Part I: Access Building Blocks
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FIGURE 2.19The Input Mask Wizard for creating input masks for Text and Date field types
The Input Mask Wizard shows not only the name of each predefined Input Mask, but also an
example for each name. You can choose from the list of predefined masks. Click in the Try It text
box and enter a test value to see how data entry will look. After you choose an Input Mask, the
next wizard screen enables you to refine the mask and specify the placeholder symbol (perhaps a #
or @). Another wizard screen enables you to decide whether to store special characters (such as the
dashes in a Social Security number) with the data. When you complete the wizard, Access adds the
Input Mask characters in the field’s Property Sheet.Tip
You can create your own Input Mask properties for Text and Date/Time fields by simply clicking the Edit
List button in the Input Mask Wizard, and entering a descriptive name, Input Mask, placeholder character, and
sample data content. Once created, the new mask will be available the next time you use the Input Mask Wizard.
Enter as many custom masks as you need. You can also determine the international settings so that
you can work with multiple country masks.Caption
The Caption property determines what appears in the default label attached to a control created
by dragging the field from the field list onto a form or report. The caption also appears as the col-
umn heading in Datasheet view (table or query) that include the field.Caution
Be careful using the Caption property. Because the caption text appears as the column heading in Datasheet
view, you might be misled by a column heading in a query’s Datasheet view. When the field appears in a
query, you don’t have immediate access to the field’s properties, so you must be aware that the column head-
ing is actually determined by the Caption property and may not reflect the field’s name. To be even more
confusing, the caption assigned in the table’s Design view and the caption assigned in a field’s Property Sheet
in the Query Design view are different properties and can contain different text.