This page lists what you can put in an Exact Forms Plus document template: how each type of field appears, how to format dates, how to insert images, and the functions for numbers, currency, barcodes, and charts. To build a template and add it to Quickbase, see Exact Forms Plus document templates.
Two rules apply to everything on this page:
Tokens go between tildes (
~), for example~Customer Name~or~5~.Every field you use, including inside a function, must be in the template's clist. If it isn't, the token is left in the document as typed. See Insert field values.
How field types appear
Field type | In the document |
|---|---|
Text, numeric, currency | The value as Quickbase returns it, for example $7,485.52. |
Text with Allow some HTML tags to be interpreted turned on, rich text | The HTML is converted to Word formatting (bold, lists, links, and so on). |
Date | A short date, for example 3/22/2010. To use another format, see Dates. |
Date/time | Date and time, for example 03-22-2010 02:30:00 PM, in the app's time zone. |
Numeric percent | The percentage, for example 8.625% for a value of 8.625%. |
Checkbox | A Word check box, checked or not, sized to the surrounding text. |
User | The raw value Quickbase returns, not the person's name. To show the name, create a formula text field with |
File attachment with an image | The image, 300 wide. To set the size, use an image token (see Images). |
Dates
To format a date field, use ~d#f[field ID]#format~. The format uses the standard date codes: d/dd day, ddd/dddd weekday name, M/MM month number, MMM/MMMM month name, yy/yyyy year.
For example, with field 26 a date field holding 3/22/2010:
In the template | In the document |
|---|---|
| 3/22/2010 |
| 03/22/2010 |
| Mar-22-2010 |
| March-22-2010 |
| Monday, 22 March 2010 |
| Monday, March 22, 2010 |
| March 22 |
| 2010 March |
If the field is empty, the token is replaced with nothing.
Use a date format only. If the format contains a time (a colon), only the date part is used and the time is always added as hh:mm:ss AM/PM.
The current date
Replace f[26] with today, for example ~d#today#MM/dd/yyyy~. The date comes from the Exact Forms Plus server, which runs on US Eastern time. For another US time zone, use today(CST), today(MST), or today(PST), which subtract 1, 2, or 3 hours.
You can also let Word insert the date. Word fills it in when the document is opened, not when it's created:
In the template, put the cursor where the date should appear.
On the Insert tab, in the Text group, select Date & Time (tooltip Insert Date and Time).
Choose a format, select the Update automatically check box, and select OK.
Images
Use an image token to insert an image and set its size: ~i:field ID:size~. Image tokens take a field ID, not a field name.
Token | Result |
|---|---|
| 400 points wide (72 points = 1 inch). The height keeps the image's proportions. Up to 3 digits. |
| Exactly 200 wide and 150 high. The image can look stretched if the proportions differ. |
| The original size made 25% smaller. |
| 25% of the original size. |
| On an image field, the image 300 wide. |
The field can be:
a file attachment field that holds an image;
a text or formula text field whose value is a link to an image, in Quickbase or on another website, for example a formula that points to a file attachment in another table. An HTML
<img>tag works too, and if the image is inside a link, the link is kept.
Supported image types: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .tiff, .wmf. Photos taken on phones are turned the right way up automatically. Formula URL fields that link to an image on another website aren't converted; use a formula text field instead.
Tip: try a few sizes in test documents until the image fits.
Functions
Functions start with ~=. Inside a function, refer to a field as f[field ID]. Functions work in the main part of the template, not inside embedded reports.
Numbers in words
~=FormatN(f[field ID],option)~ writes a number in words. The options are:
Option | Writes the number as |
|---|---|
| Dollars and cents, each word capitalized |
| Dollars and cents, all lowercase |
| Euros and cents, each word capitalized |
| Euros and cents, all lowercase |
| A plain number, each word capitalized |
| A plain number, all lowercase |
To type € in Windows, hold Alt and type 0128 on the number pad. For example, with field 13 a currency field holding $7,485.52 and field 14 a numeric field holding 6,542.99:
In the template | In the document |
|---|---|
| $7,485.52 |
| Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty Five Dollars and Fifty Two Cents |
| seven thousand four hundred eighty five dollars and fifty two cents |
| Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty Five Euros and Fifty Two Cents |
| seven thousand four hundred eighty five euros and fifty two cents |
| 6,542.99 |
| Six Thousand Five Hundred Forty Two point Ninety Nine |
| six thousand five hundred forty two point ninety nine |
If the field isn't a number, the document shows Format Function Error: … is not numeric, it cannot be reformatted.
Ordinal numbers
~=FormatO(f[field ID],option)~ writes a number as a position in a list. With field 15 holding 1:
In the template | In the document |
|---|---|
| 1 |
| 1ST |
| 1st |
| First |
| first |
The options are case-sensitive: use lowercase s, sl, p, pl.
Currency symbols
If a currency field uses a symbol other than $, the symbol may not come through correctly. Use ~=C|symbol|f[field ID]~ to put the symbol in front of the value, for example ~=C|€|f[99]~.
Barcodes and QR codes
~=barcode(f[field ID],type,widthxheight)~ turns a field's value into a barcode, for example ~=barcode(f[123],qrcode,50x50)~. For the supported types, text and size options, barcodes in embedded reports, and error messages, see Add barcodes and QR codes in Exact Forms Plus.
Charts
~=Chart:template ID:chart ID:size~ inserts a chart from a Quickbase Document Creation template. See Charts and graphs for EF+.
See also: Exact Forms Plus document templates, Exact Forms Plus formula URL parameters.