Powerbuilder : what does this computed field formatter mean

Question

Hi, I have a computed field, whose format is specified as follows -

#,##0.00;[RED](#,##0.00);#

By format, I meant the format value that we can set from the property of the computed field(in the format tab).

What does this format mean?

Answer 1

The format property can contain up to 4 individual format strings, separated by semicolons. Only one is required. These formats are for numbers:

Positive-format;negative-format;zero-format;null-format

For other data types (string, date, time...):

Non-null-format;null-format

I'm assuming it's the semi-colon separated list that's throwing you off. If you need help with the elements of each individual format string, comment back and I'll edit it in, but I suspect you'll find what you need faster in the help file (.HLP). (This topic is in the Users Guide, which should be on your system as a CHM file, in the PowerBuilder program group as "Compiled HTML help file", which actually is another place individual format strings are covered pretty well. It's also available online from Sybase.)

Good luck,

Terry