MergeFields are very powerful elements and provide many different options such as additional text that should exist added in front or afterward the field text and a pre-defined format such equally Majuscule or Title Instance.

Simply the most powerful feature is the string formatter for numeric numbers and date values.

A typical sample for a numeric format is a currency. The merge field value comes from a data source and contains a simple Integer and Float value such as the number 24. Merely the field should render the value with a currency symbol and two decimal digits: $24.00.

In this case, the numeric format of the field can be used to return the required format:

MailMerge: Formatting strings in merge fields

Text Command's reporting engine MailMerge supports all standard numeric formats, custom numeric formats and standard and custom date and time formats.

The above sample shows a custom numeric string format. In guild to add a currency symbol and 2 decimal digits, the following formats can be used:

$##,###.00
C2

Results:

2400 -> $2,400.00

The first is a custom format with diverse format specifiers such as zero placeholdes, digit placeholders and decimal points.

The second is a standard numeric format for currencies with 2 decimal digits. The post-obit tabular array lists the standard numeric formats with examples (from MSDN):

Format specifier Name Description Examples
"C" or "c" Currency Result: A currency value.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of decimal digits.		 123.456 ("C") -> $123.46
"D" or "d" Decimal Result: Integer digits with optional negative sign.
Supported past: Integral types simply.
Precision specifier: Minimum number of digits.		 -1234 ("D6") -> -001234
"E" or "e" Exponential Upshot: Exponential notation.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of decimal digits.		 1052.0329112756 ("E") -> 1.052033E+003
"F" or "f" Fixed-point Result: Integral and decimal digits with optional negative sign.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of decimal digits.		 1234 ("F1") -> 1234.0
"Yard" or "g" General Result: The near meaty of either stock-still-indicate or scientific notation.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of significant digits.		 123.4546 ("G4") -> 123.5
"P" or "p" Percent Result: Number multiplied by 100 and displayed with a percentage symbol.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Desired number of decimal places.		 ane ("P") -> 100,00 %
"R" or "r" Round-trip Outcome: A string that tin round-trip to an identical number.
Supported by: Single, Double, and BigInteger.
Precision specifier: Ignored.		 -1234567890.12345678 ("R") -> -1234567890.1234567

The next table lists the custom numeric format specifiers and shows samples produced by each format specifier:

Format specifier Name Description Examples
"0" Zilch placeholder Replaces the cypher with the respective digit if ane is present; otherwise, naught appears in the event string. 1234.5678 ("00000") -> 01235
"#" Digit placeholder Replaces the "#" symbol with the respective digit if one is present; otherwise, no digit appears in the result string. 0.45678 ("#.##") -> .46
"." Decimal bespeak Determines the location of the decimal separator in the effect string. 0.45678 ("0.00") -> 0.46
"," Grouping separator and number scaling Serves as both a group separator and a number scaling specifier. Equally a grouping separator, it inserts a localized grouping separator character between each group. As a number scaling specifier, it divides a number by yard for each comma specified. 2147483647 ("##,#") -> ii,147,483,647
"%" Per centum placeholder Multiplies a number by 100 and inserts a localized percentage symbol in the result cord. 0.3697 ("%#0.00") -> %36.97
"‰" Per mille placeholder Multiplies a number past 1000 and inserts a localized per mille symbol in the outcome string. 0.03697 ("#0.00‰") -> 36.97‰
\ Escape graphic symbol Causes the next grapheme to exist interpreted as a literal rather than every bit a custom format specifier. 987654 ("\###00\#") -> #987654#
'string' or "string" Literal string delimiter Indicates that the enclosed characters should be copied to the effect string unchanged. 68 ("# ' degrees'") -> 68 degrees
; Section separator Defines sections with divide format strings for positive, negative, and zip numbers. 12.345 ("#0.0#;(#0.0#);-\0-") -> 12.35

In order to keep clean data in database tables, the formatting of numeric strings should be part of the template. The string formatter provides a powerful mode to format numeric strings or appointment values.