How to: Display the parentheses and dashes in phone numbers.
Solution:
In the 'Field Properties' section of the Table Design view, select the 'InputMask' property box for the phone number field, click 'Build', and follow the instructions for the 'Input Mask Wizard'.
1) If the Database window is not active, activate the Database window.
2) Open the table in the Table Design view.
3) Select the phone number field.
4) Move to the 'Field Properties' section.
Field Properties section
5) Click the 'General' tab.
6) Click in the 'Input Mask' property box. (The Build button, with '...' on it, appears next to the property box.)
7) Click 'Build'. (The Input Mask Wizard dialog box appears.)
Build button
8) Select 'Phone Number' from the 'Input Mask' list box.
NOTE: The 'Input Mask' list displays the names of the possible input masks to choose from, and the 'Data Look' list shows how each causes data to look.
Input Mask
9) (Optional) To test how the 'Phone Number' input mask works:
a) Click in the beginning of the 'Try It' box. (The selected mask appears.)
b) Type the phone number, numbers only. (The parentheses and dashes appear automatically.)
10) Click 'Next'.
11) (Optional) To alter the 'Phone Number' input mask, make the desired changes in the 'Input Mask' box.
Input Mask box
12) (Optional) Select a different placeholder from the 'Placeholder character' box.
Placeholder
NOTE: A placeholder character is the character that appears BEFORE data is typed.
EXAMPLES: In the input mask '(___)___-____', the '_' (underscore) is the placeholder. In the input mask '(###)###-####', the '#' is the placeholder.
13) (Optional) To test how the altered 'Phone Number' input mask works:
a) Click in the beginning of the 'Try It' box. (The mask appears.)
b) Type the phone number, numbers only.
14) Click 'Next'.
15) Select the radio button for how to store the data.
How to store data
16) Click 'Next'.
17) Click 'Finish'. (The Phone Number input mask appears in the Input Mask property box of the Field Properties section in the Table Design view. From now on, when a phone number is typed in that field, the parentheses and dashes will appear automatically.)
