Number formats

Any dimension can be specified as a carrier of format strings. Typically, and by default, this is the Measure dimension. In the Samples database, the Analysis cube contains the Measure dimension. Each element of the Measure dimension is a measure, such as Gross Margin, Revenue, Units, and Discounts. The Measure dimension is a flat dimension. Samples can be enabled only in on-premises environments.

You can select a different dimension as the carrier of the format strings. For example, you may need a hierarchical dimension. This selection is done on a cube in EPM Administration using the Edit Database dashboard.

Number formats can be used to format discounts as percentages or apply a currency format to unit prices. In reports, the value of the measure or cell is automatically displayed in the appropriate format.

Formats can be standard spreadsheet formats such as 0.00% or #,##0.00 or they can be the names of styles. For example, if you have a style called Percent in Application Studio you can specify Percent as a value of the format string.

The value of the format string is stored in an attribute of the corresponding dimension. The attribute field is named FORMAT_STRING. This name is case-insensitive. Its value can be changed using the Edit Attributes and Levels dashboard in EPM Administration.

In Application Studio reports, the cells in which measures are displayed must be formatted with the tilde (~) format.

Format strings must be in U.S. format with a period (.) as a decimal separator and a comma as a thousands separator. Numbers are then formatted according to the regional settings on the client computer. Regional settings on the client computers have other impacts on number formats. For example, if you use standard currency formats, the dollar sign is a euro sign in parts of Europe.