Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Name

SET NUMWIDTH

Synopsis

The NUMWIDTH setting controls the default width used when displaying numeric values.

Syntax

SET NUM[WIDTH] width

Paremeters

SET NUM[WIDTH]

Is the command, which may be abbreviated SET NUM.

width

Is the default column width used when displaying a numeric value.

Examples

The default NUMWIDTH setting is 10. NUMWIDTH is used only when no other settings apply. The following example shows the effect of setting NUMWIDTH to 5:

SQL> SET NUMWIDTH 5
SQL> SELECT 123 FROM dual;
 123
----
 123

A numeric format specified by a COLUMN command or by a SET NUMFORMAT command will override NUMWIDTH. The following example shows this:

SQL> SET NUMWIDTH 5
SQL> SET NUMFORMAT 999,999.99
SQL> SELECT 123 FROM dual;
        123
-----------
     123.00
SQL> SHOW NUMWIDTH
numwidth 5

NUMWIDTH is still five, but that value is ignored because the NUMFORMAT setting takes precedence. A long column title can cause NUMWIDTH to be ignored:

SQL> SET NUMWIDTH 5
SQL> SET NUMFORMAT ""
SQL> COLUMN a HEADING "This is a long column title"
SQL> SELECT 123 a FROM dual;
This is a long column title
---------------------------
                        123

The column title takes precedence over NUMWIDTH when it comes to determining the width of the column.