InputMask (Property)

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Numeric controls (except for the currency controls)
Currency controls
Currency + Euro controls
Date controls
Time controls
DateTime controls
Duration controls
Text controls in the report editor
Text controls in the window editor
Progress Bar controls
Type of input mask
Regular expressions in the input masks
Spreadsheet control
Limitations

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See also

InputMask (Property)

In french: MasqueSaisie

The InputMask property is used to:

get the input mask.
set the input mask (from the masks available for the type).

The InputMask property applies to all controls that allow input or display text:

an Edit control.
a group of Edit controls.
an editable Combo Box.
a column in a Table control,
a table column displayed by a Combo Box control.
a cell in a Table control,
a progress bar,
a formatted static control.

The InputMask property also applies to Calculated and Static controls in reports.

This property is only available in Read/Write for controls in a report. This property is not available for controls in pages.

Remark: The input mask of a control is defined in the window or report editor, in the "General" tab of the control description.

For more details on the different input masks available and their characteristics, see Input mask.

Example

// Modify the mask of "EDT_CustomerName"
EDT_CustomerName.InputMask = maskUpper

// Modify the mask of the 1st table row for the COL_Price column
TABLE_Table1.COL_Price[1].InputMask = "9999,99"
// The mask is taken into account by the displayed value
Info(TABLE_Table1.COL_Price[1].DisplayedValue)

// Accepts digits from 0 to 7 (octal)
MyExpression is string = "[0-7]"
EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "regexp:" + MyExpression

// Mask for a progress bar
PROGBAR_ProgBar1.InputMask = "999,99% completed"

// Allow the input of a single digit between 1 and 6
EDT_CONTROL.InputMask = "regexp:[1-6]{0,1}"

// Allow the input of digits and dot character only,
// up to 10 characters
EDT_CONTROL.InputMask = "regexp:[0-9.]{0,10}"

// Input mask for a French registration number
EDT_REGNUM.InputMask = ...
"regexp:[A-Z]{0,2}[ \-]?[0-9]{0,3}[ \-]?[A-Z]{0,2}"

// Input mask with no size limit,
// accepting numbers as well as lowercase and uppercase letters
EDT_CONTROL.InputMask = "regexp:[0-9a-zA-Z]*"

Syntax

Getting the input mask of a control Hide the details

<Result> = <Control used>.InputMask

<Result>: Constant or character string

Input mask of the specified control. The input mask depends on the type of control. For more details, see remarks.

<Control used>: Control name

Name of the control to be used.

Changing the input mask of a control Hide the details

<Control used>.InputMask = <New input mask>

<Control used>: Control name

Name of the control to be used.

<New input mask>: Constant, character string or InputMask variable

New input mask for the specified control. This mask can correspond to:
A string or constant, specifying the mask to use.
The input mask depends on the type of control. For more details, see remarks.
an InputMask variable, used to manage advanced input masks on Edit controls, editable Combo Box and Table control columns.
In the window editor, a regular expression can be used to create the mask of Edit and combo Box controls: to do so, use the "regexp:" string before the regular expression. For more details, see remarks.

Remarks

Numeric controls (except for the currency controls)

1. Preset input masks


maskBitcoin	Numeric input mask used for Bitcoins. The Bitcoin symbol is displayed. This constant is not available.
maskFileSize	Numeric mask for the file and disk sizes. Remark: The change of unit (from KB to MB for example) is performed for each multiple of 1024. Therefore, the mask may display 1003 KB.
maskScientific	Numeric input mask for scientific notation. This constant is not available.
maskSystemNumeral	Numeric mask used by the system. Corresponds to the mask selected in the system regional settings ("Regional options" in the control panel).

Examples:

// File size mask
EDT_Edit1.InputMask = maskFileSize
EDT_Edit1 = 5681234 // Displays 5.68 MB
// Bitcoin mask
EDT_Edit2.InputMask = maskBitcoin
EDT_Edit2 = 5681234 // Displays 0.05 681 234 B
// Scientific mask
EDT_Edit3.InputMask = maskScientific
EDT_Edit3 = 5681234 // Displays 5.681234E+06

2. Custom input masks

The input masks are defined via the following characters: "9", ".", ",", "+" and "-", "$" and space characters. For example: "99.999,99".

In display mode, the decimal and thousand separators as well as the symbol defined for the language are taken into account.

In the code (regardless of the language):

" " (space) is replaced with the thousand separator.
"," (comma) is replaced with the decimal separator.
"$" is replaced with the currency symbol (write "$$" to avoid this substitution).

3. Specific custom input masks

Using the % symbol:
Caution: Up to version 90028, the value assigned to the control through programming was displayed as it was, followed by the % character.
From version 90033, the valued assigned to the control through programming is multiplied by 100 and the "%" character is displayed. To restore the operating mode of the earlier versions, write "%%" to display the % character without multiplying the value by 100.
Example:
- Assigning a value to the control programmatically:
  EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "999,9%"
  EDT_Edit1 = 0.562 // Displays 56.2 %
  
  EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "999,9%%"
  EDT_Edit1 = 0.562 // Displays 0.562 %
- Input in the control by the user:
  - Mask 99.99%, value entered: 19.6, value displayed: 19,6%, valued handled through programming: 0,196.
  - Mask 99.99%%, value entered: 19.6, value displayed: 19,6%, valued handled through programming: 19.6.
Using brackets: displaying the negative numbers.
Example:
EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "(999 999)"
EDT_Edit1 = -1234 // Displays (1 234)
EDT_Edit1 = 1234 // Displays 1 234
Using the - sign at the end of the string: displaying negative numbers (ability to write "--" to display the - sign at the end of string).
Example:
EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "999 999 -"
EDT_Edit1 = -1234 // Displays 1 234-
Multiple input mask: input mask used to define the format of positive numbers, the format of negative numbers, the value if 0 is used, the value if NULL is used. The following syntax is used:
<Format of positive numbers>;<Format of negative numbers>;<Value if 0>;<Value if NULL>

Example:
EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "999 999;-999 999;0;<NULL>"
EDT_Edit1 = -1234 // Displays - 1 234

Remark: You can specify a color using [<Color>] next to the desired mask. <Color> can correspond to:
- one of the following constants: Red, Green, Blue, Black, White, Yellow, Orange.
- a hexadecimal value in "#BBGGRR" format.
  Example:
  EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "999 999;-999 999[Red];0;<NULL>"
  EDT_Edit1 = -1234 // Displays - 1 234 in red
  
  EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "999 999;-999 999[ #FF0000];0;<NULL>"
  EDT_Edit1 = -1234 // Displays - 1 234 in blue
  
  Remark: The color specified in the input mask takes precedence over the Color property. It is ignored if the control is grayed.

Remarks:

Using 0 in the input mask:
- If you want to pad the number with zeros on the left, use "0" on the left of the mask. For example:
  EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "099.999,99"
  EDT_Edit1 = 23.50 // Displays 023.5
- If you want to pad the decimal part of the number to with zeros, use "9" to the right of the decimal point. For example:
  EDT_Edit1.InputMask = "9999,000"
  EDT_Edit1 = 12 // Displays 12.00
  EDT_Edit1 = 12,368 // Displays 12.368 (the value is not rounded)
To force the signs, use the "+" character on the left. For example: "+9999".
You also have the ability to specify hexadecimal input masks (between 0xF and 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF).

Currency controls

The input masks have the same type as the numeric masks. The difference is found in the precision: the currencies have 17 significant digits for the integer part and up to 6 digits for the decimal part.

For example: "99 999 999 999 999 999,999999".

Remark: A preset mask can also be used for the Currency controls:


maskSystemCurrency	Currency mask used by the system. Corresponds to the mask selected in the system regional settings ("Regional options" in the control panel).

Currency + Euro controls

The input masks have the same type as the currency masks. The dollar character ("$") can be added into the mask to display the current currency.

For example: "999,99 $" will display "250,25 F" if the current currency is the French Franc.

Date controls

The input masks for Date controls are:

"DD/MM/YYYY"
"DD/MM/YY"
"DDD DD"
"MM/DD/YYYY"
"MM/DD/YY"
"YYYY/MM/DD"
"YY/MM/DD"
"DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM:SS"
"MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm:SS"
"DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm:SS:CCC"
"MM/DD/YYYY HH:mm:SS:CCC"
"DDDD DD MMMM YYYY"
"Dddd DD Mmmm YYYY"
"Dddd DD Mmm YYYY"
DD (corresponding to the day of the week in digits, for example: 12)
"DDDD" (corresponding day of the week, e.g. "Thursday"). The case used depends on the language options of the project.
"Dddd" (day of the week with the first letter in uppercase, e.g.: Monday)
This notation is not available.
"dddd" (day of the week with the first letter in lowercase, e.g.: monday)
This notation is not available.
"DDD" (abbreviation for the day of the week, "Thu" for example). The case used depends on the language options of the project.
"Ddd" (abbreviation of the day of the week with the first letter in uppercase, e.g.: Mon)
This notation is not available.
"ddd" (abbreviation of the day of the week with the first letter in lowercase, e.g.: mon)
This notation is not available.
MM (month in digits, for example: 12)
"MMMM" (non-abbreviated month, for example "January"). The case used depends on the language options of the project.
"Mmmm" (month spelled out with the first letter in uppercase, e.g.: January)
This notation is not available.
"mmmm" (month spelled out with the first letter in lowercase, e.g.: january)
This notation is not available.
"MMM" (abbreviation of the month, "Jan" for example). The case used depends on the language options of the project.
"Mmm" (abbreviation of the month with the first letter in uppercase, e.g.: Jan)
This notation is not available.
"mmm" (abbreviation of the month with the first letter in lowercase, e.g.: jan)
This notation is not available.
"YYYY" (year on four digits, "2001" for example)
"YY" (last two digits of the year, "01" for example)
the date defined by the project.
The date defined by the project depends on the date format selected in the parameters of the project language:
- on the "Project" tab, in the "Project" group, click "Description".
- display the "Languages" tab then the linguistic options regarding the date.

These masks can be combined. For example: "Ddd DD Mmmm YYYY at HH:mm" will return a result in the following format: "Thu 01 February 1979 at 21:35".

Time controls

The input masks for the time controls are:

"HH:MM".
"HH h MM".
"HH:MM:SS".
"HH:MM:SS AM": Used to manage the time in AM/PM format.
"HH:MM:SS:CC".
The preset mask corresponds to the system time. The system time depends on the mask selected in the regional system setings ("Regional options" in the control panel).
maskSystemTime Mask used by the system for the time.

DateTime controls

To specify a DateTime input mask, you must:

Switch the type of the control (or table column) to Date ("Details" tab in the description window of the control or column).
Change the input mask of this control or column ("Details" tab in the control or column description window, or InputMask property).

Duration controls

The following elements can be used to define a custom mask (case sensitive). To present the custom masks, let's take a duration equal to 0 day 04 hours 15 minutes 03 seconds and 412 thousandths of a second:

+1: only the most significant unit will be displayed (the number of hours in our example).
+2: only the two most significant units will be displayed (the number of hours and the number of minutes in our example).
Specify '+3' or '+4' to display the three or four most significant units.
D: the number of days will be displayed if this number is greater than 0 (the number of days will not be displayed in our example).
H: the number of hours will be displayed if this number (or if the number of days) is greater than 0. If this number contains a single digit, this digit will be displayed (the number of hours will be '4' in our example).
HH: the number of hours will be displayed if this number (or if the number of days) is greater than 0. If this number contains a single digit, this digit will be preceded by '0' (the number of hours will be '04' in our example).
M: the number of minutes will be displayed if this number (or the number of days, or the number of hours) is greater than 0. If this number contains a single digit, this digit will be displayed (the number of minutes will be '15' in our example).
MM: the number of minutes will be displayed if this number (or the number of days, or the number of hours) is greater than 0. If this number contains a single digit, this digit will be preceded by '0' (the number of minutes will be '15' in our example).
S: the number of seconds will be displayed if this number (or if the number of days, or the number of hours, or the number of minutes) is greater than 0. If this number contains a single digit, this digit will be displayed (the number of seconds will be '3' in our example).
SS: the number of seconds will be displayed if this number (or if the number of days, or the number of hours, or the number of minutes) is greater than 0. If this number contains a single digit, this digit will be preceded by '0' (the number of seconds will be '03' in our example).
CC: the number of hundredths of second will be displayed (the number of hundredths of second will be '41' in our example).
CCC: the number of thousandths of second will be displayed (the number of thousandths of second will be '412' in our example).

Remark: If the separator corresponds to the ":" character, the letter corresponding to the most significant unit will be added ('h' for hour, 'm' for minute, 's' for second, 'cs' for hundredths of a second and 'ms' for thousands of a second).

Text controls in the report editor

The masks defined in the report editor are as follows ("General" tab of the control description):


maskFUpper	First letter in uppercase character.
maskLower	All in lowercase characters.
maskUpper	All in uppercase characters.

Text controls in the window editor

The preset masks
These masks are defined in the window editor ("General" tab of the control description).


maskAAlphaNum	Letter, then letters + digits.
maskAAlphaNumUpper	Uppercase letter, then uppercase letters + digits.
maskAddressIP	IP address in IPV4 format (for example: 192.168.2.3).
maskAddressIPv6	IP addresses in IPV6 format such as: aaaa:bbbb:cccc:dddd:eeee:ffff:gggg:hhhh:iiii:jjjj
maskAddressMAC	MAC address in the following format: "aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff".
maskAlpha	Letters.
maskAlphaNum	Letters + digits.
maskAlphaNumUpper	Letters in uppercase characters + digits.
maskAlphaUpper	Letters in uppercase characters.
maskBankAccountNumber	Bank account number according to the IBAN standard: two letters (country code) + two digits (control key) + 11 to 30 digits/letters.
maskCardNumberAmericanExpress	Number of credit card for American Express on 15 digits.
maskCardNumberMasterCard	Number of credit card for MasterCard on 16 digits.
maskCardNumberVISA	Number of credit card for Visa on 16 digits.
maskEmail	Email address.
maskEmailMultiple	Email addresses separated by the ";" character.
maskEmailRFC2822	Email address checking the syntax defined in the RFC2822 and checking the top level domain when exiting from a control.
maskEmailRFC2822Multiple	Email addresses separated by the ";" character. These email addresses check the syntax defined in RFC2822 and the top level domain in control output.
maskFileName	File name and path.
maskFileNoFolder	File name (without its directories).
maskFUpper	First letter in uppercase character.
maskINSEE	INSEE number.
maskINSEEKey	INSEE number + key.
maskISBN10	ISBN number on 10 digits.
maskISBN13	ISBN number on 13 digits.
maskLower	All in lowercase characters.
maskNone	No input mask.
maskNum	Digits.
maskNumPlus	Digits, '+', ' ', '.', '-', ','
maskPatronymic	Letters + Digits + Space + Quote + Dash.
maskPatronymicUpper	Uppercase Letters + Digits + Space + Quote + Dash.
maskPersonID_Australia	Australian social security number (Tax File Number - TFN).
maskPersonID_Belgium	Belgium social security number (National number).
maskPersonID_Brazil	Brazilian social security number (Cadastro de Pessoas fisicas).
maskPersonID_Canada	Canadian social security number (Social insurance number).
maskPersonID_Greece	Greek social security number (Identity card).
maskPersonID_Italy	Italian social security number (Codice fiscale).
maskPersonID_Netherlands	Dutch social security number (Sofinummer).
maskPersonID_Singapore	Singaporean social security number (National Registration Identity Card).
maskPersonID_Spain	Spanish social security number (Numero de identificacion de Extranjeros).
maskPersonID_UK	British social security number (National Insurance Number).
maskPersonID_US	American social security number (Social Security Number).
maskPhone	Phone number
maskPhoneBelgium	Phone number in Belgium format (with management of dialing codes, national and international numbers). This constant is not available.
maskPhoneCanada	Phone number in Canadian or American format (XXX CCC-CCCC or +1 XXX CCC-CCCC where XXX corresponds to the regional code and CCC-CCCC to the local number). This constant is not available.
maskPhoneFrance	Phone number in French format (10 digits, grouped by 2). For example: "04 67 69 40 23" or "36 99".
maskPhoneSwitzerland	Phone number in Swiss format (0CC CCC CC CC or +41 CC CCC CC CC). This constant is not available.
maskRIB	RIB number of account.
maskRomanNumeral	Roman numeral (for example: MCMLXXIV).
maskSIREN	SIREN number of company: number of 9 digits made of eight digits + a control code (on one digit) calculated according to the Luhn algorithm.
maskSIRET	SIRET number of company: SIREN number followed by 4 digits + a control code (on one digit) calculated according to the Luhn algorithm.
maskUpper	All in uppercase characters.
maskUUID128	128-bit UUID without dashes. For example: "29ea9852143a46a4842aca811e5f8597".
maskUUID128Raw	128-bit UUID with dashes. For example: "29ea9852-143a-46a4-842a-ca811e5f8597".
maskUUID128WithBrace	128-bit UUID with braces. For example: "{29ea9852-143a-46a4-842a-ca811e5f8597}".
maskUUID256	128-bit UUID without dashes. For example: "c5c9b31729278ad9da1efc44c437b7d85 b57060f41e2bf4d0e112eadb77a6d0b".
maskZipCode	French zip code (including the overseas departments): number on 5 digits.
maskZipCodeAustralia	Australian zip code.
maskZipCodeAustria	Austrian zip code.
maskZipCodeBelgium	Belgium zip code.
maskZipCodeBrazil	Brazilian zip code.
maskZipCodeCanada	Canadian zip code.
maskZipCodeGermany	German zip code.
maskZipCodeGreece	Greek zip code.
maskZipCodeItaly	Italian zip code.
maskZipCodeNetherlands	Dutch zip code.
maskZipCodePortugal	Portuguese zip code.
maskZipCodeSingapore	Singaporean zip code.
maskZipCodeSpain	Spanish zip code.
maskZipCodeSwitzerland	Swiss zip code.
maskZipCodeUK	British zip code.
maskZipCodeUS	American zip code.

The custom masks
These custom masks are described with the following characters:
- "9": Single digit
- "C": Digit or space character
- "L" (letter L in uppercase): Uppercase letter
- "l" (letter L in lowercase): Lowercase letter
- "A": Uppercase alphanumeric character
- "a": Lowercase alphanumeric character
- "?": Any character

Any other character is reproduced as it is. Therefore, the masks are never wrong.

Remark: A numeric mask can be described in a text control. The value retrieved will be a numeric character string and not a numeric value.
For example: For a French registration number: LL 999 LL.

Progress Bar controls

In a Progress Bar control, the input mask is used to define the formatting of the text displayed in the progress bar. The mask used by default is "999,9 %". You have the ability to use the custom masks available for a Text control.

Type of input mask

Caution: A mask can be replaced with a mask of the same type. For example, the input mask of a DATE control cannot be replaced by the input mask of a TIME control.

Assigning an incorrect input mask will trigger an error message.

Regular expressions in the input masks

The regular expressions used in this property must not be the ones used in MatchRegularExpression.

In input masks, regular expressions prevent the input of certain characters or sequences of characters.

In MatchRegularExpression, regular expressions are used to check the string format.

Example: Check that string T1 contains a letter and a number:

with the MatchRegularExpression function: the regular expression used is [A-Za-z][0-9]
with InputMask: the regular expression used is [A-Za-z]{0,1}[0-9]{0,1}

Spreadsheet control

The mask of a cell found in a Spreadsheet control can be defined by SpreadsheetTypeAndMaskSelection. The InputMask property is used to change the defined input mask (the cell type is not modified).

Limitations

In a report, the InputMask property can only be used on:

a calculated control,
a preset control,
a Static control.

In a window, the InputMask property applies only to:

edit controls,
table columns,
table columns displayed by a Combo Box control.
editable combo boxes,
groups of edit controls,
table cells.

This property is only available in Read / Write for controls in a report. This property is not available for controls in pages.

In Java, the InputMask property applies only to the following elements:

Edit control.
Combo Box.
Table column.

Related Examples:

Unit examples (WINDEV): The regular expressions

[ + ] Using regular expressions with WINDEV.
Two use modes are presented for the regular expressions:
- checking the input format
- checking out different elements while respecting the input format.
This example is also used to search for a word in a string. The search can be case-sensitive or not. Possibility to take into account (or not) the start or end of string, as well as spaces (anywhere in the string, even in the sought word)

Unit examples (WINDEV): Advanced input mask

[ + ] Handling the input masks in WINDEV:
- Defining the format of positive/negative number in a numeric edit control
- Defining how negative numbers will be displayed in a numeric edit control
- Defining how the value 0 will be displayed in a numeric edit control
- Using a regular expression to prevent from typing characters other than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
- Using a regular expression to "regulate" the input of a French registration number

Unit examples (WINDEV Mobile): The regular expressions

[ + ] Using regular expressions with WINDEV Mobile.
It presents 2 modes for using the regular expressions:
- check the input format
- check out the different elements that match the input format.
This example is also used to search for a word in a string. The search can be case-sensitive or not. Possibility to take into account (or not) the start or end of string, as well as spaces (anywhere in the string, even in the sought word)