Numeric Masks Overview

Restriction: This topic applies to Windows environments only.

All numeric masks (that is: smallint, int, float, decimal and money) are defined in the same way. The basic format for a numeric mask is:

mask [$='money'] [.='decimal'] [,='grouping']

where:

mask is a picture that defines the appearance of the variable when displayed on the screen or sent to the printer.

money is a money symbol (enclosed in single quotes) to be substituted for a dollar sign in numeric pictures. The money clause is optional. Money symbols can be up to five characters long. For example, to use the money symbol DM in place of a dollar sign, use:

$='DM'

decimal is a decimal point character (enclosed in single quotes) to be substituted for a period in numeric pictures. The decimal clause is optional. The grouping character and decimal point character cannot be the same. For example, to use a comma as the decimal point character, and a period as a grouping character, you would use:

.=',' ,='.'

grouping is a grouping character (enclosed in single quotes) to be substituted for a comma in numeric pictures. This clause is optional. The grouping character and decimal point character cannot be the same, as demonstrated in the example above.

Note that the optional money, decimal and grouping clauses are used only for numeric variables. If omitted, the default will be the money, decimal and grouping symbols specified through the Options utility. When defining decimal masks, keep in mind that precision refers to the total number of digits (before and after the decimal place) and scale is the number of digits to the right of the decimal point. For example decimal (10,4) allows six digits to the left of the decimal point, and four digits to the right of the decimal point.

To use a character that does not appear on your keyboard in your edit mask, use the facilities provided by your operating environment for entering extended characters. For example:

In DOS, hold down Alt key while entering the ASCII decimal code for the character on your numeric keypad. In US ASCII, the >= symbol is created by holding down Alt key while pressing 156. (For a list of decimal codes for US ASCII, see the US ASCII Table.)
In Windows, use the Character Map application from the Accessories window to select special characters.

Given the picture:

$$,$$$,$$9.99 $='>='

the value 23456.78 is displayed as >=23,456.78.

For additional information, see Numeric Picture Characters.