Home > Designing and creating databases > Editing objects, layout parts, and the layout background > Formatting and setting up field objects in Layout mode > Specifying formats for time fields

Specifying formats for time fields

You can control how FileMaker Pro displays time values in fields.

To specify formats for time fields:

1.	In Layout mode, select one or more time fields or calculation fields with a time result.

For more information, see Selecting objects.

2.	Click Inspector in the layout bar, then click Data.

3.	In the Data Formatting area, click Time , then select the formats you want to use from the Format list.

 

To display times	Do this
Exactly as entered	For Format, select As entered.
In a predefined format	For Format, select a format from the list. Then specify one or more of the following format options:  • a different value for Separator (such as a period or a space) or Kanji format if you’re using a font that contains Japanese characters.  • 12-hour or 24-hour notation.  • Custom prefix or suffix text such as the designations for before noon and after noon.
With leading zeros (as in 05:09:02) or leading spaces (as in  5: 9: 2)	For Leading character, choose options for For hours, For minutes/seconds, or both. (This option is not available if you've selected As entered.)
Using a different Japanese time display (if you’re using a font that contains Japanese characters)	In the Japanese area, choose a Numeral type.
With different text formatting	Use the Appearance tab of the Inspector to choose text attributes. See Specifying text formats for fields.
Using the current system formats for times	For Format, select Short System Time (for example, 8:23 AM) or Long System Time (for example, 8:23:54 AM). FileMaker Pro formats times based on the current system formats when the file is opened.

You’re finished unless the time format you chose displays seconds. If you want to format the seconds component to display fractional seconds, continue with the next step.

4.	Click Data, then click Number in the Data Formatting area.

5.	Select the formatting options you want.

Only two options affect the display of the seconds component: Fixed number of decimals and Decimal separator. The remaining options have no effect. See Specifying formats for fields containing numbers.

6.	Press Enter or Tab, or click outside the Inspector to apply the changes.

Notes

•

To format a time symbol (which displays the current time), select the symbol {{CurrentTime}} in Layout mode, and then use the Data Formatting area of the Inspector to format it as you would a time field as described above. For more information about the time symbol, see Inserting the date, page number, or other variable onto a layout.

•	For more information about defining time fields, see About time fields.