Erik,

You may want to have the Refresh() of the control check if the value is empty or null. If this evaluates to true, then set the .ForeColor property to the same as the .BackColor. Otherwise, set the .ForeColor to one that would be visible. You can call this from the control's .LostFocus() as well.

HTH.
Doug

>Hi All,
>
>I'm using a textbox bound to a date and/or datetime value in VFP6. If the user leaves the date blank, I would like to be able to eliminate the slashes and colons from the display. Back when I had moved the value to an intermediate character string, I could use the REFRESH() method to change the forecolor to the same value as the backcolor, making the display appear empty. I've found that when bound to a date or datetime value, the textbox does not go through it's normal refresh logic.
>
>Does anyone out there have a workaround? The effect I'm looking for is similar to the "Z" inputmask that completely blanks a numeric if it's value is zero. Ideas are waways welcome...
>
>Thanks!