>>>I'm trying to display charachers in the input mask, but they are input mask format characters ('L, X, R, etc...) and it will not allow me just to display the
>>>characters. For example, we have a 6 characher expression. The first 2 characters will always be an
>>>"XL" and then there will be four numbers, but as soon
>>>as we enter the "XL" VFP treats them as format
>>>characters. I hope this is clear. Any help will be
>>>greatly appreciated.
>>
>>sorry this is not really an answer - but if XL is something you will always key in- why key it in at all- why not just get the 4 numbers?
>>
>>Arnon
>
>
>I would but, I am using different masks at runtime depending on user
>input. Thanks for the reply.

But you still know at runtime what the correct value is. Just add the user-appropriate code to the 4 numbers instead of using a mask. You can even show it on the screen in a label where the caption is updated to match the user.

Barbara Paltiel