Apply Formatting to Numbers, Dates, and Text in C# Leave feedback

Overview

GroupDocs.Assembly for .NET provides comprehensive formatting capabilities for numbers, dates, and text in templates. You can use format strings (similar to .NET formatting) and built-in text transformation functions to control how data is displayed in your documents.

The main syntax elements are:

Format strings: <<[expression]:"format">> - apply .NET format strings
Text functions: upper, lower, capital, firstcap - transform text case

Here are the steps to apply formatting:

Use format strings in expression tags for numbers and dates
Apply text transformation functions for string formatting
Combine formatting with expressions and calculations
Test formatting to ensure desired output

Note
Format strings follow .NET formatting conventions. Use standard numeric format specifiers (C, N, F, etc.) and date/time format strings (yyyy-MM-dd, etc.).

Format Numbers

Format numeric values using format strings:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;

public class Invoice
{
    public decimal Amount { get; set; }
    public double Percentage { get; set; }
    public int Quantity { get; set; }
}

public static void FormatNumbers()
{
    var invoice = new Invoice
    {
        Amount = 1500.75m,
        Percentage = 0.15,
        Quantity = 25
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("FormattingTemplate.docx", "FormattingOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(invoice, "invoice"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Numbers formatted successfully.");
}

Template Examples for Number Formatting

In your template, use format strings:

Amount: <<[invoice.Amount]:"C">>
Percentage: <<[invoice.Percentage]:"P">>
Quantity: <<[invoice.Quantity]:"N0">>

Common numeric format strings:

"C" - Currency (e.g., $1,500.75)
"N" or "N2" - Number with decimals (e.g., 1,500.75)
"F" or "F2" - Fixed-point (e.g., 1500.75)
"P" - Percentage (e.g., 15.00%)
"D" - Decimal (for integers)

Format Dates and Times

Format date-time values:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;
using System;

public class Report
{
    public DateTime CreatedDate { get; set; }
    public DateTime DueDate { get; set; }
}

public static void FormatDates()
{
    var report = new Report
    {
        CreatedDate = new DateTime(2024, 1, 15, 14, 30, 0),
        DueDate = new DateTime(2024, 2, 15)
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("FormattingTemplate.docx", "FormattingOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(report, "report"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Dates formatted successfully.");
}

Template Examples for Date Formatting

Created: <<[report.CreatedDate]:"yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm">>
Due Date: <<[report.DueDate]:"MMMM dd, yyyy">>

Common date format strings:

"yyyy-MM-dd" - 2024-01-15
"MM/dd/yyyy" - 01/15/2024
"MMMM dd, yyyy" - January 15, 2024
"dd.MM.yyyy" - 15.01.2024
"HH:mm" - 14:30

Format Text (Case Transformation)

Transform text case using built-in functions:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;

public class Product
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Description { get; set; }
}

public static void FormatText()
{
    var product = new Product
    {
        Name = "laptop computer",
        Description = "HIGH-PERFORMANCE DEVICE"
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("FormattingTemplate.docx", "FormattingOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(product, "product"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Text formatted successfully.");
}

Template Examples for Text Formatting

Name: <<[product.Name]:upper>>
Description: <<[product.Description]:lower>>
Title: <<[product.Name]:capital>>

Text transformation functions:

:upper - Convert to UPPERCASE
:lower - Convert to lowercase
:capital - Capitalize Each Word
:firstcap - Capitalize First Letter Only

Combine Formatting with Calculations

Format calculated values:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;

public class Order
{
    public int Quantity { get; set; }
    public decimal UnitPrice { get; set; }
}

public static void FormatCalculations()
{
    var order = new Order
    {
        Quantity = 5,
        UnitPrice = 29.99m
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("FormattingTemplate.docx", "FormattingOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(order, "order"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Calculations formatted successfully.");
}

Template:

Quantity: <<[order.Quantity]>>
Unit Price: <<[order.UnitPrice]:"C">>
Total: <<[order.Quantity * order.UnitPrice]:"C">>

Custom Numeric Formats

Use custom format strings for specific requirements:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;

public static void CustomNumericFormats()
{
    var data = new { 
        Phone = 1234567890,
        Code = 42,
        Rate = 0.1234
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("FormattingTemplate.docx", "FormattingOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(data, "data"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Custom formats applied successfully.");
}

Template with custom formats:

Phone: <<[data.Phone]:"(###) ###-####">>
Code: <<[data.Code]:"000">>
Rate: <<[data.Rate]:"0.00%">>

Formatting in Different Document Types

Formatting works consistently across document types:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;

public static void FormatInSpreadsheet()
{
    var invoice = new Invoice
    {
        Amount = 1500.75m,
        CreatedDate = DateTime.Now
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("FormattingTemplate.xlsx", "FormattingOutput.xlsx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(invoice, "invoice"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Formatting applied in spreadsheet successfully.");
}

Warning
Format strings are case-sensitive. Use uppercase letters for standard format specifiers (C, N, F, P) and follow .NET formatting conventions exactly.

Advanced Usage Topics

To learn more about custom format providers, culture-specific formatting, and advanced formatting scenarios, please refer to the advanced usage section.

More resources

GitHub Examples

You may easily run the code above and see the feature in action in our GitHub examples:

Free Online Apps

Along with the full-featured .NET library, we provide simple but powerful free online apps.

To assemble documents from templates and data sources, you can use the online apps from the GroupDocs.Assembly App Product Family.

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