A dropdown list with two pre-defined InputMasks property

[moke123]

Wait a minute. Combobox has no problem listing data in both structures. Is this combobox used for selecting only existing values or does combobox allow input of values not in list?

I agree. seems like an odd control to do this with.

[Pada]

Wait a minute. Combobox has no problem listing data in both structures. Is this combobox used for selecting only existing values or does combobox allow input of values not in list?

June7, the combo box is used for selecting only existing values.

[Pada]

Not when you are keying it in though, surely. Might need both two events in that case,

The first two letter (AB or CD) will be captured first based on user selection (using a combo box or other controls as June7 suggestion) . And then based on that, I use the codes as moke123 suggestion. I will take notes your Keypress event, too.

[June7]

If combobox is only for selecting existing values, why bother with input mask? Is data saved with the punctuation?

[Pada]

If combobox is only for selecting existing values, why bother with input mask? Is data saved with the punctuation?

Because those two values, AB and CD have two different formats that user must follow as showed in my original post.

[June7]

Yes, but if the punctuation is saved (and it looks like your input masks are set to save), they can simply type whichever structure they want. The input mask is then only useful if user is allowed to enter values not in list. Or maybe it would be useful aid for typing the value. I need to do some testing.

Okay, tested. Input mask is helpful. However, if user accidentally selects wrong structured value from dropdown list, it errors. Might want to also filter the list. This is called "cascading" or "conditional" combobox.

Student combobox RowSource like:
SELECT StudentNo FROM Students WHERE StudentNo LIKE [cbxPre] & "*";

VBA:

Private Sub cbxPre_AfterUpdate()
Me.cbxStudent.InputMask = IIf(Me.cbxPre = "AB", "AB-999\-9999\-9999;0", "CD-999\-999999999;0")
Me.cbxStudent.Requery
End Sub

This arrangement means user will likely type AB or CD prefix twice. Kind of annoying.

[Pada]

Yes, but if the punctuation is saved (and it looks like your input masks are set to save), they can simply type whichever structure they want. The input mask is then only useful if user is allowed to enter values not in list. Or maybe it would be useful aid for typing the value. I need to do some testing.

Okay, tested. Input mask is helpful. However, if user accidentally selects wrong structured value from dropdown list, it errors. Might want to also filter the list. This is called "cascading" or "conditional" combobox.

Student combobox RowSource like:
SELECT StudentNo FROM Students WHERE StudentNo LIKE [cbxPre] & "*";

VBA:

Private Sub cbxPre_AfterUpdate()
Me.cbxStudent.InputMask = IIf(Me.cbxPre = "AB", "AB-999\-9999\-9999;0", "CD-999\-999999999;0")
Me.cbxStudent.Requery
End Sub

This arrangement means user will likely type AB or CD prefix twice. Kind of annoying.

Thank you for the idea. Actually, the "AD" and "CD" are only values to be used. Therefore, these values need to be captured first to determine which input masks they need to follow. So I think the combo box is for user to select either one of these value and then the next textbox will show the value the user selected and the format (input mask) they will follow to enter their numbers. I think using the If and Else If statement in this case.
You are right. The input mask is used to aid data entry following the required format.

[Welshgasman]

Actually in your case only the first character needs to be captured to determine which mask to use?

[Pada]

Actually in your case only the first character needs to be captured to determine which mask to use?

Yes, I need to capture first two characters to determine which format the data entry person needs to follow to input data. Thanks

[Welshgasman]

Yes, I need to capture first two characters to determine which format the data entry person needs to follow to input data. Thanks

I give up.

[Pada]

I give up.

I actually just created an input box to prompt user to enter AB or CD and then based on what they enter I capture it and use if/else if statement. It seems work.

[June7]

Welsh made a valid point. User needs to provide only A or C to determine which mask to apply. Could modify comboboxes and code to do that.

[moke123]

This comes close. The difficult part is figuring out what mistakes a user may make and how to handle them.

In the attached pressing the escape key will reset the input mask.

Needs a little more experimenting.

[Pada]

This comes close. The difficult part is figuring out what mistakes a user may make and how to handle them.

In the attached pressing the escape key will reset the input mask.

Needs a little more experimenting.

Users have been trained to enter only AB or CD. I use an input box that pops up and prompt user to enter either AB or CD. If no AB or CD entered then nothing happens.
Thank you, moke123, I will try your codes.

[moke123]

My code loads the mask on the first keystroke using A, a, C, or c. The cursor then moves to the first digit position.
Any other key besides A or C fires a message box. Hitting Escape will clear the textbox and mask.
Still needs some cleanup and experimenting but works OK.



Edit: Made a few changes, one being able to tab past the textbox without issues.