Access 2016 Intermediate

Lesson 1 – Setting Field Properties

Access 2016

Steps

Practice Data

10 Select the desired option for storing the data. The option is selected.

Click Without the symbols in the mask, like this: , if necessary

11. Select Next .

Click

The next page of the Input Mask Wizard appears.

12. Select Finish .

Click

The Input Mask Wizard closes, and the input mask appears in the Input Mask box.

Save the table and switch to Datasheet view. Create a new record and tab to the Phone Number field; type 12345678910 ; notice that the input mask controls how the number is entered, as well as how it is formatted.

Press [Esc] twice to delete the new record and close the Customers table.

C REATING AN I NPUT M ASK M ANUALLY



Discussion

An input mask controls what values you can enter in a field, as well as how the data will appear. Although it is usually easier to use the Input Mask Wizard, you may need to create an input mask that is not included in the list of predefined masks in the Input Mask Wizard. Access allows you to create an input mask by entering criteria directly into the Input Mask box. When you create an input mask manually, you use special characters to define it. These special characters act as placeholders, controlling the type of character that can be entered into each position, as well as which characters are required. For example, the (999) 000-0000 input mask allows you to enter only digits, and the area code is not required; consequently, both ( ) 555-6545 and (804) 555-6545 are valid entries for this input mask.

The following table defines some of the special characters that can be used in an input mask. To define a literal character, enter any character other than one of those shown in the table. If you want to define a character listed in the table as a literal character, you must precede that character with a backslash ( \ ).

Page 20

OFFICEPRO, Inc.