When you click the Input Mask property, the
builder button (three periods) appears. Click the Build button to start the Wizard. Figure 2-18
shows the first screen of the Input Mask Wizard.
64
Access Building Blocks Part I
FIGURE 2-18
The Input Mask Wizard for creating input masks for Text and Date field types
The Input Mask Wizard shows not only the name of each predefined input mask, but also an
example for each name. You can choose from the list of predefined masks. Click in the Try It text
box and enter a test value to see how data entry will look. After you choose an input mask, the
next wizard screen enables you to refine the mask and specify the placeholder symbol (perhaps a
pound sign [#] or ???at??? sign [@]). Another wizard screen enables you to decide whether to store
special characters (such as the dashes in a Social Security number) with the data. When you complete
the wizard, Access adds the input mask characters in the field??™s property sheet.
You can create your own input masks for Text and Date/Time fields by simply clicking
the Edit List button and entering a descriptive name, input mask, a placeholder character,
and a sample data content.
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