I am using to_char(num_col,'9999') to get a 4-character output, but is keeps coming out one column too wide. What's wrong ?

2011-01-01

763

The Oracle (tm) Users' Co-Operative FAQ

Author's name: Connor McDonald Author's Email: connor_mcdonald@yahoo.com	Date written: August 22, 2001 Oracle version(s): 7.3+
I am using to_char(num_col,'9999') to get a 4-character output, but is keeps coming out one column too wide. What's wrong ?

By default, Oracle reserves a space for a sign digit when converting a number to a character

SQL> select to_char(1234,'9999') x from dual;
X
-----
 1234
^- note leading space

To remove this, all you need do is specify the additional FM mask ("fill mode")

SQL> select to_char(1234,'fm9999') x from dual;
X
-----
1234