Generally you want to display numbers in a more friendly format than that found in your raw data.

Report Builder gives you access to format strings enabling you to transform your numeric data however you see fit. Below is a table of commonly used format strings.

Description Format
Millions
0,,M
Millions With Decimal
0,,.0M

Format Strings General Reference

Format Description Example
“N” – Number Integral and decimal digits, group separators, and a decimal separator with optional negative sign. 1234.567 (“N”, en-US) -> 1,234.57
1234.567 (“N”, ru-RU) -> 1 234,57
“C” – Currency A currency value – can be used with any number. 123.456 (“C”, en-US) -> $123.46
123.456 (“C”, fr-FR) -> 123,46 €
123.456 (“C”, ja-JP) -> ¥123
“G” – General The most compact of either fixed-point or scientific notation. -123.456 (“G”, en-US) -> -123.456
123.456 (“G”, sv-SE) -> -123,456
-1.234567890e-25 (“G”, en-US) -> -1.23456789E-25
-1.234567890e-25 (“G”, sv-SE) -> -1,23456789E-25
“P” – Percentage Number multiplied by 100 and displayed with a percent symbol. 1 (“P”, en-US) -> 100.00 %
1 (“P”, fr-FR) -> 100,00 %
-0.39678 (“P”, en-US) -> -39.68 %
-0.39678 (“P”, fr-FR) -> -39,68 %
Custom Your custom number format. Certain characters have special meanings:

  • 0 – forces a digit to display e.g. with a value of 0.1 and a format of 0.00 the formatted value would be 0.10
  • # – display a digit if present e.g. with a value of 0.1 and a format of #.## the formatted value would be .1
  • . – display a decimal point if necessary e.g. with a value of 1.1 and a format of #.# the formatted value would be 1.1 but with a format of # the formatted value would be 1
  • , – display a digit separator if necessary e.g. with a value of 1000 and a format of #,### the formatted value would be 1,000 in English or 1 000 in Spanish

More details on custom number formats can be found on MSDN.

1000 (“#,###.#”, en-US) -> 1,000
1000 (“#,###.#”, fr-FR) -> 1 000
-3.9 (“#.#0”, en-US) -> -3.90
-3.9 (“#.#0”, fr-FR) -> -3,90