The following table describes the formatting options for each data type, including:
The default representation which is used when no formatting arguments are present.
The supported formatting arguments, if any, and the corresponding representation.
Data type |
Description of data type /Formatting argument |
Representation as a text string |
|---|---|---|
Text |
Text string |
Text string |
Alt Text |
Possibly localized text string |
Text string (Switch always uses the default language) |
Text Indexed |
List of items of type Text |
See indexed variables |
Boolean |
Boolean value true or false |
"True" or "False" (or all-lower-case versions) |
Integer |
Integer number |
Decimal representation (including minus sign if needed; no plus sign; no leading zeroes) |
Rational |
Rational number formed by division of two integers |
Decimal representation of the form: numerator, forward slash, denominator; example: "2/3" or "-17/4" |
Precision="integer" |
Decimal floating point representation with the specified number of digits after the decimal point (minimum precision is 1, max is 15) |
|
Date |
A moment in time, including date and/or time information |
String representation in the subset of the ISO 8601 format allowed in XMP Date fields (see Adobe XMP specification, version dated September 2005, page 75) Equivalent to format string "yyyy-MM-ddThh:mm:ss.zzz" |
Format="format-string" |
String representation in the format specified by the format string, which must conform to the syntax described below |
The following format expressions are recognized and replaced in the date format string:
Expression |
Output |
|---|---|
d |
the day as number without a leading zero (1 to 31) |
dd |
the day as number with a leading zero (01 to 31) |
ddd |
the abbreviated day name (example: 'Mon' to 'Sun') |
dddd |
the long day name (example: 'Monday' to 'Sunday') |
M |
the month as number without a leading zero (1-12) |
MM |
the month as number with a leading zero (01-12) |
MMM |
the abbreviated month name (example: 'Jan' to 'Dec') |
MMMM |
the long month name (example: 'January' to 'December') |
yy |
the year as two digit number (00-99) |
yyyy |
the year as four digit number |
h |
the hour without a leading zero (0 to 23 or 1 to 12 if AM/PM display) |
hh |
the hour with a leading zero (00 to 23 or 01 to 12 if AM/PM display) |
m |
the minute without a leading zero (0 to 59) |
mm |
the minute with a leading zero (00 to 59) |
s |
the second without a leading zero (0 to 59) |
ss |
the second with a leading zero (00 to 59) |
z |
the milliseconds without leading zeroes (0 to 999) |
zzz |
the milliseconds with leading zeroes (000 to 999) |
AP |
use AM/PM display; AP will be replaced by either "AM" or "PM" |
ap |
use am/pm display; ap will be replaced by either "am" or "pm" |
'...' |
any sequence of characters enclosed in single quotes is treated as literal text |
See also: