Specifies the display format and input accepted for data in text items.
Applies to text item
Set Oracle Forms, programmatically
Required/Optional optional
Valid format masks for character strings, numbers and dates are described in the following tables.
Character Strings
The following table describes valid format masks for character strings.
Element |
Example |
Description |
---|---|---|
FM |
FMXX99 |
Fill mode: accept string as typed, do not right justify. Allows end user input string to be shorter than the format mask. |
X |
XXXX |
Any alphabetic, numeric, or special character. End user input string must be exact length specified by format mask. |
9 |
9999 |
Numeric characters only. End user input string must be exact length specified by format mask. |
A |
AAAA |
Alphabetic characters only. End user input string must be exact length specified by format mask. |
Format Mask |
Description |
---|---|
XXAA |
Will accept: --ab, abcd, 11ab; will not accept: --11, ab11, or ab--(must use XX to accept hyphens and other special characters). |
XXXX |
Will accept any combination of alphabetic, numeric, or special characters: --ab, abcd, 11ab, --11, ab11, or ab--. Will accept 1234 or abcd; will not accept 123 or abc. (To accept input string shorter than mask, use FMXXXX.) |
FMXX99 |
Will accept ab12, ab1, ab followed by two spaces; will not accept 12ab or abcd. (To produce the Oracle Forms Version 3.0 Alpha datatype, use FMAAAAAA.) |
The following table describes valid format masks for numbers.
Element |
Example |
Description |
---|---|---|
9 |
9999 |
Number of nines determines display width. Any leading zeros will be displayed as blanks. |
0 |
0999 |
Display leading zeros. |
0 |
9990 |
Display zero value as zero, not blank. |
$ |
$9999 |
Prefix value with dollar sign. |
B |
B9999 |
Display zero value as blank, not "0". |
MI |
9999MI |
Display "-" after a negative value. |
PR |
9999PR |
Display a negative value in <angle brackets>. |
comma |
9,999 |
Display a comma in this position. For correct behavior in multilingual applications, substitute G to return the appropriate group (thousands) separator. |
period |
99.99 |
Display a decimal point in this position. For correct behavior in multilingual applications, substitute D to return the appropriate decimal separator. |
E |
9.999EEEE |
Display in scientific notation (format must contain exactly four "E"s). |
FM |
FM999 |
Fill mode: accept string as typed, do not right justify. |
Format Mask |
Description |
---|---|
FM099"-"99"-"9999 |
Displays the social security number as formatted, including hyphens, even if end user enters only nine digits.To create a Social Security column, create an 11-character column, set to fixed length, with a format mask of 099"-"99"-"9999. This mask will accommodate Social Security numbers that begin with zero, accepting 012-34-5678 or 012345678 (both stored as 012345678). |
99999PR |
Accepts -123; reformats as <123>. |
999MI |
Accepts -678; reformats as 678-. |
9.999EEEE |
Displays as 1.00E+20. |
If a runtime user enters a numeric string that exceeds the format mask specification, the value will be rejected. For example:
Format Mask |
User enters |
Result |
---|---|---|
99.9 |
321.0 |
Invalid |
99.9 |
21.01 |
Invalid |
99.9 |
21.1 |
21.1 |
99.9 |
01.1 |
1.1 |
In contrast, if a numeric value fetched from the database exceeds the format mask specification for its display field, the value is displayed, but truncated, with rounding, to fit the mask. (The item itself within the Forms application retains its full value.) For example, if the database held the value 2.0666, and the format mask was 99.9, the value displayed to the user would be 2.1. However, the value of the item within the form would be the full 2.0666.
The following table describes valid format masks for dates.
Element |
Description |
---|---|
YYYY or SYYYY |
4-digit year; "S" prefixes "BC" date with "-". |
YYY or YY or Y |
Last 3, 2, or 1 digits of year. |
Y,YYY |
Year with comma in this position. |
BC or AD |
BC/AD indicator. |
B.C. or A.D. |
BC/AD indicator with periods. |
RR |
Defaults to correct century. Deduces the century from a date entered by comparing the 2 digit year entered with the year and century to which the computer's internal clock is set. Years 00-49 will be given the 21st century (the year 2000), and years from 50-99 will be given the 20th century (the year 1900). |
MM |
Month (01-12; JAN = 01). |
MONTH |
Name of month, padded with blanks to length of 9 characters. |
MON |
Name of month, 3-letter abbreviation. |
DDD |
Day of year (1-366). |
DD |
Day of month (1-31). |
D |
Day of week (1-7; Sunday=1). |
DAY |
Name of day, padded with blanks to length of 9 characters. |
DY |
Name of day, 3-letter abbreviation. |
J |
Julian day; the number of days since January 1, 4712 BC. |
AM or PM |
Meridian indicator. |
A.M. or P.M. |
Meridian indicator with periods. |
HH or HH12 |
Hour of day (1-12). |
HH24 |
Hour of day (0-23). |
MI |
Minute (0-59). |
SS |
Second (0-59). |
SSSSS |
Seconds past midnight (0-86399). |
/. , . |
Punctuation is reproduced in the result. |
"..." |
Quoted string is reproduced in the result. |
FM |
Fill mode: assumes implied characters such as O or space; displays significant characters left justified. Allows end user input to be shorter than the format mask. (Use in conjunction with FX to require specific delimiters.) |
FX |
All date literals must match the format mask exactly, including delimiters. |
Format Mask |
Description |
---|---|
FXDD-MON-YY |
Will accept 12-JAN-94, but will not accept 12.JAN.94 or 12/JAN/94 because the delimiters do not match the mask. Will not accept 12JAN94 because there are no delimiters. Will accept 01-JAN-94 but will not accept 1-JAN-94. |
FMDD-MON-YY |
Will accept 01-JAN-94. Will also accept the entry of other delimiters, for example 01/JAN/94 and 01 JAN 94. However, will not accept 01JAN94. Will accept 1-JAN-94, converting it to 01-JAN-94. |
DD-MON-YY |
Will accept 12.JAN.94, 12/JAN/94 or 12-JAN-94. Note: Any delimiter characters will be accepted, but if delimiters are omitted by the end user, this mask will interpret date characters as a delimiters. Will accept 12-JAN94, (but will erroneously interpret as 12-JAN-04); but will not accept 12JAN94, because "AN" is not a valid month name. |
Format Mask |
Description |
---|---|
FMMONTH" "DD", "YYYY |
Displays the text item data in the specified date format: JANUARY 12, 1994, including the appropriate blank spaces and comma. |
FMDD-MONTH-YYYY |
Displays as 12-JANUARY-1994. |
DY-DDD-YYYY |
Displays as WED-012-1994. Note: for input validation including day of the week, a mask that allows specific determination of the day is required, such as this example or DY-DD-MM-YY. |
Format Mask |
Description |
---|---|
DD-MONTH-YYYY |
Displays as 12-JANUARY-1994. |
DY-DDD-YYYY |
Displays as WED-012-1994. |
DY-DD-MON-YY |
Displays as WED-12-JAN-94. Be sure to include month. Avoid masks such as DY-DD-YY, which could generate an error. |
The following table describes valid National Language Support (NLS) format masks.
Element |
Example |
Description |
---|---|---|
C |
C999 |
Returns the international currency symbol. |
L |
L9999 |
Returns the local currency symbol. |
D |
99D99 |
Returns the decimal separator. |
G |
9G999 |
Returns the group (thousands) separator. |
comma |
9,999 |
Displays a comma in this position. |
period |
9.999 |
Displays a decimal point in this position. Displays a decimal point in this position. |
Format Mask |
Description |
---|---|
L99G999D99 |
Displays the local currency symbol, group, and decimal separators: if NLS_LANG=American, this item displays as $1,600.00; if NLS_LANG=Norwegian, this item displays as Kr.1.600,00. |
C99G999D99 |
Displays the appropriate international currency symbol: if NLS_LANG=American, this item displays as USD1,600.00; if NLS_LANG=French, this item displays as FRF1.600,00. |