Lotus Domino Designer 8.5 Help

FORMULA LANGUAGE

@Text
Example

Converts any value to a text string.

Syntax

@Text( value ; formatstring )

Parameters

value

Number, time-date, text, list thereof, or rich text. The value you want to convert to text.

Note Conversion of rich text is new with Release 6.

format-string

Text or text list. Optional. Up to four format-strings (see table below). These determine how the text is returned. If the

value

is already a text data type, the

formatstring

is ignored.

Return value

textValue

Text or text list. The

value

you specified, converted to text. If you used any

format-strings,

they are applied.

@Text with timedate components

There are four separate categories of timedate, formatstring components. You can include up to four components, but only one from each category.

Symbol	Meaning
D0	Month, day and year
D1	Month and day, year if it is not the current year
D2	Month and day
D3	Month and year
T0	Hour, minute, and second
T1	Hour and minute
Z0	Always convert time to this zone
Z1	Display zone only when it is not this zone
Z2	Display zone always
S0	Date only
S1	Time only
S2	Date and time
S3	Date, time, Today, or Yesterday
Sx	Use when you cannot predict the exact format of the value being passed, but you know that it is either a time, a date, or both.

@Text with number values

For number values, compose a formatstring by combining any of the following components into a string.

Symbol	Meaning
G	General format (significant digits only)
F	Fixed format (set number of decimal places)
S	Scientific format (E notation)
C	Currency format (two decimal places)
,	Punctuated at thousands (using U.S. format)
%	Percentage format
()	Parentheses around negative numbers
number	Number of digits of precision

Usage

If the parameter is a list, the function operates on each element of the list, and the return value is a list with the same number of elements.

Once a number value is converted to text, you will not be able to use the number for arithmetic calculations.

Rich text conversion loses attachments and all formatting except tabs and spaces. When rich text is converted in a document, the document must be saved before the conversion becomes visible.

Rich text conversion does not work in column formulas. Use @Abstract to convert the contents of a rich text field to plain text. Then reference the plain text field in the view. For example, if you add the following code to a hidden computed field called plainText, you can then set the default value of the view column to "plainText" to display the contents of the RTField:

@Abstract([TextOnly];15360;"";"RTField")

Use caution if using @Text to convert numbers or dates in a column. In databases hosted by a server, the numbers and dates always display using the format settings of the hosting server's operating system. Also, if the date or number format settings of either the client accessing the database or server hosting the database change, you may need to entirely rebuild the view.

Language cross-reference

CStr function of LotusScript language

GetFormattedText method in LotusScript NotesRichTextItem class

getFormattedText method in Java RichTextItem class

Example
See Also

Getting user input with @Prompt and @PickList

Converting data types