This study investigates the electronic properties of finite-length armchair carbon nanotubes in an electric field (E) using a single-pi-band tight-binding model. Three different tip configurations are considered, namely, open ends with hydrogen terminations (H-terminations), one end capped with half of C-60 fullerene and the other end open with H-terminations, and both ends capped with half of C-60 fullerene. In general, the electronic states and energy gaps of low-energy electronic structures are highly sensitive to changes in the direction and magnitude of the applied electric field and to the tip configuration. The present results show that the electric field induces a strong modulation of the state energies and energy gaps of the current nanotubes, changes their energy spacings, and prompts the occurrence of semiconductor-metal transitions (SMTs). It is found that the SMTs occur more frequently as the direction of the electric field approaches the symmetry axis or when its magnitude becomes sufficiently large. The present results also indicate that the Fermi levels and energy gaps of the three nanotubes considered in this study are strongly influenced by the cap configuration. Finally, the convergent decay behavior of the energy gap which is observed as the length of the nanotube is increased is also strongly dependent on the tip configuration.