ASCII Format Precision
----------------------

The ASCII output formats of numerical data are controlled by parameters
in your :doc:`gmt.conf` file. Longitude and latitude are formatted
according to :term:`FORMAT_GEO_OUT`, absolute time is
under the control of :term:`FORMAT_DATE_OUT` and
:term:`FORMAT_CLOCK_OUT`, whereas general floating point values are formatted
according to :term:`FORMAT_FLOAT_OUT`. Be aware that the format in effect
can lead to loss of precision in ASCII output, which can lead to various
problems downstream. If you find the output is not written with enough
precision, consider switching to binary output (**-bo** if available) or
specify more decimals using the :term:`FORMAT_FLOAT_OUT` setting.
