or e.
- The number of 0's or #'s to the right
determines the number of digits in the
exponent.
- Use E- or e- to place a minus sign next to
negative exponents. Use E+ or e++ to place a
minus sign next to negative exponents and a
plus sign next to positive exponents.
: - + $ () space Display that literal character:
- To display a character other than one of these,
precede the character with a backslash (\) or
enclose the character(s) in double quotation
marks ("").
Display the next character in the format string:
- Many characters in the format string have a
special meaning and cannot be displayed as
literal characters unless they are preceded
by a backslash. The backslash is not
displayed. This is the same as enclosing the
next character in double quotation marks.
- Examples of such characters are the date-
and time-formatting characters (y, m, d, h,
s, a, and p) and the numeric-formatting
characters (#, 0, %, E, e, comma, and
period).
"abc" Display whatever text is inside the double quotes:
- To include a text string in fmt$, you must
use CHR$(34) to enclose the text (34 is the
ASCII code for double quotation mark).
■ Some sample numeric formats are shown below (these examples all
assume the country code is set to 1, the United States).
Result for:
═════════════════════════════
Format (fmt$) 5 -5 .5
══════════════════════════ ═════ ═══════ ═════
Null string 5 -5 0.5
0 5 -5 1
0.00 5.00 -5.00 0.50
#,##0 5 -5 1
#,##0.00 5.00 -5.00 0.50
$#,##0;($#,##0) $5 ($5) $1
$#,##0.00;($#,##0.00) $5.00 ($5.00) $0.50
0% 500% -500% 50%
0.00% 500.00% -500.00% 50.00%
0.00E+00 5.00E+00 -5.00E+00 5.00E-01
0.00E-00 5.00E00 -5.00E00 5.00E-01
■ A number format can have three sections separated by semicolons.
The first section formats positive values; the second section formats
negative values, and the third section formats zeros. The following
example has two sections: the first section defines the format for
numbers greater than 0; the second section defines the format for
numbers less than 0:
$#,##0;($#,##0)
■ You can use from one to three sections:
If you use The result is
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One section only The format applies to all numbers.
Two sections The first section applies to positive
numbers and zeros; the second to negative
numbers.
Three sections The first section applies to positive
numbers, the second to negative numbers
numbers, and the third to zeros.
■ If you have semicolons with nothing between them, the missing section
prevents that type of number from being displayed. For example, the
following format will print positive numbers and zeros, but it will
not print negative numbers.
$#,##0;;"Zero"
Date/Time Formats
■ Date/time serial numbers can be formatted with date/time or with
numeric formats (since date/time serial numbers are stored as
floating-point values). Date/time formats are:
This symbol Means this
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d dd ddd dddd Display the day as a number without leading zeros
(1-12), as a number with leading zeros (01-12),
as an abbreviation (Sun-Sat), or as a full name
(Sunday-Saturday).
m mm mmm mmmm Display the month as a number without leading
zeros (1-12), as a number with leading zeros
(01-12), as an abbreviation (Jan-Dec), or as a
full month name (January-December). If you use m
or mm immediately after the h or hh symbol, the
minute rather than the month is displayed.
yy yyyy Display the year as a two-digit number (00-99),
or as a four-digit number (1900-2040).
h hh Display the hour as a number without leading zeros
(0-23), or as a number with leading zeros
(00-23). If the format contains an AM or PM, the
hour is based on the 12-hour clock. Otherwise,
the hour is based on the 24-hour clock.
m mm Display the minute as a number without leading
zeros (0-59), or as a number with leading zeros
(00-59). The m or mm must appear after an h or
hh, or the month is displayed rather than the
minute.
s ss Display the second as a number without leading
zeros (0-59), or as a number with leading zeros
(00-59).
AM/PM am/pm Display the hour using a 12-hour clock. AM, am,
A/P a/p A, or a are displayed for times up until noon;
PM, pm, P, or p are displayed for times between
noon and midnight.
■ The following are examples of date and time formats:
Format Display
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m/d/yy 12/7/58
d-mmmm-yy 7-December-58
d-mmmm 7-December
mmmm-yy December-58
h:mm AM/PM 8:50 PM
h:mm:ss AM/PM 8:50:35 PM
h:mm 20:50
h:mm:ss 20:50:35
m/d/yy h:mm 12/7/58 20:50