Created attachment 62517 [details] Currency value in formated fields (negative: red) and currency fields With currency-fields in forms you can only show the values in black color. It doesn't change when reaching negative values. This behaviour could not be changed in the properties from the field. If you use the formated-field you could show negative values like negative currency-values in Calc.
@Robert, 1) bug or enhancement? 2) which LO-version?
@Jochen Could it be an enhancement, when it works with one controlfield, but not with the controlfield which is special made for this datatype? I think it's a bug. I have set the version to 3.3.4 The bug does exist since the beginning of LO.
Created attachment 66494 [details] Database with one form with a formatted field and a special currency field
I can confirm your observation. Bug or enhancement -> difficult question. More likely a bug respectively the bug is the absence of a formatting field for "currency fields" as available for the "formatted fields". Changed status to "NEW".
[Reproducible] with parallel installation of Master "LOdev 3.7.0.0.alpha0+ - ENGLISH UI / German Locale [Build ID: 9bb30a4]" {tinderbox: 2008R2@20, pull time 2012-08-30 23:44:35} on German WIN7 Home Premium (64bit) I have no knowledge there, I did not find any formatting possibility for Currency field except Currency symbol, Min/Max and number of decimals. Where can such a setting be expected to get negatives red"? For the "Formatted Field" that's explicitly selected in the properties, for the currency field I can't find such a property. With current knowledge I see this one as enhancement request for more Currency field formatting properties (also may be thousands separator, ...)
@Rainer, the thousands-separator could be choosen in the properties of the field. You have to scroll a little bit down ... The changing of color between negative and positive/zero couldn't be choosen. I think the bug could be solved very easy: Put away the currency-field. The formatted field allows all the formatting we could need. I do not know why there is another field special for currency.
> why there is another field special for currency. Yes, that exactly is the exciting question, may be currency fields have a special function in particular database applications? I can't tell whether this kind of fields only is historical ballast or additionally has a special sense.
(In reply to comment #7) > > why there is another field special for currency. > > Yes, that exactly is the exciting question, may be currency fields have a > special function in particular database applications? I can't tell whether this > kind of fields only is historical ballast or additionally has a special sense. Databases don't save data as "currency". There are number-fields where you choose, how many decimal places you will get. The formatting with currencies is a question of GUI, not of the database.
> Databases don't save data as "currency". I don't know enough, may be there are exotic Databases saving currency for what this field might be required? Help does not help very much. So I believe a quick improvement can be an additional sentence in Help under More Controls - Currency Field like "It's recommended to use ????? instead of Currency Field because of the more advanced formatting features ..." The field can not be dropped, we have to keep compatibility with existing .odb
Adding self to CC if not already on