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Numeric format strings

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Numeric format strings

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Last UpdatedJan 24, 2023
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Standard numeric format strings control formatting for common numeric types.

A standard format string takes the form Axx, where A is a single alphabetic character called the format specifier, and xx is an optional integer called the precision specifier.

The format specifier must be one of the built-in format characters.
The precision specifier ranges from 0 to 99 and controls the number of significant digits or zeros to the right of a decimal.
The format string cannot contain white spaces.

Note: The result string produced by these format specifiers is influenced by the Region and Language settings on your computer. Computers using different region, language, and advanced number and time settings will generate different result strings.

Standard numeric format string specifiers

Format string specifier	Name	Description
C or c	Currency	The number is converted to a string that represents a currency amount. The precision specifier indicates the desired number of decimal places.
D or d	Decimal	This format is supported for integral types only. The number is converted to a string of decimal digits (0-9), prefixed by a minus sign if the number is negative. The precision specifier indicates the minimum number of digits desired in the resulting string. If required, the number is padded with zeros to its left to produce the number of digits given by the precision specifier.
E or e	Scientific	The number is converted to a string of the form "-d.ddd...E+ddd" or "-d.ddd...e+ddd", where each 'd' indicates a digit (0-9). The string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative. One digit always precedes the decimal point. The precision specifier indicates the desired number of digits after the decimal point. If the precision specifier is omitted, a default of six digits after the decimal point is used. The case of the format specifier indicates whether to prefix the exponent with an 'E' or an 'e'. The exponent always consists of a plus or minus sign and a minimum of three digits. The exponent is padded with zeros to meet this minimum, if required.
F or f	Fixed-point	The number is converted to a string of the form "-ddd.ddd..." where each 'd' indicates a digit (0-9). The string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative. The precision specifier indicates the desired number of decimal places.
G or g	General	The number is converted to the most compact of either fixed-point or scientific notation, depending on the type of the number and whether a precision specifier is present. If the precision specifier is omitted or zero, the type of the number determines the default precision, as indicated by the following list. Byte or SByte: 3 Int16 or UInt16: 5 Int32 or UInt32: 10 Int64 or UInt64: 19 Single: 7 Double: 15 Decimal: 29 Fixed-point notation is used if the exponent that would result from expressing the number in scientific notation is greater than -5 and less than the precision specifier; otherwise, scientific notation is used. The result contains a decimal point if required and trailing zeroes are omitted. If the precision specifier is present and the number of significant digits in the result exceeds the specified precision, then the excess trailing digits are removed by rounding. If scientific notation is used, the exponent in the result is prefixed with 'E' if the format specifier is 'G', or 'e' if the format specifier is 'g'. The exception to the preceding rule is if the number is a Decimal type and the precision specifier is omitted. In that case, fixed-point notation is always used and trailing zeroes are preserved.
N or n	Number	The number is converted to a string of the form "-d,ddd,ddd.ddd...", where each 'd' indicates a digit (0-9). The string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative. Thousand separators are inserted between each group of three digits to the left of the decimal point. The precision specifier indicates the desired number of decimal places.
P or p	Percent	The number is converted to a string that represents a percent. The precision specifier indicates the desired number of decimal places.

Examples for standard format specifiers

Format string specifier	Culture or Locale setting	Data type	Value	Report output
C	en-US	Double	12345.6789	$12,345.68
C	de-DE	Double	12345.678	12.345,68 DM
D	en-US	Int32	12345	12345
D8	en-US	Int32	12345	00012345
E	en-US	Double	12345.6789	1.234568E+004
E10	en-US	Double	12345.6789	1.2345678900E+004
E	fr-FR	Double	12345.6789	1,234568E+004
e4	en-US	Double	12345.6789	1.2346e+004
F	en-US	Double	12345.6789	12345.68
F	es-ES	Double	12345.6789	12345,68
F0	en-US	Double	12345.6789	123456
F6	en-US	Double	12345.6789	12345.678900
G	en-US	Double	12345.6789	12345.6789
G7	en-US	Double	12345.6789	12345.68
G	en-US	Double	0.0000023	2.3E-6
G	en-US	Double	0.0023	0.0023
G2	en-US	Double	1234	1.2E3
G	en-US	Double	Math.PI	3.14159265358979
N	en-US	Double	12345.6789	12,345.68
N	sv-SE	Double	12345.6789	12 345,68
N4	en-US	Double	123456789	123,456,789.0000
P	en-US	Double	.126	12.60 %
r	en-US	Double	Math.PI	3.141592653589793
x	en-US	Int32	0x2c45e	2c45e
X	en-US	Int32	0x2c45e	2C45E
X8	en-US	Int32	0x2c45e	0002C45E
x	en-US	Int32	123456789	75bcd15

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Numeric format strings

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