A mask is a filter that selectively includes or excludes certain values from a field. In STORIS, field masking allows you to specify codes that define how data can be entered into a specific field.
Many fields require multiple formats, for example customer zip codes on sales orders. The United States and Canada have different formats. By specifying masks in the Country file for each country with a unique zip code format, STORIS can know which format to use when you enter a sales order for a Canadian customer.
For example, STORIS' masking system uses the number "9" to indicate that a number should be entered in this spot in the field. So if you enter a mask of "99999-9999" at the Third Address Mask field in the US record in the Country file, the system knows to use, for U.S. customers, a zip code format of 5 numbers, a dash, and then 4 more numbers.
The following lists the codes you can use when creating a mask:
A – alpha character only
9 – numeric character only
X – alpha or numeric character
0 – optional use of space where character appears. For example, a mask of 99900 indicates a three-digit number that may or may not have one or two additional characters.
/ - slash
- dash
( ) space