The out tag will use a given locale when reading the data in an out tag if the tag is set to be a NUMBER, DATE, etc. The value of this locale is key to how the data is parsed. The system follows the following rules:

1. If there is an input attribute such as input='###.##', that determines how the data will be parsed


2. If ProcessReport.setLocale (Java) or Report.Locale (.NET) is set, that locale will be used.
   
   1. If set to LOCALE_DEFAULT, it will follow rule 4 below.
   
   
   2. If set to LOCALE_SYSTEM, it will use the locale of the server.
   
   


3. If report.locale is set in your properties file, that locale will be used. This should be in the form de_CH (German, Switzerland).


4. It will use the locale of the template. For rtf this is set with \deflang1033 (US English). If it is \deflang3082 it is Spanish Modern. These can be found in the Microsoft RTF Spec.

This locale is used when reading numbers in XML data if the number is not in the form 12345.67. And keep in mind, no mater what your locale, a "number" to a computer is 12345.67 - it is always a . for the decimal seperator and there is no thousands seperator.

If the 12345.67 parse fails, then it will attempt to parse it according to the rules of the locale. In this second attempt it can parse 12.345,67 if the locale is for a European country, but will fail if the locale is for a country outside of Europe.