Primary key of an exact length

[dsaxena15]

Hey guys! For my student database, my primary key is the Student_ID. The student ids are exactly 9 characters long. So, I want my primary key to accept inputs which are exactly 9 characters (not less or more). This would avoid inputting bad data. How could I do this?



I would really appreciate some help. Thanks!

[Beetle]

You would typically do this using a validation rule in the table or in the Before Update event of your form, but it would be helpful to know what type of data we're dealing with (i.e. numeric, alphanumeric, special characters allowed or not, etc.). You can check for length simply enough with Len(YourField), but that doesn't really tell you much about the validity of the data itself, the user could have entered 8 characters and a space.

[dsaxena15]

I am not too worried about the 8 characters and a space since its a small database and I'll be the one operating it.I just want the user to be inputting exactly 9 characters. So, my student ID is of type text (eg: 005823421). Could you tell me how to use a validation rule in a table or the Before Update event? I am really new at this and would appreciate your help.

[Beetle]

For a validation rule in the table, open your table in design view and in the Validation Rule property put;

Is Null Or Like "?????????"

then enter some Validation Text. The Validation Text is the message that will appear if the rule is violated.

[June7]

Try the Input Mask property.

[dsaxena15]

Got it! Thanks guys!