How to use Oleander Field Formats

Each field identifier in an Oleander document can be formated. If no extra formatting information is given in the document, Oleander uses an empty format mask string.

If it is necessary to give extra formating information in the document, you can place a valid mask string in the identifier content. This mask string should fit to the datatype of the identifier. To separate the mask string within the identifier content you have to use the special character as specified in the MaskSeparator property of the TOleanderIdentifier.

See the picture below on how to place format information in a Word document.

 

String

The Format string specifies the length the result should have. It can be preceeded by ‘R’ or ‘L’ (‘L’ is optional). The ‘R’ results in a right padded result string, the ‘L’ or no preceeding character results in a left padded string.

Example

Formatting "American SCUBA Supply" with "Customer_Company@L5" results in "Ameri".

 

Float

The following format specifiers are supported in the format string:

Specifier Represents
0 Digit placeholder. If the value being formatted has a digit in the position where the '0' appears in the format string, then that digit is copied to the output string. Otherwise, a '0' is stored in that position in the output string.
# Digit placeholder. If the value being formatted has a digit in the position where the '#' appears in the format string, then that digit is copied to the output string. Otherwise, nothing is stored in that position in the output string.
. Decimal point. The first '.' character in the format string determines the location of the decimal separator in the formatted value; any additional '.' characters are ignored. The actual character used as a the decimal separator in the output string is determined by the DecimalSeparator global variable. The default value of DecimalSeparator is specified in the Number Format of the International section in the Windows Control Panel.
, Thousand separator. If the format string contains one or more ',' characters, the output will have thousand separators inserted between each group of three digits to the left of the decimal point. The placement and number of ',' characters in the format string does not affect the output, except to indicate that thousand separators are wanted. The actual character used as a the thousand separator in the output is determined by the ThousandSeparator global variable. The default value of ThousandSeparator is specified in the Number Format of the International section in the Windows Control Panel.
E+ Scientific notation. If any of the strings 'E+', 'E-', 'e+', or 'e-' are contained in the format string, the number is formatted using scientific notation. A group of up to four '0' characters can immediately follow the 'E+', 'E-', 'e+', or 'e-' to determine the minimum number of digits in the exponent. The 'E+' and 'e+' formats cause a plus sign to be output for positive exponents and a minus sign to be output for negative exponents. The 'E-' and 'e-' formats output a sign character only for negative exponents.
'xx'/"xx" Characters enclosed in single or double quotes are output as-is, and do not affect formatting.
; Separates sections for positive, negative, and zero numbers in the format string.

The locations of the leftmost '0' before the decimal point in the format string and the rightmost '0' after the decimal point in the format string determine the range of digits that are always present in the output string.

The number being formatted is always rounded to as many decimal places as there are digit placeholders ('0' or '#') to the right of the decimal point. If the format string contains no decimal point, the value being formatted is rounded to the nearest whole number.

If the number being formatted has more digits to the left of the decimal separator than there are digit placeholders to the left of the '.' character in the format string, the extra digits are output before the first digit placeholder.

To allow different formats for positive, negative, and zero values, the format string can contain between one and three sections separated by semicolons.

One section: The format string applies to all values.

Two sections: The first section applies to positive values and zeros, and the second section applies to negative values.

Three sections: The first section applies to positive values, the second applies to negative values, and the third applies to zeros.

If the section for negative values or the section for zero values is empty, that is if there is nothing between the semicolons that delimit the section, the section for positive values is used instead.

If the section for positive values is empty, or if the entire format string is empty, the value is formatted using general floating-point formatting with 15 significant digits. General floating-point formatting is also used if the value has more than 18 digits to the left of the decimal point and the format string does not specify scientific notation.

Examples

The following table shows some sample formats and the results produced when the formats are applied to different values:

Format string 1234 -1234 0.5 0
  1234 -1234 0.5 0
0 1234 -1234 1 0
0.00 1234.00 -1234.00 0.50 0.00
#.## 1234 -1234 .5  
#,##0.00 1,234.00 -1,234.00 0.50 0.00
#,##0.00;(#,##0.00) 1,234.00 (1,234.00) 0.50 0.00
#,##0.00;;Zero 1,234.00 -1,234.00 0.50 Zero
0.000E+00 1.234E+03 -1.234E+03 5.000E-01 0.000E+00
#.###E-0 1.234E3 -1.234E3 5E-1 0E0

 

Currency

Formats the currency value using the given format string. For further details, see the description of the float formatting.

 

Date/Time

The following format specifiers are supported:

Specifier Displays
c Displays the date using the format given by the ShortDateFormat global variable, followed by the time using the format given by the LongTimeFormat global variable. The time is not displayed if the fractional part of the DateTime value is zero.
d Displays the day as a number without a leading zero (1-31).
dd Displays the day as a number with a leading zero (01-31).
ddd Displays the day as an abbreviation (Sun-Sat) using the strings given by the ShortDayNames global variable.
dddd Displays the day as a full name (Sunday-Saturday) using the strings given by the LongDayNames global variable.
ddddd Displays the date using the format given by the ShortDateFormat global variable.
dddddd Displays the date using the format given by the LongDateFormat global variable.
m Displays the month as a number without a leading zero (1-12). If the m specifier immediately follows an h or hh specifier, the minute rather than the month is displayed.
mm Displays the month as a number with a leading zero (01-12). If the mm specifier immediately follows an h or hh specifier, the minute rather than the month is displayed.
mmm Displays the month as an abbreviation (Jan-Dec) using the strings given by the ShortMonthNames global variable.
mmmm Displays the month as a full name (January-December) using the strings given by the LongMonthNames global variable.
yy Displays the year as a two-digit number (00-99).
yyyy Displays the year as a four-digit number (0000-9999).
h Displays the hour without a leading zero (0-23).
hh Displays the hour with a leading zero (00-23).
n Displays the minute without a leading zero (0-59).
nn Displays the minute with a leading zero (00-59).
s Displays the second without a leading zero (0-59).
ss Displays the second with a leading zero (00-59).
t Displays the time using the format given by the ShortTimeFormat global variable.
tt Displays the time using the format given by the LongTimeFormat global variable.
am/pm Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays 'am' for any hour before noon, and 'pm' for any hour after noon. The am/pm specifier can use lower, upper, or mixed case, and the result is displayed accordingly.
a/p Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays 'a' for any hour before noon, and 'p' for any hour after noon. The a/p specifier can use lower, upper, or mixed case, and the result is displayed accordingly.
ampm Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays the contents of the TimeAMString global variable for any hour before noon, and the contents of the TimePMString global variable for any hour after noon.
/ Displays the date separator character given by the DateSeparator global variable.
: Displays the time separator character given by the TimeSeparator global variable.
'xx'/"xx" Characters enclosed in single or double quotes are displayed as-is, and do not affect formatting.

Format specifiers may be written in upper case as well as in lower case letters--both produce the same result.

If the string given by the Format parameter is empty, the date and time value is formatted as if a 'c' format specifier had been given.

Example

Using "Customer_Lastinvoicedate@DD/MM/YY" results in "01.11.95".