QGIS attribute table - formatting views

Question

Is there a way to format the way attribute values are displayed in the attribute table?

For example, I would rather display the following columns to show comma-separated thousands and without the zeroes after the decimal point.

unformatted view attribute table

So, instead of "2300000.00000", it would display as "2,300,000" instead.

Answer 1

You cannot format the numbers directly, you need to create a field of type String first then use the following formula using Field Calculator in QGIS:

format_number(Field_name,0)

The format number is located under String category that's why creating a field of type String is necessary.

For example if you have a field of type Real with a name X , then add a field of type String and the formula will be format_number("X",0). The 0 is to remove any decimal places and add comma-separated thousands.

• n1kn0k: I'm knocking myself on the head for not remembering how powerful the Field Calculator is! Thank you @ahmadhanb
• Victor: It works great but it would be nice to have a 'format' option in Layer properties -> Fields.
• ahmadhanb: @Victor I agree with you, I hope it can be added in the future.

Answer 2

Great answer from @ahmadhanb which as mentioned, there doesn't seem to be away (yet) to change the formatting display of the attribute table! Another method is to use the Float to Text tool from the MMQGIS plugin, this tool converts your float fields into string automatically and outputs the result as a new shapefile. You can download/enable the plugin from the menubar.

Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins...

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1. Example attribute table:

   Example attribute table

2. From the menubar:

   MMQGIS > Modify > Float to Text
   

   Float to Text

3. Set the relevant options (the output must be saved somewhere other than the temp folder)

   Float to Text options

4. Result:

   Result