Data type format conversions

Microsoft Dataverse has several data types that can be configured with different formats. You can specify the format of the column using either the solution explorer or by API operations. The following sections provide more details about data type formats, including:

• Supported formats by data type
• Format conversions
• Format validations

Supported formats by data type

The format column specifies the UI on how to display the content. Some formats available in the UI are Phone, Email, or Duration. Suppose you have experimented with these formats before. In that case, you know that the applied formats do not validate context, domains, or any other values. They instruct the UI, which control to use for that type.

Formats

The following table provides information about the formats available for each data type:

Data Type	Format name	Description	Available to app maker?	Notes
Text	Text	Basic text column that contains text characters.	Yes	Default format value for the text column.
	Text Area	Text column that contains text characters and also allows line breaks.	Yes
	Email	The text provides a link to open the user's email application.	Yes
	URL	The text provides a hyperlink to open the page specified. Any text that does not begin with a valid protocol will have "https://" prepended to it.	Yes
	Ticker Symbol	For most languages, the text will be enabled as a link to open the MSN Money website to show details about the stock price represented by the ticker symbol.	Yes
	Phone	Columns will be click-enabled to initiate calls.	Yes
	JSON	Stores text using JSON formatting	Yes (API only)	Only in non-SQL stores like Audit.
	Rich Text	Allows rich text formatting, including HTML markup.	Yes (API only)
	Version Number	Stores the version number for rows.	No	System use only.
Multiline Text (Memo)	Text	Basic text column that contains text characters.	Yes
	Text Area	Text column contains text characters and allows line breaks.	Yes
	Email	For internal use only.	No
	JSON	Stores text using JSON formatting	Yes (API Only)	Only in non-SQL stores like Log.
	RichText	Allows for rich text formatting, including HTML markup.	Y (API Only)
	InternalExtentData	For internal use only.	No	System use only
	None/string.Empty	This option simply displays a number.	Yes	Default format value for whole number column.
Whole Number	Duration	This format option displays a list of duration options. The data stored in the database is always a number of minutes. The field looks like a drop-down list and provides suggested options like 1 minute, 15 minutes, 30 minutes all the way up to 3 days. People can choose these options or type in a number of minutes and it resolves to that period of time. For example, type in 60 and it resolves to 1 hour. Or they can enter "1 hour" or "2 days" and it will resolve to display that time. The duration must be entered in the following format: "x minutes", "x hours" or "x days". Hours and days can also be entered using decimals, for example, "x.x hours" or "x.x days". NOTE: Values must be expressible in minutes, sub-minute values will be rounded to the nearest minute.	Yes	System reads this value in seconds.
	Timezone	This option displays a select list of time zones using Time Zone Codes. Each of these zones is stored as a number. For example, for the time zone (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada), the TimeZoneCode is 4. Model driven apps display these codes into time zone names, Canvas apps will display as the number stored.	Yes
	Language	This option displays a list of the languages provisioned for your organization. The values are stored as a number using LCID codes. Language codes are four-digit or five-digit locale IDs. Valid locale ID values can be found at Locale ID (LCID) Chart). Model driven apps will display the languages as the language name, Canvas apps will display as the number stored.	Yes
	Locale	Value that corresponds to a specific locale using ISO standard values.	Yes (API Only)	Not shown in Power Apps Maker UI.
Date and Time	Date Only	Date only. Includes a time of 00:00:00 if the User Local or Time-Zone Independent is selected.	Yes
	Date and Time	Date and time format.	Yes	Default format value for DateTime column.

Format conversion

You can change the data type format to any of the compatible formats that data type supports. Changing the format retains your previous table definitions (maxsize) if they exist in the new target format. If an inbound payload does not include a format, Dataverse assumes the format shouldn't be changed. You can convert the format by an API call with the desired payload in the FormatName column. Changing the value in the Format column is recommended as any newly added Format selections are ignored.

Note

At this time, format conversions are only done by performing API operations. Changing Formats doesn't change any data present in the column. Due to this, you may notice some unexpected formatting issues that need to be resolved after the conversion.

As mentioned in the table above, there are some restrictions for format conversions:

• JSON can only be used if a table is part of non-SQL storage (that is, Log).
• You cannot convert columns with the formats of type emailbody, internalextentdata to other formats. Any conversion for these are ignored, and no error message is provided.
• You cannot convert a column to the formats of emailbody, internalextentdata to other formats. If attempted, an error will occur.
• Date only cannot be converted to DateTime, but Date with the behavior of User Local or Time-Zone Independent can be changed to DateTime.

If you change the data type to an incompatible format, the following error is displayed:

The format <<formatname>> is not valid for the <<datatype>> type column <<columnname>> of table <<tablename>>. For example, the format datetime is not valid for the text type column.

To change the format of a data type, you need to add the new format details into an OData API PUT call:

PUT [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.0/EntityDefinitions(<<entity name>>)/Attributes(<<attribute name>>)
To set or change the format of a data type, you need to add the new format details into an OData API **POST** for a new column or **PUT** call to update an existing column:

> [!NOTE]
> For more samples on how to use the API, see https://github.com/microsoft/PowerApps-Samples

Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
{
 "AttributeType": \<\<Data type you are setting the format for\>\>,
 "AttributeTypeName": {
"Value": *\<\<Datatype Type\>\>*
},
"Description": {
"@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.Label",
"LocalizedLabels": [
{
"@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.LocalizedLabel",
"Label": *\<\<text label to use for the format\>\>*
"LanguageCode": 1033
}
]
},
"DisplayName": {
"@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.Label",
"LocalizedLabels": [
{
"@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.LocalizedLabel",
"Label": *\<\<text label to use for the format\>\>*
"LanguageCode": 1033
}
]
},
"RequiredLevel": {
"Value": "None",
"CanBeChanged": true,
"ManagedPropertyLogicalName": "canmodifyrequirementlevelsettings"
},
"SchemaName": *\<\<Your chosen schema name\>\>*
"@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.StringAttributeMetadata",
"FormatName": {
"Value": *\<\<Formatname value\>\>*
},
"MaxLength": 100
}

Related articles

Format and FormatName columns
Format validations