Must I have a Validation Rule to create Validation Text?

[TomH]

Greetings all. I'm a new member here and since I'm a total


novice at Microsoft Access, you will probably see a lot of
questions from me. In any event, thank you so very much
for this site.

Many years ago I had just enough knowledge of Foxpro v2.6a
for DOS to be dangerous. I'm now attempting to make the
transition to a Windows database management system.
My first choice was to stay with Foxpro, as in Visual Foxpro v9.
However, the lack of available learning resources hampered that
idea. So, here I am with Access 2016 running on a Windows 7
64 bit system, trying to get a handle on the program.

I'm the records keeper for my graduating high school class and
my Foxpro DOS program has performed well all these years, even
under the Windows 7-64 bit OS. When I need to turn it over to
someone else, I would like it to be a turn-key windows program
and not a kludged-up arrangement to run DOS in the Windows environment.

My first of I'm sure many questions, regards the default Access Validation Text.
Is there anyway to substitute my text, for the default, sometimes
cryptic text, without establishing a Validation Rule?
I, seemingly, do not need a Validation Rule because the Input Mask
does its job as intended. The Input Mask is: !\(000") "000\-0000;;_
However, if the data fails to meet the Mask, the somewhat cryptic error
message is displayed.

If it is not possible to substitute my text without a Validation Rule, could
someone please help me with a Validation Rule for a format of: (123) 456-7890,
or at least point me to some book or video that explains it. They never seem
to use a phone number field when explaining data validation in any of the
books or videos I've encountered.

I hope I've explained the problem in an understandable way.

Thanks for reading this,

TomH

PS If this is in the wrong section, or I've violated any forum policies, please let me know.

[June7]

Bing: access capture input mask error message

https://access-programmers.co.uk/for...d.php?t=163633

Private Sub Form_Error(DataErr As Integer, Response As Integer)
    If DataErr = 2279 Then
        Beep
        MsgBox "Your message goes here", vbCritical, "Idiot Proofing"
        Response = acDataErrContinue 'this stops the access message
    End If
End Sub

[TomH]

June7,

Thank you for the prompt reply with exactly what I was looking for. You give me too much credit for my Access knowledge though, as I had no idea where to put your code.
With a little searching, I found, and followed, this procedure:

"Open the Form in Design View
On the Menu Bar Click View ==> Properties
Click the Event Tab
Select the OnError Event
Click on the ... button
Select Code Builder ==> OK
Your Error() Event should now be visible - Paste or write the code here"

Since it appears to be working, I'm guessing I placed your code in the correct spot. I see a possible problem with this resolution, although it will not affect this form as I have only two (2) phone fields utilizing an Input Mask. It appears this code will intercept ANY Input Mask violation on the form and would display the "Enter correct phone number" message. Is there a way to enter the code at the field level and/or the form level, or is that not even a logical question?

Again, thank you for your time and expertise, they are greatly appreciated.

TomH

[June7]

Could have a generic message: "The value you entered is not correct for this field."

Otherwise, conditional code to trigger tailored message. Perhaps (not tested):

If DataErr = 2279 Then
    Beep
    Select Case = Me.ActiveControl.Name
        Case "Phone1", "Phone2"
            MsgBox "Enter correct phone number"
        Case Else
            MsgBox "This message"
     End Select
     Response = acDataErrContinue 'this stops the access message
End If

[TomH]

Thanks, I'll play around with that. It looks promising.

Take care,

TomH