>>>Kindly double check: STR(-1*VAL(ALLTRIM(your_char_field))) always returns
>>0. I appreciate the idea.
>>
>>? STR(-1*VAL(ALLTRIM(" 500 "))) returns "-500" for me.
>
>No. What I mean is purely character... say CustomerID is "UPI". Anyway case to case basis maybe. Still, the idea is there.

Jess, the "-" character can be added to any character field - same idea as multiplying a numeric field by (-1)