Name
COLUMN
Synopsis
COL[UMN] [column_name [ALI[AS] alias |
CLE[AR] | FOLD_A[FTER] | FOLD_B[EFORE] |
FOR[MAT] format_spec | HEA[DING]
heading_text |
JUS[TIFY] {LEFT | CENTER | CENTRE | RIGHT} |
LIKE source_column_name | NEWL[INE] |
NEW_V[ALUE] user_variable | NOPRI[NT] |
PRI[NT] | NUL[L] null_text |
OLD_V[ALUE] user_variable | ON | OFF |
TRU[NCATED] | WOR[D_WRAPPED] |
WRA[PPED]...]]The COLUMN command is used to format report output for columnar reports. Issuing the COLUMN command with no parameters gets you a list of all current column formats. For example:
COLUMN employee_name HEADING "Name" - FORMAT A20 WORD_WRAPPED COLUMN employee_hire_date - HEADING "Hire Date" - FORMAT A12 JUSTIFY RIGHT
COLUMN commands are cumulative. Two COLUMN commands specifying two different settings for the same field are equivalent to one command specifying both parameters.
Parameters
- column_name
Is the name of the column you are formatting. If it is a computed column, the expression is the name. If your SELECT statement aliases the column, you must use that alias name here. Issuing the command COLUMN column_name with no further parameters causes SQL*Plus to display the current format for that column.
- ALI[AS]
Allows you to specify an alternate name for this column that is meaningful to SQL*Plus.
- alias
Is an alternate name for the column that may be used in BREAK commands, COMPUTE commands, and other COLUMN commands.
- CLE[AR]
Erases any format settings for the column in question.
- FOLD_A[FTER]
Causes SQL*Plus to advance to a new line after printing this column.
- FOLD_B[EFORE]
Causes SQL*Plus to wrap to a new line before this column is printed.
- FOR[MAT]
Allows you to control how the data for the column is displayed.
- format_spec
Is a string that specifies the display format for the column.
- HEA[DING]
Allows you to define a heading for the column.
- heading_text
Is the text you want for the column heading. This may optionally be enclosed in either single or double quotes.
- JUS[TIFY] {LEFT | CENTER | CENTRE | RIGHT}
Controls where the heading text prints relative to the column width. By default, headings for numeric fields print flush right, and headings for text fields print flush left. This parameter allows you to change that behavior.
- LIKE
Causes the column to be defined with the same format attributes as another column.
- source_column_name
Is the name of the source column used with the LIKE parameter.
- NEWL[INE]
Causes SQL*Plus to wrap to a new line before the column is printed.
- NEW_V[ALUE]
Causes SQL*Plus to keep a user variable updated with the current value of the column.
- user_variable
Is the name of a user variable for use with the NEW_VALUE and OLD_VALUE parameters.
- NOPRI[NT]
Tells SQL*Plus not to print the column.
- PRI[NT]
Enables the printing of a column.
- NUL[L]
Allows you to specify text to be displayed when the column value is null.
- null_text
Is the text you want displayed when the column in question is null.
- OLD_V[ALUE]
Causes SQL*Plus to keep a user variable updated with the previous value of the column.
- ON
Causes SQL*Plus to print the column using the format you have specified. This is the default behavior.
- OFF
Disables the format settings for the column.
- TRU[NCATED]
Causes the column text to be truncated to the width of the column. Longer values are not wrapped.
- WOR[D_WRAPPED]
Causes SQL*Plus to word-wrap long column values.
- WRA[PPED]
Causes SQL*Plus to wrap long column values. Line breaks occur exactly at the column boundary, even in the middle of a word.