Result formats and precision
You can define both the format and precision of final and intermediate results. For more information on the available formats and precision options, see the following paragraphs.
Format strings
To define a non-default format of results, after the appropriate results symbol, type:
- A letter to define the format
- A number to define the precision of the results (not applicable to the Output format)
See the valid letters to define the format in the table below:
| Letter | Meaning |
|---|---|
| F | Fixed format |
| S | Scientific format |
| G | General format |
| E | Engineering format |
| O | Output format |
The number after the letter indicates the precision of the required results, and should be in the range 15 to -15.
- A positive number indicates the required number of decimal places or significant figures.
- A negative number indicates that the result is to be rounded to the nearest value, which depends on the magnitude of the negative number (-1 signifies 10, -2 signifies 100, -3 signifies 1000, and so on).
General and scientific formats are identical for numbers ≥107 and ≥10-7. Otherwise, the general format is similar to the fixed format, except that any trailing zeros after the decimal point are removed.
The engineering format gives a number between 1 and 999 × 10?, where ? is a multiple of 3 (3, 6, 9, -3 and so on).
The following examples show some typical formats:
- ?E3 - final results field, engineering format, 3 significant figures
- #2 - intermediate results field, default format, 2 decimal places / significant figures
- ?S-3 - final results field, scientific format, rounded to the nearest 1000
When is Output format used?
Output (O) is a special result format for transferring numeric values as strings which ensures that precision is maintained for data Input/Output operations or interoperability with other software applications.
It should be noted that none of the other result formats (Fixed, General, Scientific and Engineering) guarantee to maintain precision when exporting data.
Example formats
See examples of the different format settings in the tables below.
Large numbers, for example: 1065.1 x 1016| Decimal places or significant figures | Fixed format (decimal places) | Scientific format (decimal places) | General format (decimal places) | Engineering format (significant figures) | Output format (significant figures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.065 × 1019 | 1.065 × 1019 | 10.7 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| -2 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.07 × 1019 | 1.07 × 1019 | 11 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| -1 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.1 × 1019 | 1.1 × 1019 | 10 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| 0 | 10651000000000000000 | 1 × 1019 | 1 × 1019 | 10 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| 1 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.1 × 1019 | 1.1 × 1019 | 10 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| 2 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.07 × 1019 | 1.07 × 1019 | 11 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| 3 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.065 × 1019 | 1.065 × 1019 | 10.7 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| 4 | 10651000000000000000 | 1.0651 × 1019 | 1.0651 × 1019 | 10.65 × 1018 | 10651000000000000000 |
| Decimal places or significant figures | Fixed format (decimal places) | Scientific format (decimal places) | General format (decimal places) | Engineering format (significant figures) | Output format (significant figures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3 | 0 | 7.883 × 10-15 | 0 | 7.88 × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| -2 | 0 | 7.88 × 10-15 | 0 | 7.9 × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| -1 | 0 | 7.9 × 10-15 | 0 | 8. × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| 0 | 0 | 8 × 10-15 | 0 | 8. × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| 1 | 0.0 | 7.9 × 10-15 | 0 | 8. × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| 2 | 0.00 | 7.88 × 10-15 | 0 | 7.9 × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| 3 | 0.000 | 7.883 × 10-15 | 0 | 7.88 × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| 4 | 0.0000 | 7.8831 × 10-15 | 0 | 7.883 × 10-15 | 0.0000000000000078831 |
| Decimal places or significant figures | Fixed format (decimal places) | Scientific format (decimal places) | General format (decimal places) | Engineering format (significant figures) | Output format (significant figures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3 | 0 | 8.396 × 10-1 | 0 | 840 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| -2 | 0 | 8.40 × 10-1 | 0 | 840 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| -1 | 0 | 8.4 × 10-1 | 0 | 800 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| 0 | 1 | 8 × 10-1 | 1 | 800 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| 1 | 0.8 | 8.4 × 10-1 | 0.8 | 800 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| 2 | 0.84 | 8.40 × 10-1 | 0.84 | 840 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| 3 | 0.840 | 8.396 × 10-1 | 0.84 | 840 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| 4 | 0.8396 | 8.3960 × 10-1 | 0.8396 | 839.6 × 10-3 | 0.8396 |
| Decimal places or significant figures | Fixed format (decimal places) | Scientific format (decimal places) | General format (decimal places) | Engineering format (significant figures) | Output format (significant figures) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3 | 8000 | 8.396 × 103 | 8000 | 8.40 × 103 | 8396 |
| -2 | 8400 | 8.40 × 103 | 8400 | 8.4 × 103 | 8396 |
| -1 | 8400 | 8.4 × 103 | 8400 | 8 × 103 | 8396 |
| 0 | 8396 | 8 × 103 | 8396 | 8 × 103 | 8396 |
| 1 | 8396.0 | 8.4 × 103 | 8396 | 8 × 103 | 8396 |
| 2 | 8396.00 | 8.40 × 103 | 8396 | 8.4 × 103 | 8396 |
| 3 | 8396.000 | 8.396 × 103 | 8396 | 8.40 × 103 | 8396 |
| 4 | 8396.0000 | 8.3960 × 103 | 8396 | 8.396 × 103 | 8396 |