I am formating a variable like this:

Dim AC2_Gross_Qty As Decimal = Format("0.00")

Is there a way to say that I want to see the thousand separators when displayed (in a footer gridview)

 Well, for one you dont have the correct format for the string....try this (it may not be syntactically correct but should get you started)

dim AC2_Gross_Qty as Decimal = ctype(string.format("{0:9,990.00}", 0.00), Decimal)

 I added this to the Boundfield.DataFormatString = {0:#,0.00} that took care of the cell format now showing thousand separator.

My GriedView footer (sum of all cells) still shows the number with 2 decimals without the thousand separator. I am trying to figure out why. Here is the code for accumulating the cells and showing the footer:

Dim AC2_Gross_Qty As Decimal = CType(String.Format("{0:#,0.00}", 0.0), Decimal)
If mySqlDataTable.Rows.Count > 0 Then
            For i As Integer = 0 To mySqlDataTable.Rows.Count - 1
                AC2_Gross_Qty = AC2_Gross_Qty + mySqlDataTable.Rows(i).Item("ac2_gross_qty")
           Next
End If

Sub GridView1_RowCreated(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewRowEventArgs) Handles GridView1.RowCreated

       If e.Row.RowType = DataControlRowType.Footer Then
            e.Row.Cells(3).Text = "Selection Total  "
            e.Row.Cells(4).Text = Session("ac2grossqty")
       End If
End Sub