Formatting Exported Data

FileMaker maintains a distinction between the way data is stored in a field and the way it is displayed. For example, although all dates are stored internally as simple integers, they may be displayed in many different date formats, such as "1-3-2006." Or a number, stored internally with 17 digits of precision, may be displayed with just 3 or 4 digits. None of these display options has any effect on the data stored in the fieldthey simply affect the way the data is shown to the user.

On FileMaker layouts, these formatting options are governed by choices made via the Format menu, in Layout mode. Some of these formatting options can be made to carry through to data when it's exported. To do so, when specifying fields for export, check the box labeled Apply Current Layout's Formatting to Exported Data. When this choice is selected, any formatting options applied via the Number, Date, or Time formatting dialogs are preserved. Text formatting, even character-based formatting such as uppercasing, is not preserved. Date and time formatting may both be applied to a timestamp field, and will be carried through on export.

Caution

Not all export types support formatting data based on the current layout. The DBF and DIF file formats offer no support for additional formatting. The WKS format allows additional formatting for time and number fields, but not for date fields.