Suppose you store phone numbers as ten digits only to save storage space. You can display the number with the usual characters using a formatting template:

? transform( "8005551234", "@R (999) 999-9999" ) // Displays "(800) 555-1234"

Negative numbers can be displayed enclosed in parentheses:

? transform( -45, "@( 9999" ) // Displays "( 45)"

? transform( 123, "@( 9999" ) // Displays " 123 "