Entry Mask Field

An entry mask allows you to specify up to three characteristics about most general information fields:  

• Field length
• Special characters to format the text (optional)
• Restrictions on data types (optional).

The total number of characters entered, including special characters, will correspond to the maximum number of characters allowed in the field. The information next to the field label will track this information as you enter it.

You can specify special characters (such as decimal points, hyphens, and slashes) that will appear in the field during and after data entry. These characters often help to segment the data into meaningful data elements, such as those found in a general ledger account. When entering data, the user cannot type over those characters. You can use all non-alphanumeric characters except an exclamation point (!), an apostrophe ('), or a pound sign (#).

You can also restrict the data entered to specific data types. The following table shows how you restrict the kinds of characters the user can enter:

X	Any ASCII character (not allowed in combination with special characters)
9	Any number 0-9
N	Any alphanumeric character
Any other	Any nonalphanumeric character except ! ' #

Examples of valid Entry Masks include all Xs (such as XXXXX) or any combination of 9, N, and nonalphanumeric characters (such as NN-999-99).

Caution! A decrease in entry mask size can cause you to lose existing data. Additionally, if you change the field entry mask to include characters such as hyphens and slashes, existing characters move to the right, past the fixed characters. If the addition of fixed characters pushes existing characters beyond the length of the field and you save the asset's data, the characters beyond the field length are lost.

When you select OK to exit the Customize Fields window in either of the above situations, the system prompts you with the message: "Modification of the entry mask could cause permanent loss of data. Do you wish to continue?" Select Yes to continue.