Format Function

       

Returns a Variant (String) containing an expression formatted according to instructions contained in a format expression.

Syntax

Format(expression[, format[, firstdayofweek[, firstweekofyear]]])

The Format function syntax has these parts:

Part Description
expression Required. Any valid expression.
format Optional. A valid named or user-defined format expression.
firstdayofweek Optional. A constant that specifies the first day of the week.
firstweekofyear Optional. A constant that specifies the first week of the year.

Settings

The firstdayofweek argument has these settings:

Constant Value Description
vbUseSystem 0 Use NLS API setting.
VbSunday 1 Sunday (default)
vbMonday 2 Monday
vbTuesday 3 Tuesday
vbWednesday 4 Wednesday
vbThursday 5 Thursday
vbFriday 6 Friday
vbSaturday 7 Saturday

The firstweekofyear argument has these settings:

Constant Value Description
vbUseSystem 0 Use NLS API setting.
vbFirstJan1 1 Start with week in which January 1 occurs (default).
vbFirstFourDays 2 Start with the first week that has at least four days in the year.
vbFirstFullWeek 3 Start with the first full week of the year.

Remarks

To Format Do This
Numbers Use predefined named numeric formats or create user-defined numeric formats.
Dates and times Use predefined named date/time formats or create user-defined date/time formats.
Date and time serial numbers Use date and time formats or numeric formats.
Strings Create your own user-defined string formats.

If you try to format a number without specifying format, Format provides functionality similar to the Str function, although it is internationally aware. However, positive numbers formatted as strings using Format don’t include a leading space reserved for the sign of the value; those converted using Str retain the leading space.

If you are formatting a non-localized numeric string, you should use a user-defined numeric format to ensure that you get the look you want.

Note If the Calendar property setting is Gregorian and format specifies date formatting, the supplied expression must be Gregorian. If the Visual Basic Calendar property setting is Hijri, the supplied expression must be Hijri.

If the calendar is Gregorian, the meaning of format expression symbols is unchanged. If the calendar is Hijri, all date format symbols (for example, dddd, mmmm, yyyy) have the same meaning but apply to the Hijri calendar. Format symbols remain in English; symbols that result in text display (for example, AM and PM) display the string (English or Arabic) associated with that symbol. The range of certain symbols changes when the calendar is Hijri.

Symbol Range
d 1-30
dd 1-30
ww 1-51
mmm Displays full month names (Hijri month names have no abbreviations).
y 1-355
yyyy 100-9666