Column formats
Column of certain types can have formats applied to their data. All data in the column will automatically be displayed in the chosen format, but formats do not change the data itself.
That is, if you type "7.99" into a column with a format that does not allow decimals, it will display "8". However, if you subsequently change the format of the column to one that does allow decimals, it will display the value you entered, "7.99".
To set the format of a column, select the column and use the
Column Type inspector
. The column must be of a type that allows formatting.
Number formats
All formats are represented by the number "9999.99" as it would appear with the format applied to it.
Formats with ".99" at the end are rounded to the nearest hundredth; formats without decimals are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Formats with currency or percent symbols will apply these symbols to the values entered. Currency formats will display negative numbers accounting-style, inside of parentheses.
Currency, thousands separator, and decimal separator settings are all dependent on the international settings in Mac OS X's System Preferences.
Date formats
There are a number of date formats available in the
Column Type inspector
, but the
Long Date Format
and the
Short Date Format
options are based on the international settings in Mac OS X's System Preferences.
You can also create a custom date format, using the
Column Type inspector
.