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Mask problem

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    Mask problem

    Hi there,

    Have this problem.

    Am attaching a backup of Table called Banners

    Require to create a mask to control data entry on Field BANNER_ID. I have entered a Simple Mask on BANNER_ID, Field Rules, Data Entry The BANNER_ID field (10 Chars) requires to be structured as follows :

    3 x Uppercase letters
    1 x backslash /
    2 x Uppercase letters
    1 x backslash /
    3 x digits

    I have structured the mask as LLL/LL/000.

    On a test I invoke the Banners Update Form and Push Button "New Banner" Banner_Id field gets focus. I am able to enter "abcdefgh" and the system accepts this. I expect the Field Rule to force digits as the last 3 keys entered .

    Any idea what I am doing wrong ?

    Looking forward

    Dave Mac
    Dave Mac

    It's not so much what you don't know that gets you into trouble, but what you know for sure, that just ain't so. - Mark Twain.

    #2
    Re: Mask problem

    Originally posted by Dave Mac Callum View Post
    Hi there,

    Have this problem.

    Am attaching a backup of Table called Banners

    Require to create a mask to control data entry on Field BANNER_ID. I have entered a Simple Mask on BANNER_ID, Field Rules, Data Entry The BANNER_ID field (10 Chars) requires to be structured as follows :

    3 x Uppercase letters
    1 x backslash /
    2 x Uppercase letters
    1 x backslash /
    3 x digits

    I have structured the mask as LLL/LL/000.

    On a test I invoke the Banners Update Form and Push Button "New Banner" Banner_Id field gets focus. I am able to enter "abcdefgh" and the system accepts this. I expect the Field Rule to force digits as the last 3 keys entered .

    Any idea what I am doing wrong ?

    Looking forward

    Dave Mac
    I don't htink you can have a mask for a field that is defined as a lookup. If you stay with the mask, the case transfromation is unnecessary.

    Your current mask is LLL\LL\000

    forward slashes, not backslashes. The forward slash has a special meaning in a mask which is why you might see

    ____L_0__

    when you begin to enter a new record.

    The mask should work if you change it to

    LLL/LL/000
    There can be only one.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Mask problem

      Dave,

      You have the '/' as '\' in your masks. But the main problem is you have a lookup on the field as well.

      The look up is trying to insert a previous value into a field that is maked as unique.

      Take out the lookup and change the mask and it will work

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Mask problem

        Stan?! Lance?!
        What did you guys have for breakfast this morning?

        The problem is very simple and very obvious:
        Dave is trying to do something that can not be done: create a "hybrid" field.
        He wants to mix character with numeric in the same field.
        You can't.

        What is that business about: you can't have lookup, backslshes etc..sure you can use any slashes you want & use mask with lookup ..

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Mask problem

          Originally posted by G Gabriel View Post
          He wants to mix character with numeric in the same field.
          You can't.
          Absolutely nothing wrong with limiting the last three characters to digits. The mask definition supports this.

          Mask Character
          Description

          L
          Any uppercase letter

          l
          Any letter

          #
          Any digit, sign or decimal

          N
          Any uppercase letter, digit, sign or decimal

          n
          Any letter, digit, sign or decimal

          A
          Any uppercase letter or digit

          a
          Any letter or digit

          0
          Any digit


          &
          Any character

          \
          Any character following \ is taken as a literal, or template character.

          There can be only one.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Mask problem

            Stan:
            1-Why would you have numerics in a character field? how does that work?
            Editd out to confirm: confirmed:
            2-Tried mask with '\'..it works.
            Last edited by G Gabriel; 12-01-2006, 10:40 AM.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Mask problem

              Gabriel,

              numerals work well in character data type fields for US zip codes and phone numbers and driver's license numbers and license plates and customer id's and... and ... and ...

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Mask problem

                Tom:
                That's not my point.

                When you enter "numerals" in a character field, they are treated as characters not values. We all know that.

                The mask Dave designed is :
                LLL\LL\zero zero zero

                In this context, alpha is reading the mask as part character part numeric. You can't do that.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Mask problem

                  Originally posted by G Gabriel View Post
                  Stan:
                  1-Why would you have numerics in a character field? how does that work?
                  Editd out to confirm: confirmed:
                  2-Tried mask with '\'..it works.
                  1-No one said anything about numerics but you. As Tom said, you might want certain characters in a "part number" to be alphabetic and you might want others to be digits, i.e. "ABC-123". You could disallow "ABC-ABC" with the mask LLL-000.

                  2-"Tried mask with '\'..it works." -what does that mean? I didn't say it didn't work. I said it had special meaning in a mask

                  \
                  Any character following \ is taken as a literal, or template character.
                  Which simply means that if you want a forward slash you have to use a pair of them.
                  There can be only one.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Mask problem

                    Gabriel,

                    It was about 10 hours ago when I had breakfast so cant remember what I had, but can remember that in the UK all phone numbers begin with a zero, if you put that into a numeric field it gets dropped ie 02380 893311 would become 2380893311 and useless!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Mask problem

                      Originally posted by G Gabriel View Post
                      Tom:
                      That's not my point.

                      When you enter "numerals" in a character field, they are treated as characters not values. We all know that.

                      The mask Dave designed is :
                      LLL\LL\zero zero zero

                      In this context, alpha is reading the mask as part character part numeric. You can't do that.
                      Gabriel,
                      The '000' in the mask definition are not actual numerics but rather a format code for the mask. '0' indicates to allow only a digit in that position.
                      Tim Kiebert
                      Eagle Creek Citrus
                      A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Mask problem

                        Stan:
                        No one said anything about numerics but you.
                        That's what Dave has in the mask.
                        OK..think about it one more time:
                        If you have a numeric field, say SSN, and you want to enter a mask with "-" between the digits, in the mask definition you enter:
                        999-99-9999

                        On the othe hand, if the same SSN is a character field and you want to enter the same mask, you enter in the definition:
                        aaa-aa-aaaa

                        Now, help me out here:

                        Dave has a character field and in the mask definition, he entered a mixture of characters & numerals. That's the problem.

                        In the example you used, if you want something to look like: ABC-123 in a character field, you still enter it as:
                        aaa-aaa not aaa-000 and when the user enter ABC123 in the field, it will be masked: ABC-123.

                        Am I alone on this?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Mask problem

                          Stan!! Lance!! Tom!! and now Tim !!
                          Did everybody go to the same McDonald's this morning? why wasn't I invited?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Mask problem

                            Gabriel,

                            Sorry you missed breakfast, it seems you are missing something else.

                            Just try it.

                            Set a new table with a character field (default 16 characters will do)

                            save table.

                            set a mask of LLL/LL/000

                            The input on that field will then only let you enter 5 characters then upto 3 numbers simple and that is what Dave wanted in the first place. Stan put him on the right track with his first reply. I am just a slower typist and was testing to make sure I was right and replied 6 mins later. We are now several hours on and going nowhere!!!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Mask problem

                              Originally posted by G Gabriel View Post
                              If you have a numeric field, say SSN, and you want to enter a mask with "-" between the digits, in the mask definition you enter:
                              999-99-9999

                              On the othe hand, if the same SSN is a character field and you want to enter the same mask, you enter in the definition:
                              aaa-aa-aaaa
                              As I copied and pasted in earlier, 999-99-9999 is not a valid mask because 9 is not a valid mask character. aaa-aa-aaaa is valid but would allow alphabetic characters to be entered as a ssn, not desirable.

                              We are speaking of the field rules, mask tab?
                              There can be only one.

                              Comment

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