Max length of text box input mask? (Access2007)

[AOB]

Hi,

I'm trying to apply a custom input mask to a text box control. The text box must contain a 43 character string, broken into sections as follows :

AAAA-AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAAA-AAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAA-AAA

(The format is quite strict and always comprises alphanumeric characters , hence I figured an input mask would, if nothing else, help the user to key the string accurately from its constituent parts...)

However, when I try to apply the input mask to the text box, I seem to run out of characters - I get as far as the below but the input mask wizard won't let me extend the mask to the final 8 characters

AAAA-AAAAA-AAAAA-AAAAAA-AAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAA-AAA

Are input masks restricted to 35 characters in length? And if so, how else could I make this, admittedly complex, text input more manageable for end users?

Thanks

AOB

 

[James Dudden]

Not sure of the limit but if won't let you enter anymore then I'm guessing that's the limit. You could split them into separate boxes and then concatenate them back together afterwards.

 

[AOB]

Thanks James

Would prefer not to split it into multiple sub-boxes as the string will be keyed in its entirety each time - the users do not want to have to tab between 'sections'. Given the length and complexity, I thought an input mask would provide a little clarity as to 'where they were' in the overall string.

I was hoping it was just a limitation on the wizard rather than the input mask functionality itself; 35 characters seems remarkably small as a mask length wouldn't you think??

Given that a text field can hold up to 255 characters, can you really only mask an input of <14% of the total available length of the field?

Thanks for the response though...

AOB