Formatting field values

* New for 9.5 *

The text, date, and numeric fields that you add to a Guide can use masks and patterns to format or parse field values.

Application models (FML) use the term masks , and XDP forms use the term patterns .

In the Guide Properties view for a field, you can select an edit mask and a display format:

Edit mask: Describes the syntax for entering data into a field. The edit mask is used when the focus is placed on the field.
Display format: Describes how data is displayed in the Guide. It formats user input and any bound values retrieved at runtime.

An edit mask and a display format can be used together. The edit mask is used when focus is on the field and the Guide filler is entering data in the field. The display format is used when focus leaves the field.

In the Guide Properties view, the Edit Mask and Display Format properties include some common masks that you can select. To use a mask that is not listed, define it in the application model (FML) or the XDP form.

Patterns in XDP forms

In addition to edit masks and display formats, XDP forms can use the following patterns:

Validation pattern: Validates user input at runtime.
Data pattern: Describes the syntax of bound or saved data.

For more information about using patterns in XDP forms, see the Designer Help .

Masks and Control Type properties

When you add an item from the Data Model view to a Guide, the Control Type properties are set in the Guide Properties view. The Control Type properties are set according to the data type and the masks specified in the data model:

If both an edit and a display mask are specified, and they are different, the Display As property defaults to Text Input.
If both an edit and a display mask are specified, and they are the same, the Display As property defaults to Text Input Mask or Text Input.
If only an edit mask is specified, the Display As property defaults to Text Input Mask or Text Input.
If only a display mask is specified, or if no mask is specified, the Display As property depends on the data type:
- If the data type is date, the Display As property is Date Field. The mask defaults to using a month name (DD MMM YYYY). Dates are submitted according to the ISO-8601 format.
- For other data types, the Display As property is Text Input Mask or Text Input.

Patterns in application models (FML)

In Guides based on an application model (FML), Date Fields cannot specify a Display Format. You can specify an edit mask for the Date Field only if one was specified in the application model (FML).

Guides based on an application model (FML) cannot validate against a Japanese date pattern that contains long or full month patterns. The default date pattern that is used when no style is defined is DD MMM YYYY. The only patterns that work for date fields when rendered on a Japanese operating system are short patterns, such as DD/MM/YYYY.

To create a phone number field in an application model (FML), use a text property with numeric edit and display masks. To create a phone number field in an XDP form, use a Text object, and use the pattern 999-999-9999.