# Field formatting

For most fields you will most likely display exactly what is stored in Bullhorn. Dates and numbers may require additional formatting.

**Dates**

A date is stored in Bullhorn as a UTC datetime. This is usually unacceptable to use:

**Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 UTC 2021**

To make a date more acceptable we use the formatDate() function. Using the example of the Job Order start date:

```
${jobOrder.startDate.formatDate("d MMMM yyyy")}
```

This will format the date as follows:

1 August 2021

There are many possible date formats but a few are provided here:

| Format                   | Result     |
| ------------------------ | ---------- |
| formatDate("dd/MM/yyyy") | 01/08/2021 |
| formatDate("d/M/yyyy")   | 1/8/2021   |
| formatDate("d MMM yyyy") | 1 Aug 2021 |
| formatDate("M-d-yyyy")   | 8-1-2021   |

As before, we need to make sure we do not attempt to format a null date. We can protect against this with the full syntax:

```
${jobOrder.startDate?jobOrder.startDate.formatDate("d MMMM yyyy"):""}
```

This will check that there is a Job Order startDate value before attempting the formatting.

**Numbers**

Whole numbers will not require special formatting, but floating-point numbers (including currency values) will need special attention. In order to fix the number of decimal places you can use the sprintf() function. This if of the format:

```
${sprintf('%,.2f', jobOrder.payRate)}
```

The **.2f** portion sets the number of decimal places to display. The **%** character is mandatory but the **,** is optional. Adding it will place this character as a thousands separator. A few examples will help:

| Format                        | Result     |
| ----------------------------- | ---------- |
| sprintf('%,.2f', 123456.3456) | 123,456.35 |
| sprintf('%,.0f', 123456.3456) | 123,456    |
| sprintf('%.1f', 123456.3456)  | 123456.3   |

Again, protecting against null values is important. A correct use of sprintf() would be as follows:

```
${jobOrder.payRate?sprintf('%,.2f', jobOrder.payRate):""}// Some code
```

{% hint style="info" %}
Formatting syntax can become complicated. If you have attempted to format a value unsuccessfully don't hesitate to contact [Kyloe Support](mailto:support@kyloepartners.com) for assistance.
{% endhint %}