# Number formats

The following table describes common number formats used by PDI transformation steps and job entries:

| Symbol             | Location             | Localized? | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------ | -------------------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 0                  | Number               | Yes        | Digit                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| #                  | Number               | Yes        | Digit, zero shows as absent                                                                                                                                                                          |
| .                  | Number               | Yes        | Decimal separator or monetary decimal separator                                                                                                                                                      |
| <ul><li></li></ul> | Number               | Yes        | Minus sign                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| ,                  | Number               | Yes        | Grouping separator                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| E                  | Number               | Yes        | <p>Separates mantissa and exponent in scientific notation.</p><p>Note: E does not need to be in quotation marks within a prefix or a suffix.</p>                                                     |
| ;                  | Sub-pattern boundary | Yes        | Separated positive and negative sub-patterns                                                                                                                                                         |
| %                  | Prefix or suffix     | Yes        | Multiply by 100 and show as percentage                                                                                                                                                               |
| ‰ (\u2030)         | Prefix or suffix     | Yes        | Multiply by 1000 and show as per mile                                                                                                                                                                |
| ¤ (\u00A4)         | Prefix or suffix     | No         | Currency sign, replaced by currency symbol. If doubled, replaced by international currency symbol. If present in a pattern, the monetary decimal separator is used instead of the decimal separator. |
| '                  | Prefix or suffix     | No         | Used to quote special characters in a prefix or suffix, for example, `'#'#` formats 123 to `#123`. To create a single quote itself, use two in a row: `# o''clock`.                                  |


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.pentaho.com/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/common-formats/number-formats.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.