How to Format Telephone Numbers with PICTURE Mask

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5x, 2.6
• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.5x, 2.6
• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, version 2.5b, 2.5c

SUMMARY

The format of the data entry @ ... GET edit region for a telephone number can be controlled programmatically with a mask defined using the PICTURE clause, or it can be controlled in the Screen Builder or Form Designer by specifying the picture in the Format edit region of the Field dialog box. The examples shown below illustrate both methods.

MORE INFORMATION

The @ ... GET ... PICTURE clause provides the means of specifying a mask to control the format of data entered in a GET object in a window. The following paragraphs show examples of parameters of the clause that create a mask to control the format of a GET for entering a telephone number. These parameters provide all the customary nondata formatting characters (such as parentheses and dashes), but allow FoxPro to store only the numeric information so that the number is saved in just ten characters, either as a character field or as a numeric field. The parameters can be included either in a hard-coded "@ n.n GET <variable/field name> PICTURE ..." (without the quotation marks) command or they can be included in the Format box in the Field dialog box of FoxPro's Screen Builder.

FoxPro 2.x for Windows Examples

For example, if the telephone number is to appear on the screen as follows (these numbers are for example purposes only)

   (213)123-1234

   PICTURE "@R (999)999-9999"

   @R (999)999-9999

   213/123-1234

   @R 999/999-9999

Visual FoxPro for Windows Examples

For example, if the telephone number is to appear on the screen as follows (these numbers are for example purposes only)

   (213)123-1234

   (999)999-9999

   213/123-1234

   999/999-9999

Notes

• The "@" symbol defines the characters following it as belonging to the PICTURE clause.
• The capital letter "R" and the space character following the "R" display a format mask in an @ ... GET editing region. These mask characters are not stored in the field when the @ ... GET editing region is exited.
• The mask characters shown in the above examples, other than the digit 9, are not stored in the table. These characters are skipped over when keys are pressed during data entry.
• The nines (9) in the mask allow only digits to be entered in character fields; in numeric fields, they allow digits and signs to be entered. Since a telephone number consists of digits but is seldom used in arithmetic operations, the database field holding the number should be defined as a character field. Only digits in the range from zero through nine are accepted in the edit region.

REFERENCES

For additional PICTURE code options, see pages L3-33, L3-34, and L3-35 of the "Language Reference" for FoxPro for MS-DOS and Windows, or see page 47 of the "Language Reference" for FoxPro for Macintosh. Also refer to the online Help topic for the @ ... GET command.