Number formats

Number formats control how values are displayed in a report: decimals, thousand separators, percentages, scaling to thousands, hours and dates. The same syntax is used in several places, but not every place supports all of it.

Where	Set in	Supports
Measure	The Format field on the measure (see below)	The full syntax on this page
Report line (row)	The `format` property of a `ReportLine` in `$report` — see XML Dimension	The full syntax; overrides the measure format for that row
KPI	`$olap.setKpiFormat()` or `.format()` — see KPI’s	Number masks only (default `###,##0.00`)
Table column	The `value_format` argument of `addTableColumn` — see Tables	Number masks only, and the mask must start with `#` — `0.00` is not a supported table-column mask, use `#0.00`. A leading `L` is accepted directly before the `#` and ignored

The Format field on a measure

The Format field is part of the shared measure definition (the data object), and is only shown for measures. You reach it either from the data object itself or from the report editor under Object details — in both cases the change applies to every report that uses the measure. There is no report-local format field; if a single report needs something else, set the format on a report line instead.

The field is free text (up to 255 characters). What you enter is a mask, optionally preceded by a prefix that transforms the value before it is formatted. The … button next to the field opens a builder: it lists the masks and the prefixes with what each one does, a double click inserts one at the cursor, and a Result pane shows the format applied to sample values. Editing the field requires update access to data objects; without it the field is read-only and the button is hidden.

An empty Format field means the raw value from the database is shown as text, and the column is left-aligned in Excel exports. When a format is set and the value can be converted to a number, it is exported as a number and right-aligned. Text values remain text.

The format applies both to Pivot reports and to List reports.

Masks

A mask is a standard number pattern:

Symbol	Meaning
`#`	Digit, omitted when it is a leading or trailing zero
`0`	Digit, always shown
`,`	Thousand grouping — displayed as a space
`.`	Decimal separator — displayed as a dot
`%`	Multiplies the value by 100 and prints the percent sign
Literal text	Fixed text printed before or after the number

The separators are fixed: space for grouping and dot for decimals, regardless of the user’s language.

Fixed text can be added before or after the number, for example ###,##0 kg or NOK ###,##0. Some characters have a special meaning in a mask — besides the symbols above, that is E, ;, -, ‰, ¤ and '. Quote such a character with single quotes to print it as text, and use two single quotes to print a single quote.

Examples

Sample values: the amount 1234567.89, the ratio 0.2537, the date 20260826 and the hour value 7.5.

Format	Result	Use for
`###,###`	`1 234 568`	Amounts and counts without decimals
`###,##0.00`	`1 234 567.89`	Amounts with two decimals
`###,##0.0`	`1 234 567.9`	Quantities with one decimal
`##0 %`	`25 %`	Whole percent from a ratio stored as 0–1
`##0.0 %`	`25.4 %`	Percent with one decimal
`##0.00 %`	`25.37 %`	Percent with two decimals
`T ###,##0`	`1 235`	Amounts in thousands
`T ###,##0.0`	`1 234.6`	Amounts in thousands with one decimal
`P0 ##0.0 %`	`25.4 %`	Share of the top-level row the cell belongs to
`P1 ##0.0 %`	`25.4 %`	Share of the row above (the parent in the drill path)
`L 010##0.0 %`	`25.4 %`	Share of report line 10 (`$report`)
`DATE:dd.MM.yyyy`	`26.08.2026`	Dates on a numeric date column
`DATE:`	`2026-08-26`	Dates in ISO format
`H:MM`	`7:30`	Decimal hours shown as hours and minutes

Prefixes

The prefixes are read at fixed character positions, so the spacing matters. Use exactly the spacing shown below.

T — thousands

T, a space, then the mask. The value is divided by 1000 before it is formatted, so T ###,##0 shows 1234567.89 as 1 235.

P0 or P1, a space, then the mask. P0 divides the cell value by the value on the first drill level — the top-level row the cell belongs to — while P1 divides it by the row immediately above in the drill path. The result is a ratio, so the mask should contain %.

P0 needs a row above it to divide by, so on the first drill level itself there is no denominator and the raw value is shown with the mask applied. On the first drill level, P1 divides a non-zero value by itself and gives 100 %. A zero value remains 0 %.

A zero cell value is shown as 0 %. If the reference row is zero while the current value is non-zero, the cell shows -. The same applies to L.

L, a space, then the line number in exactly three character positions, then the mask — so the mask always starts at the sixth character. This only applies to $report lines.

L 001##0.0 %    → share of line 1
L 010##0.0 %    → share of line 10
L 100##0.0 %    → share of line 100

Pad the line number with zeros as shown. Trailing spaces work as well (L 10 ##0.0 %), but L001##0.0 % is not valid — the space after L is required.

DATE: — dates

DATE: followed by a date pattern, for example DATE:dd.MM.yyyy, DATE:yyyy-MM or DATE:dd/MM/yy. DATE: on its own gives yyyy-MM-dd.

The value must be a date, a number in YMD8 form (20260826) or epoch milliseconds. A text column is shown unchanged, and the date pattern is then ignored.

Date patterns are case-sensitive: MM means month and mm means minutes, dd means day of month and DD means day of year. Patterns with month names (MMM) follow the server language, so prefer numeric patterns.

H:MM — hours and minutes

H:MM on its own, with no mask (upper or lower case). The value is read as decimal hours and shown as hours and minutes: 7.5 becomes 7:30 and 8.33 becomes 8:20.

How the format is used in the report

Report table: the measure column is rendered with the measure format, unless the row has its own report line format — the line format wins.
Cell icons, bars and colours: the limits in a measure script are compared against the value after the prefix has been applied. With P0, P1 or L that is the computed ratio, where 1 represents 100 %, and with T it is the value in thousands. Ratios can be negative or greater than 1. The cell styling always uses the measure format, also on rows that override the format.
Excel export: in the main report table, the measure format controls the Excel cell type, value and number format. A number or percent mask on the measure is translated to an Excel number format, and the cell holds the transformed number (also after T, P0, P1 and L), so it can be used in calculations. A report line format changes the value shown in the report, but does not replace the measure format during Excel export: the exported number is the one the measure format produces, so a row that shows 25.4 % in the report is exported as the underlying amount. On calculated rows (TYPE_CALC, see XML Dimension) whose line format contains %, the cell is still given a percent style, so check such rows in the export. If the measure has no format, the cell is exported as text even when the report line has a format. Add-on tables have separate export handling.
Measure filter and slicer: a measure with Show measure in filter set gets a column in the filter popup and in the slicer. Those controls hold one value on its own, with no drill path, so P0, P1 and L are shown as a plain grouped number instead of a share. T, DATE: and H:MM behave as in the report.
PDF export: the value is exported exactly as it is formatted in the report.
CSV export: in the main report table, the formatted value is exported. When the measure has a format, spaces are removed, so 1 234 568 becomes 1234568. If only the report line has a format, the value is exported as displayed text and its spaces remain.
Graphs: not affected. Charts format their own labels and axes — see Graphs.

Express ratios as fractions, where 1 represents 100 %. The % in the mask multiplies the displayed value by 100, so do not multiply in the SQL expression as well.
A mask cannot start with T, P0, P1, L or DATE:, and cannot be H:MM, since those are read as prefixes. Quote the letter to keep it as text: 'T'###,##0 shows 1234567.89 as T1 234 568, while T ###,##0 scales it to thousands.
Missing values on numeric rows use the measure’s default value, which is - unless the measure script has changed it with $dim.setDefaultValue(). Text rows show an empty cell. Text values bypass numeric formatting and are shown unchanged; a value that cannot be converted to a number is shown as - or as the measure’s default value, depending on the format.
Date and hour formats are a display-only feature. DATE: and H:MM are shown correctly in the report, but the Excel export does not convert them to native Excel date or duration values — the cell keeps the underlying number (for example 20260826). Check the export if you use these on a measure that is exported.
A format the report cannot use is refused when you save the measure, and the message names the format. That covers both a number mask and a DATE: pattern the formatter rejects. A DATE: pattern that is valid but does not fit the value falls back to the measure’s default value in the report.