input masks and other field properties--best for tables or forms??

[ehdoh]

As i understand it from what I've found on a search of these pages, if an input mask is entered into a table it will not carry over to a form. Is this the case for all field properties??

If I set an input mask (e.g.) on a form, will the entered data carry over into the table the way the input mask specified on the form? Or would I need to also set the input mask on the table to make this happen?

Cheers,
E.

 

[jeremie_ingram]

Input masks are generally for the end user to more easily identify what they are doing. For example, the PHONE # input mask shows the sections currently being entered, and ensures all areas are filled out.
As for the formatting being passed from table to form, your inpput masks should easily carry over to the form. I have never had a problem of the fields on my form not displaying the input masks. Once the data source is set, the input mask should trasfer for all fields.
So in answer to the question, set the input masks on the table fields and you should automatically get them to appear on the for. Note that they will not appear until teh filed has focus and is in data entry mode. So click into the filed on the form and the mask should appear.

 

[ehdoh]

The reason I started this post is that I was working on a form that had some fields with input masks set in the table and I encountered a problem. I was testing the form and found that the input mask set in the table did not carry over--i.e., in the form, I was able to enter data regardless of the specifications of the input mask. So I set the input mask from the form instead and found that the input mask then worked just fine in the form.

I then came to these forums to try to see if what I had encountered was 'normal.' I found one posting indicating that input masks, in order to function properly in a form, need to be entered as a property of the control in the form; they will not carry over from a table.

I am fine with entering the input mask as a property of a control on a form. I am just trying to determine if I need to do double the work --i.e., enter the input mask as a property of a variable in the table, too--to make the input mask fully effective. I am also curious about this issue because I would like to know if it applies to other properties other than the input mask.

WHY does Microsoft always seem to provide multiple ways to do/set things??? On the one hand it is convenient and may be essential to serve different purposes at different times...but it is confusing for the novice who thinks they have taken care of an issue when they've set a property (e.g.) once in one place when it really needed to be set in a completely different place. Pardon the venting...

-E.