Category Display Masks

When defining a category, one of the attributes that you can set is a Display Mask. This option applies only to categories whose Data Type is either String or Category Code. The behavior is different for each of these types.

Display Masks for Strings

A display mask on a string affects the way that data is displayed once it has been entered in the field. Display masks are commonly used for items such as social security numbers and other ID numbers that follow a specific format.

In defining the mask, the following can be used:

Format Character	Usage
U	converts the character at the given position to uppercase
l (lower case L)	converts the character at the given position to lowercase
N	any numeric digit between 0 and 9
a	any alphanumeric character
x	any character

The case of the format characters is important; X is not the same as x.

When data is entered in the field, Emplifi Agent does its best to format the data according to the defined mask. Any characters entered after the length of the mask are displayed as entered. If one or more characters are entered that do not match the defined mask, a warning message displays to indicate that the entry does not match the specified format. When you click OK on the message, the system returns to the screen. You can change the entry or leave it as entered.

Here are a couple of examples:

	Display Mask	Sample
Social Security Number	NNN-NN-NNNN	255-33-9999
Lot Number	NNNN-UU-lNN	8100-OH-a55

Display Masks for Codes

A display mask determines what is displayed in the code browse window for this category. If the display mask is left blank, Emplifi Agent displays all values using the default format of "Code - Description1." However, depending on your set up, you may want to include any or all of descriptions 1, 2, and 3 in the display. This can be accomplished by setting the Display Mask appropriately.

A display mask is set up by using the following abbreviations for the different display elements:

Format String	Usage
C	Code
D1	Description 1
D2	Description 2
D3	Description 3

It is also possible to show only a portion of a description by including a number in parentheses immediately following the format string. Any characters after the specified length are truncated. If the description is shorter than the specified length, it is padded with spaces on the right up to the specified length.

Any other characters included in the format string will be inserted directly.

Example Display Masks for Codes

Here are some examples using the following data:

Code: TESTCODE
Description1: Sample Widget
Description2: Located in Bin # 5
Description3: BIN 5

Display Mask	Sample
C	TESTCODE
C-D1	TESTCODE-Sample Widget
C - D1(10) (D2)	TESTCODE - Sample Wid(Located in Bin # 5)
C - D1(15) (Lot: D3)	TESTCODE - Sample Widget (Lot: BIN 5)