To display this property editor, choose the editMask property from the Inspector when any (StorageDataSet) Column component is selected in the Component Tree.
The editMask property stores the string specification used to format and control the entry of data in the column when the user starts editing data. Before editing starts, the displayMask handles the formatting and parsing. Edit masks affect the formatting of data by displaying spaces or special characters that ease data entry. For String columns, these characters may optionally be stored with the data or not. For example, displaying parenthesis for a telephone number can ease data entry by clearly separating the area code from the telephone number.
Edit masks also restrict the type of data the user can enter, for example, by allowing digits only, or requiring entry in certain parts of a field, and so on.
User-defined edit masks are not altered if the column's locale changes.
When entering data into an edit mask and using the left shift feature where characters are entered from the right end of the pattern specification and shift left, if any character input cannot shift left, shifting stops. If you continue to type when you are positioned at the right of the pattern, the last character is overwritten with each key pressed.
Edit and display masks are never substituted one for the other if one is supplied and the other not. However, if an edit mask is not specified, the display mask performs validation of user input.
If you find that the editMask does not handle your formatting needs, you can create your own class which implements the ItemEditMask interface and assign it into the Column component's editMasker property directly. In such cases, do not assign the editMask property as your editMasker will be overwritten.
To reset a display mask back to its default, call the setDisplayMask() method.
For examples of patterns used with display masks, see Adding an Edit or Display Pattern to control data in the Database Application Developer's Guide.
See also: displayMask property, String-based patterns (masks)