Number Formats

How to manage and use Number Formats

Overview

Number Formats change how values are displayed to the user within the Models application, and in generated spreadsheets.

For instance, applying the Number Format £#,##0 to the value 1234.567 would give a displayed value of £1,235.

Number Formats in Models are closely related to custom Number Formats in Excel. Any custom Number Format that is valid in Excel will be accepted in Models, though some aspects of the format (e.g. color), may not be displayed within Models. When generating Excel, all aspects of the custom format will be respected.

Managing Number Formats

Number Formats are stored separately from Models, and independent of Namespaces, meaning they are available and can be reused across all of your Models.

Models is installed with a number of inbuilt Number Formats, but you can add an unlimited number of your own, from any Number Format picker (e.g. in the Variable wizard).

The Number Format wizard

The Number Format wizard has only one step: enter a custom format. An example result of the custom format is displayed, as shown in the screenshot below.

To see all available custom formatting rules, see the Microsoft documentation here.

The Number Format dialog

Default Number Format

You can select a default Number Format for new Variables in a Model by navigating to Model Settings.