The formatting of a column defines how the data in the column will
be presented. For example, depending on how you format a date column, the dates
therein can be shown as "01/12/2022" or "January 12th, 2022". When you define
formatting at the column level (in the
Data in analysis flyout), this is the default
formatting that will be used at all places where the column content is shown.
Before you begin
You must have some
data loaded in the analysis, and the analysis must be in
Editing mode.
About this task
Note: You can also specify
formatting on an axis in a certain visualization using the visualization
Properties or using short-cuts accessed by
clicking or right-clicking on the axis. In those cases, the formatting changes
only apply to this particular axis. The types of formatting available are the
same as when changing the formatting on the column.
Tip: In the
Data in analysis flyout, you can also
right-click the column of interest and select
Formatting from the pop-up menu.
Procedure
-
On the
authoring bar, click
Data in analysis
and click on the column of
interest.
-
In the expanded flyout,
make sure that
Details on selected column
is selected.
-
In the expanded flyout, locate the
Formatting section and either change the
formatting to a different type directly from the drop-down list or click
Settings
, and make further modifications in the
Formatting settings dialog as described below.
-
In the
Formatting settings dialog, click the tab of
interest.
Depending on the data type, you will have access to different
tabs and settings in the dialog. Numeric columns have more options to choose
from than other types of columns. The
Custom format allows you to specify your own
format, if what you are looking for is unavailable in the predefined formats.
-
Select the formatting you want to use from the controls in the
dialog, or, define a custom formatting.
Alternatively, you can also
Copy formatting settings from another column
in the analysis, by expanding the section at the bottom of the dialog and
choosing a column to copy formatting from.
A sample of the selected format is automatically shown in
the dialog when you apply an update.
-
When you are done, click
OK.
Results
When you have defined
formatting at the column level, this is the default formatting that will be
used at all places where the column content is shown.
Example: Changing
the number of decimals
If your data contains measures with many decimals, like the values
below, but you are interested in displaying integers only, you can change the
default formatting so no decimals are shown.
Show the
Formatting settings dialog from the expanded
Data in analysis flyout by clicking
Settings
.
Then change the number of decimals to zero.
The visualization now shows the values without any decimals:
Example: Defining a
custom format for a date column
With custom formatting you can specify exactly how you want a value to
be presented. This example shows how you can define a custom format for a date
column.
Which predefined formats are available for a date or time column
depends on the language setting on your computer.
If you want to define your own format, in the
Formatting settings dialog, click
Custom and type the format string that specifies
your format. In this example, a short format of the month name is shown,
together with the day, expressed as a number, and short year: MMM d -yy. See
Custom formatting of date and time columns
for more details about custom formats.
Click
OK and see the result in the visualization: