input mask for datetime field

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mcnews - 03 Oct 2007 17:50 GMT

is there an appropriate input mask for datetime fields?
one that prompts with the proper format, but will allow time portion
to be blank or default to all 0s?

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John W. Vinson - 03 Oct 2007 19:14 GMT

>is there an appropriate input mask for datetime fields?

None, in my opinion. In general input masks just RESTRICT what the user can
type and remove flexibility. If any, then 00/00/00 (for folks who hate to type
slashes) for date-only data, 00/00/00\ 00:00 for hours and minutes in addition
to the date.

>one that prompts with the proper format, but will allow time portion
>to be blank or default to all 0s?

A Date/Time value is actually stored as a double float number, a count of days
and fractions of a day (times) since midnight, December 30, 1899. As such
there is ALWAYS a time portion; it can't be blank, because blank is a string -
not a number.

A date/time value with zeros past the decimal corresponds to midnight
(00:00:00). You can display it or not as you choose, by using an appropriate
format. What you can't do is have a format which shows times other than
midnight, and blank for midnight.

John W. Vinson [MVP]

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