Masks

The MaskedTextBox supports a set of built-in masks.

The supported mask rules are:

• 0—Requires a digit (0-9).
• 9—Requires a digit (0-9) or a space.
• #—Requires a digit (0-9), space, plus (+), or minus (-) sign.
• L—Requires a letter (a-Z).
• ?—Requires a letter (a-Z) or a space.
• A—Requires an alphanumeric (0-9, a-Z).
• a—Requires an alphanumeric (0-9, a-Z) or a space.
• &—Requires a character (excluding space).
• C—Requires a character or a space.

You can also define custom rules by using the rules property.

Apart from the built-in and custom rules, you can also use static symbols in the mask pattern that are also known as literals. In the masked value, a literal is always rendered on the same position as the position where it is defined in the mask property.

To escape a mask rule, use the slash (\) character. An escaped rule turns into a literal.

The following example demonstrates how to use the digit-requiring mask (0) and the literal (-) of the MaskedTextBox.

The following example demonstrates how to extend the available mask rules.

Suggested Links

• API Reference of the MaskedTextBox