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Hack 73 Format Numeric Field Results

How you display the result of a calculation can
be almost as important as the result itself. This hack shows you how
to get field results into the format you need.

If you use fields to calculate numbers, such as the
sum of the values in a table column [Hack #72],
you'll usually want some control over how those
results are formatted. For example, you might want the number rounded
to two decimal points with a currency symbol. To control how numbers
appear in fields, you use
numeric picture switches.

A numeric picture switch is indicated in a field's
code with \# and can include a variety of
instructions to Word on how to format the numeric results of a
particular field.

For example, insert the following field in a document (to create
field braces, you must press Ctrl-F9 or select
InsertField):

{=2+2 \# 00.0000}

Select the field and press F9. The numeric picture switch tells Word
to display the results of this sum in the form 04.0000.

If you use the switch \# 0,
Word rounds the result to the nearest integer. The following field
would display the value 3 in a document:

{=3.1415 \# 0}

If you omit the numeric picture switch, Word makes its own decisions
as to whether to display a calculation's result as
an integer or round the number to one or two decimal places.

You can also include a currency symbol in a numeric picture switch.
The following field displays $82.37 in your
document:

{=50 + 32.37 \# $00.00}

8.5.1 Compound Picture Switches

Numeric picture switches actually take three arguments,
separated by semicolons: positive value format, negative value
format, and zero value format. If you omit these arguments, as in the
previous examples, the switch uses the positive value format to
format the results. If you want to format negative values
differently, you can add a second parameter to the switch. For
example, the switch \# #;(#)
used in a field would tell

If no value is given for one of the three arguments (positive,
negative, and zero), Word won't display those
results. For example, the switch \#
#;; displays the results only if
they're greater than zero.

You could also use a switch like \# #;-#;Ø to display Ø for zero values
(hold down the Alt key and type 0216 on the number pad to get the
Ø character). You can also display different text outputs
for positive and negative values. For example, the following switch:

\# Profit\ $,0.00;Loss\ $,0.00;Break\ Even

prefaces positive values with the word Profit and
negative values with the word Loss. If the value
is zero, it displays only the term Break Even,
with no number. Notice that a backslash is placed in front of a space
to tell Word to display the space in the field results. A significant
benefit of adding text and/or suppressing zeros this way (instead of
using IF tests to output nulls or spaces) is that
the field will continue to evaluate as a number in other formulas.

In addition, the field results reflect any font formatting applied to
the numeric picture switch. For example, in the above switch, you
could color the Profit portion of the switch blue,
the Loss portion red, and the
Break Even portion green.

Paul Edstein