ACC: Unexpected Pointer Behavior in Text Box with Input Mask

• Microsoft Access versions 2.0, 7.0, 97

SYMPTOMS

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

When you click in a text box that has a defined InputMask property, the insertion point remains where it was in the text box when you clicked the mouse button instead of moving to the beginning of the text box. This occurs whether there is data in the text box or not.

RESOLUTION

Press F2 to place the insertion point at the beginning of the text box, or use the TAB key to navigate to the text box instead of clicking in the text box.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

An input mask uses predefined place holders in the text box. If you press TAB or press ENTER to move to the text box, the insertion point is placed at the beginning of the input mask. If you enter the text box by clicking in it, the insertion point remains where it was when you clicked the mouse button.

You can make the insertion point move to the beginning of the text box by automatically pressing F2 when a text box is entered. To do this, create a macro with the following action and call it from the text box's OnClick property:

   SendKeys
      Keystrokes: {F2}
      Wait: No

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