The following table shows the symbols most commonly used in CHAR format masks.
Symbol |
Description |
---|---|
FM |
Fill mode: accept string as typed, do not right justify. Allows end user input string to be shorter than the format mask |
X |
Any alphabetic, numeric, or special character. End user input string must be exact length specified by format mask. |
9 |
Numeric characters only. End user input string must be exact length specified by format mask. |
A |
Alphabetic characters only. End user input string must be exact length specified by format mask. |
Format Mask |
Result |
---|---|
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.) |
About formatting display item values with format masks
Assigning a format mask to a display item
Display item format mask symbols for NUMBER values