## Decimalsign

The set decimalsign command selects a decimal sign for numbers printed into tic labels or set label strings.

Syntax:

         set decimalsign {<value> | locale {"<locale>"}}
         unset decimalsign
         show decimalsign

The argument value is a string to be used in place of the usual decimal point. Typical choices include the period, '.', and the comma, ',', but others may be useful, too. If you omit the value argument, the decimal separator is not modified from the usual default, which is a period. Unsetting decimalsign has the same effect as omitting value.

Example:

Correct typesetting in most European countries requires:

         set decimalsign ','

Please note: If you set an explicit string, this affects only numbers that are printed using gnuplot's gprintf() formatting routine, including axis tics. It does not affect the format expected for input data, and it does not affect numbers printed with the sprintf() formatting routine. To change the behavior of both input and output formatting, instead use the form

         set decimalsign locale

This instructs the program to use both input and output formats in accordance with the current setting of the LC_ALL, LC_NUMERIC, or LANG environmental variables.

         set decimalsign locale "foo"

This instructs the program to format all input and output in accordance with locale "foo", which must be installed. If locale "foo" is not found then an error message is printed and the decimal sign setting is unchanged. On linux systems you can get a list of the locales installed on your machine by typing "locale -a". A typical linux locale string is of the form "sl_SI.UTF-8". A typical Windows locale string is of the form "Slovenian_Slovenia.1250" or "slovenian". Please note that interpretation of the locale settings is done by the C library at runtime. Older C libraries may offer only partial support for locale settings such as the thousands grouping separator character.

         set decimalsign locale; set decimalsign "."

This sets all input and output to use whatever decimal sign is correct for the current locale, but over-rides this with an explicit '.' in numbers formatted using gnuplot's internal gprintf() function.