Displaying Numbers in Scientific Notation

The number of decimal positions after the decimal separator.

For example, 0.00000E+000 displays six digits of precision.

#

Used after the decimal point to suppress zeros.

For example, the value .000179 with the format 0.00000E-00 displays as 1.79000E-04. With the format 0.0####E-00, the same value displays as 1.79E-04.

E or e

Controls the case in which the exponent designator displays.

E0 E+0 E-0 (and the lower case equivalents)

If the plus sign is used, the exponential component always displays with a sign (plus or minus).

If the minus sign or no sign is used, the sign displays only when negative.

E+0 to E+000

The number of zeros following the E or e, with or without a sign character, is the minimum number of digits to display for the exponent. For example, the value 179 displays as 1.79E2 with the format 0.00E0 and as 1.79e002 with the format 0.00e000.

If the minimum number of digits is not adequate to represent the magnitude of the number, additional digits are added as required. For example, the value 1,789,000,000,000 with the format 0.00E0 displays as 1.79E12.

Leading + or – sign

A leading minus sign (or no sign character) displays a sign only if the precision of the number is negative. The appropriate sign always displays if the plus character leads the string.

Currency—Applies currency formatting to the selected numeric object(s). The currency formatting applied is the first currency type for the selected locale specified in the BQFORMAT.INI file. To display all the available currency types for the current local, click the arrow to the right of the Currency button.

Note: The Currency button is ignored if the selected object is not of a numeric type (real or integer).

Percentage—Applies percentage formatting to the selected numeric object(s). The percentage formatting applied is the first percentage format for the selected locale specified in the BQFORMAT.INI file. To display all the available percentage formats for the current local, click the arrow to the right of the Percentage button.

Note: The Percentage button is ignored if the selected object is not of a numeric type (real or integer).

Comma Formatting—Toggles the presence of the thousands-separator character on or off. If on, comma formatting inserts the thousands-separator character into the current format string for the selected object. The thousands-separator character is inserted based on current locale settings.

Note: Comma formatting does not affect numbers formatted with scientific notation.

Decimal Increase—Increases the number of displayed digits after the decimal point (or its locale-specific equivalent).

For example, if the current format for the field specifies three decimal digits, such as $#.000, pressing Decimal Increase modifies the format to $#.0000.

Pressing Decimal Increase when the number of decimal positions is zero adds the decimal separator character in addition to the one decimal digit. For example, if the format is ##%, pressing Decimal Increase changes the format to ##.0%.

Note: The Decimal Increase button is ignored if the selected object is not of a numeric type (real or integer).

Decimal Decrease—Decreases the number of displayed digits after the decimal point (or its locale-specific equivalent).

For example, if the current format for the field specifies three decimal digits, such as $#.000, pressing Decimal Decrease modifies the format to $#.00.

If the number of decimal positions goes from one to zero when pressing Decimal Decrease, the decimal separator is no longer part of the format. Pressing Decimal Decrease when the number of decimal positions is already at zero results in no action.

Note: The Decimal Decrease button is ignored if the selected object is not of a numeric type (real or integer).