Hi,

I would like to kbnow how to update a field to add a left padding of 5 spaces. I have a column with numbers in it eg:

F1

2345
1256
1569

I need to have it as:

F1
2345
1256
1569

Thank you

Greg

*IF* the field is a *NUMERIC* data type (INTEGER, REAL, DECIMAL, etc.) then the answer is simple: YOU CAN'T. Numbers are stored in an *internal* format that has no cognizance of you we silly humans want to see them displayed.

You would have to store the data a strings, in a VARCHAR or, more likely, CHAR field if you wanted to have padding.

Thanks for the reply. The field is CHAR.
Thanks

I have to tell you that storing formatted data in a database is absolutely one of the very worst things you can do to a database. Stop and think about what such left padding will do to simple WHERE clauses.

Why do you need to do this?

__________________
--Jeff Moden

I agree. You should format the data after you retrieve it from the database. How are your presenting the data?

Well, I agree that the padding is a BAD thing almost all the time. Very seldom is there a reason to do padding in the DB. But....

If you MUST do it: