Formatting Text Values

A format is a property that determines how numbers , dates, times, and text are displayed and printed. Access provides custom formats for dates and times, but you can also create your own formats using formatting symbols. Formatting symbols are symbols that Access uses to control how it displays data values. For example, the formatting symbol "<" forces Access to display text characters in lowercase, while the symbol ">" displays those same characters in uppercase. Formatting may also include use of literals , which are text strings that are displayed exactly as they appear in format. Formatting only affects the way the data is displayed. It does not affect the data itself.

Format Text Data

Display the table in Design view, and then click a text field for which you want to set formatting values.

Click the Format box, and then enter a text format for all data values in the text field.

General and Text Formatting Symbols

Symbol	Data	Format	Display
!	321	!	321
<	Today	<	today
>	News	>	NEWS
"ABC"	20	&"lbs."	20lbs.
(space)	16	& "oz."	16 oz.
\	10	&\k	10k
@	5551234	@@@-@@@@	555-1234
&	Mr	&\.	Mr.
*	Hello	&*!	Hello!!!!!!
[ color ]	Alert	[gray]	Alert