In the "List page: After record processed" event enter this code:

where fieldname is the name of currecy field.

I only want it red if the balance is a credit or a negative amount.

Will this retain its currency code? I need ($200.00)

Try it.

I tried before and after event with code below and neither puts the credit balance in red.
if($data['balance'] < 0)

{

$record["fieldname_style"].='style="color:red"';

}

*****
Then I tried this code in before and after event. I changed "fieldname_style" to "balance_style"
if($data['balance'] < 0)

{

$record["balance_style"].='style="color:red"';

}
The after events makes all balances red. The before event does nothing.

Now all balances are in red including the positive balances when the above code is used in after event.

I said the List page: After record processed event.

Replace fieldname with the name of the balance field.

This is the code I am using:
if($data['balance'] < 0)

{

$record["balance_style"].='style="color:red"';

}

*****
It is in List page: after record processed.

balance is the name of the fieldname and as you can see I replaced fieldname with "balance"

"balance" is the name of the field in the table.

What is the type of the balance field in the database ?

varchar(255)

It should be a float to check if it is < 0

I would go to the visual editor, choose custom field and add the following code
if($value < 0)
{

$value = "<font color=red>$".$value."</font>";

}

else

{

$value = "$".$value."";

}

just tried and phpmyadmin says :
Error

SQL query:
ALTER TABLE DET BAL ANAL CHANGE balance balance FLOAT( 255 ) NULL DEFAULT NULL
MySQL said:

1063 - Incorrect column specifier for column 'balance'

I tried the code before I posted
did you apply the code to the custom field on the visual editor?

you did it! Now is it possible to limit it to 2 decimal places?
Your patience is admirable. This forum keeps many people who do not fully understand code from committing suicide!

In phpmyadmin set the length of the balance field to 10,2 not 255.

this is the error i get in phpmyadmin
**
Error

SQL query:
ALTER TABLE DET BAL ANAL CHANGE balance balance VARCHAR( 10, 2 ) CHARACTER SET latin1 COLLATE latin1_swedish_ci NULL DEFAULT NULL
MySQL said:

1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '2) CHARACTER SET latin1 COLLATE latin1_swedish_ci NULL DEFAULT NULL' at line 1

Try this
$formatted_number = number_format($value, 2);
if($value < 0)

{

$value = "<font color=red>$".$formatted_number."</font>";

}

else

{

$value = "$".$formatted_number."";

}

Not varchar but float(10,2)

great it works. some users were confused when they saw (248.22) instead of -242.22
Thanks again this is solved.