Format Property - Text and Memo Data Types [Access 2003 VBA Language Reference]
You can use special symbols in the setting for the Format property to create custom formats for Text and Memo fields.
Setting
You can create custom text and memo formats by using the following symbols.
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
| @ | Text character (either a character or a space) is required. |
| & | Text character is not required. |
| < | Force all characters to lowercase. |
| > | Force all characters to uppercase. |
Custom formats for Text and Memo fields can have up to two sections. Each section contains the format specification for different data in a field.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| First | Format for fields with text. |
| Second | Format for fields with zero-length strings and Null values. |
For example, if you have a text box control in which you want the word "None" to appear when there is no string in the field, you could type the custom format @;"None" as the control's Format property setting. The @ symbol causes the text from the field to be displayed; the second section causes the word "None" to appear when there is a zero-length string or Null value in the field.
Note You can use the Format function to return one value for a zero-length string and another for a Null value, and you can similarly use the Format property to automatically format fields in table Datasheet view or controls on a form or report.
Example
The following are examples of text and memo custom formats.
| Setting | Data | Display |
|---|---|---|
| @@@-@@-@@@@ | 465043799 | 465-04-3799 |
| @@@@@@@@@ | 465-04-3799 465043799 |
465-04-3799 465043799 |
| > | davolio DAVOLIO Davolio |
DAVOLIO DAVOLIO DAVOLIO |
| < | davolio DAVOLIO Davolio |
davolio davolio davolio |
| @;"Unknown" | Null value | Unknown |
| Zero-length string | Unknown | |
| Any text | Same text as entered is displayed |