ATTRIBUTE MODIFIERS

NAME

type – UNIBASE attribute modifiers

DESCRIPTION

UNIBASE attributes have default display properties. This lists modifiers that are used to change the default behaviour.

Modifiers are included in the attribute reference and separated from the attribute name by a ‘:’.

eg [name:T]

Each description is followed by one or more examples.

+<suffix>{:}EXAMPLE[amount:-%]
” 100.00″ will be displayed as ” 100.00%”
Note the suffix is added to the field width.

CODE	TITLE	DESCRIPTION	SYNTAX	EXAMPLE
A	Ascii fill	Left (or right) fill the attribute with the next character.	A<fill character>	[units:A0] ” 123″ is printed as “0123”
B	Bankers’ format	Number is left filled with ‘0’, no commas, no decimal point, and fixed decimal places.	B	[amount:B] ” 1,123.45″ is printed as “000112345”
C	Remove commas	The commas (thousands separators) in a number are removed.	C	[amount:C] ” 1,123.45″ is printed as ” 1123.45″
CSV	CSV format	Formats attribute suitable for CSV	CSV	[description:CSV] printed as “product name” [price:CSV] printed as 50.00
D	Suppress decimal 0	If the decimal part of a number is all 0, then it is not printed.	D	[amount:D] “123.00” is printed as “123 “
E	Escape control characters	Whitespace control characters are escaped. This is particularly useful if the output of a command is put into a union field.	E	[text:E] “abc def” is printed as “abc\ndef”.
EMPTY	Trim field in only if it is empty	If the field is empty then there is no output. If the field is not empty then the field contents including trailing spaces etc is dispalyed	EMPTY	[text:EMPTY]
F	Free format	There isn’t a default decimal places for a number. Used for input, this only has decimal places if a decimal point is typed.	F	[count:F]
FIRST	Value from first record	Value from first record in association	FIRST	[sales.amount:FRST]
HELPLINE	Line of help	Single line help message. This comes from the first line of the attribute help in the data dictionary.	HELPLINE	In dictionary:date, 8 DC #DATE OF DELIVERY #Date goods were delivered. # #NB This is not the invoice date.[date:HELPLINE] will display:DATE OF DELIVERY
HELPMSG	Long help message	Extensive help message. This is the full help message in the data dictionary.	HELPMSG	In dictionary:date, 8 DC #DATE OF DELIVERY #Date goods were delivered. # #NB This is not the invoice date.[date:HELPMSG] will display:DATE OF DELIVERY Date goods were delivered.NB This is not the invoice date.
I	Invisible input.	Used for input (particularly for passwords). Any character typed is displayed as a ‘*’.	I	[password:I]
INPUT	Data input field	Output an “INPUT” or similar HTML input element for editing and saving the edited changes to the attribute.	INPUT	[units:INPUT]
J	Join character	Join array elements with <join char>	J<join char>	[address:J,]
JSON	Make field value suitable for JSON	Any JSON special characters are escaped	JSON	[name:JSON]
L	Left justify	Left justify a number. Normally numbers are right justified.	L	[amount:L] ” 123″ will be displayed as “123 “
LAST	Last value	Value from last record in association	LAST	[sales.amount:LAST]
LENGTH	Length of text in field	Display number of characters in field after trimming leading and trailing spaces.	LENGTH	[name:LENGTH]
LIVE	Output field for live editing	Output html code compatible with the “ub-live-edit” custom element	LIVE	[name:LIVE]
LOWER	Convert field text to lower case	Field as lower case	LOWER	[name:LOWER]
M	Trailing minus	For negative numbers, the minus sign is printed after the number.	M	[amount:M] ” -123″ will be displayed as ” 123-“
MAX	Maximum value	Print the maximum value from an association or array. Applies to numbers, expressions, and dates.	MIN	[lines.amount:MIN] will display the maximum value of “amount” in the table “lines”.
MEAN	Mean value	Mean value of attribute in associated records or mean value of an array	MEAN	[sales.amount:MEAN]
MIN	Minimum value	Print the minimum value from an association or array. Applies to numbers, expressions, and dates.	MIN	[lines.amount:MIN] will display the minimum value of “amount” in the table “lines”.
N	No sum	If the attribute is a number it won’t be summed at subtotals.	N	[amount:N]
P	POS input	POS (Point of sale) data entry for numbers. The attribute fills from the right (rather than to the left of the decimal point).	P	[amount:P]
R	Right justify	Right justify test. Normally text is left justified.	R	[comment:R] “Hello ” will be displayed as ” Hello”.
REMOVE	Remove string for field	Remove all occurrences of a string from a field. String is terminated by ‘:’ or end of field.	REMOVE<string>:	[mobile:REMOVE ] [address:REMOVEStreet]
S	Script safe	Characters known to reserved in scripts are escaped with ‘\’. The current set is: “‘&;\(){}[]	S	[text:S] “hello; world” will be displayed as “hello\; world”
SDEV	Standard Deviation	Standard deviation of attribute in associated records or standard deviation of an array.	SDEV	[sales.amount:SDEV]
T	Trim value	Trailing spaces (text), leading spaces (numbers), leading 0 (counters and sequences) are removed. This can be used in conjunction with most other modifiers.	T	[name:T] “Fred ” will be displayed as “Fred”
U	URL format	All spaces are replaced by ‘+’.	U	[web:U] “http://www.x.com/abc def” will be displayed as “http://www.x.com/abc+def”
UPDATE	ubtransaction update format	XML output used for updating a value in ubtransaction	UPDATE	[description:UPDATE]
UPPER	Upper case	Convert field text to upper case	UPPER	[name:UPPER]
W	Change attribute width	Display the attribute in a smaller or wider field.	W<width>	[name:W5] “Maximillian” will be displayed as “Maxim” [name:W10] “Maxim” will be displayed as “Maxim_____” where “_” are spaces
X	XML safe	& is replaced by & and < is replaced by <	X	[name:X] “A&B” will be displayed as “A&B”
Z	Zero suppress	Number fields with a value of 0 are printed as spaces.	Z	[amount:Z] ” 0.00″ will be displayed as ” “
+	prefix	Add a prefix to a field. The prefix can be several characters and can be terminated by a ‘:’ if other modifiers are being used.	+<prefix>{:}	[amount:+AUD] ” 100.00″ will be displayed as ” AUD100.00″ Note the prefix is added to the field width.
–	suffix	Add a suffix to a field. The suffix can be several characters and can be terminated by a ‘:’ if other modifiers are being used.
,	attribute	Display field in attribute format – <name>,<value><line feed>.	,	[description:,] “widget” will be displayed as description,widget To use in ubdump to get attribute formats: ubdump -a ‘[description:,]>’ stock
Number range	Display a subfield	The part of the field specified by the subrange is displayed.	<start>-<end>	[name:5-10] “Maximillian” will be displayed as “milli”

ATTRIBUTE MODIFIERS

NAME

DESCRIPTION

SEE ALSO