Value formatting in data visualizations
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Summary of Value formatting in data visualizations
ServiceNow's data visualization capabilities include customizable value formatting to control how numerical data appears in reports. This feature enables you to tailor the presentation of numbers, durations, and currency values, enhancing report clarity and user comprehension.
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Key Features
- Unit format: Configure time fields to display as days/hours/minutes/seconds or fully spelled out.
- Maximum/Minimum duration unit: Select the largest or smallest time unit shown (Day, Hour, Minute, Second).
- Hide seconds for durations over one minute: Optionally remove seconds display when durations exceed one minute, applicable only if "Second" is the minimum unit.
- Decimal precision: Define decimal places from zero to four for numeric values, noting that currency fields do not support decimal precision.
- Rounding: Simplify values greater than one minute by rounding them according to selectable rounding modes.
- Thousands group separator: Enable separators (comma or period) for values in the thousands or higher for better readability.
- Abbreviation: Display large values (thousands or above) using a single-character abbreviation—note this is not supported for currency or price fields.
- Hide value in tooltip: Suppress showing the full, unrounded value in tooltips for cleaner display.
Rounding options
When rounding values greater than one minute, multiple modes are available to control how numbers are approximated while keeping them close to their original value:
- Up: Rounds positive numbers up to the next whole number, negatives down.
- Down: Rounds positive numbers down, negatives up.
- Ceiling: Rounds toward positive infinity.
- Floor: Rounds toward negative infinity.
- Half up: Rounds to nearest whole number; ties round away from zero.
- Half down: Rounds to nearest whole number; ties round toward zero.
- Half even: Rounds to nearest whole number; ties round to the nearest even number.
These options provide flexibility to meet different numerical precision and display requirements in your reports.
Practical impact for ServiceNow customers
By leveraging these value formatting settings, you can create clearer, more professional reports that align with your organization's data presentation standards. Proper use of units, rounding, and abbreviations enhances the readability and usability of visualizations, aiding decision-making and communication across teams.
In most data visualizations, you can configure how numerical values look when you publish the report.
Types of value formatting
- Unit format
- Show the format of time fields as d/h/m/s or day/hour/minute/second.
- Maximum/Minimum duration unit
- Select the largest or smallest unit to be shown: Day, Hour, Minute, or Second.
- Hide seconds when unit is greater than one minute
- Removes seconds display when a duration value is greater than one minute. Only available if you choose Second as the minimum duration unit.
- Decimal precision
- Number of decimal places to show, from zero to four decimal places.Note:Decimal precision is not supported on currency fields.
- Rounding
- For values greater than one minute, simplifies a number by rounding, while keeping it close to its value. See the next section, Rounding options.
- Use the thousands group separator
- Separate a value of thousands or higher with a comma or period.
- Enable abbreviation
- Show a value of thousands or higher with a single character. Note:Abbreviation for Currency, Price, or FX Currency values is not supported.
- Hide value in tooltip
- Do not show the unrounded, unabbreviated value in the tooltip.
Rounding options
For values greater than one minute, rounding options simplify a number, but keep it close to its value. Select from these rounding options:
- Up - to the next larger whole number if positive and to the next smaller whole number if negative. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 2
- 1.6 returns a value of 2
- -1.6 returns a value of -2
- Down - to the next smaller whole number if positive and to the next larger whole number if negative. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 1
- 1.6 returns a value of 1
- -1.6 returns a value of -1
- Ceiling - to the next larger whole number, toward the positive. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 2
- 1.6 returns a value of 2
- -1.6 returns a value of -1
- Floor - to the next smaller whole number, toward the negative. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 1
- 1.6 returns a value of 1
- -1.6 returns a value of -2
- Half up - to the nearest neighboring whole number. If both neighbors are equidistant, rounds to the next larger whole number. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 1
- 1.6 returns a value of 2
- 2.5 returns a value of 3
- Half down - to the nearest neighboring whole number. If both neighbors are equidistant, rounds to the next smaller whole number. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 1
- 1.6 returns a value of 2
- 2.5 returns a value of 2
- Half even - to the nearest whole number. If both neighbors are equidistant, rounds to the closest even number. Example: For original values of:
- 1.1 returns a value of 1
- 1.6 returns a value of 2
- -2.5 returns a value of -2
Summary of rounding options:
| Input number | Up | Down | Ceiling | Floor | Half up | Half down | Half even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 2.5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 1.6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1.1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| -1.0 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| -1.1 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| -1.6 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| -2.5 | -3 | -2 | -2 | -3 | -3 | -2 | -2 |
| -5.5 | -6 | -5 | -5 | -6 | -6 | -5 | -6 |