Different types of formats in MS Access are as follows:
Text and Memo format
Diferent formats for text and memo are as follows:
| Symbol | Explanation |
| @ | It indicates a required character or space |
| & | It indicates an optional character or space |
| < | It converts characters to lowercase |
| > | It converts characters to uppercase |
| @;”XYZ” | It displays the text inside double quotes if the user enters no value |
Some examples of formats for text and memo are as follows:
| Format | Datasheet entry | display |
| @@@-@@@@ | 1234567 | 123-4567 |
| @@@-@@@& | 123456 | 123-456 |
| < | HELLO | hello |
| > | hello | HELLO |
| @/! | Hello | Hello! |
| @;”No Data Entered” | (blank) | No Data Entered |
Number Format
Different format for numbers are as follows:
| Format | Explanation |
| 0 | 0 is a placeholder that displays a digit or 0 if there is none. |
| # | # is a placeholder that displays a digit or nothing if there is none. |
| % | % multiplies the number by 100 and added a percent sign. |
Different examples of formats for numbers are as follows:
| Format | Datasheet Entry | Display |
| # # #, # # 0.00 | 123456.78 | 123,456.78 |
| $# # #, # #0.00 | 0 | $0.00 |
| # # #.00% | .123 | 12.3% |
Currency Format
The currency formatting consists of four parts separated by semicolons. These parts are format for positive numbers, format for negative numbers, format for zero values and format for Null values.
| Format | Explanation |
| $# #0.00;($# #0.00)[Red];$0.00;”none” | Positive values will be normal currency format, negative numbers will be red in parentheses, zero is entered for zero values, and “none” will be written for Null values. |
Date Forma
The easiest way to apply a format is to select from drop-down list as follows:
| General dateLong date Medium date Short date Long Time Medium Time Short Time | 06/19/94 5:34:23pmJune 19, 1994 19-Jun-94 06/19/94 5:34:23PM 5:34 PM 17:34 |
The user cans also formats the data according to his particular requirements. Different date formats are as follows:
| Format | Explanation |
| d | It displays 1 or 2 characters for day. Its value can be from 1 to 31. |
| dd | It displays 2 characters for day. Its value can be from 01 to 31 such as 01. |
| m or mm | It displays month as a number. Its value can be from 1 to 12. |
| mmm | It displays month using three characters such as Jan, Feb etc. |
| mmmm | It displays full nam of the month such as January, March etc. |
| /- | It displays separator character. |
| h | It displays hours. |
| n | It displays minutes. |
| s | It displayed seconds. |
Some examples of data formats are as follows:
| Format | Display |
| dddd “,” mmmm d “,” yyyy | Monday, January 1, 2001 |
| ddd “,” mmm “.” d “,”yy | Mon, Jan. 1, ‘01 |
| “Today is” dddd | Today is Monday |
| H:n:s: AM/PM | 12L00:00 AM |
Yes/No Format
The Yes/No fields are displayed as check boxes by default on the datasheet. It can be changed to textbox by clicking Lookup tab and changing Display Control to a textbox. The formatting is designated in three sections separated by semicolons. The first section contains nothing but semicolon must be included. The second section specifies formatting for Yes values and third for No values as Follows:
| Format | Explanation |
| ;”Yes”[green];”no”[red] | Prints “Yes” in green or “no” in red |