prevent access removing preceding zeros from a number

[bodmin]

Hi hope someone can help,

I have got a number input from a form that should match the number of a printed stationary, these numbers can have preceding zero digits and I cant stop access from removing these preceding digits when it stores the value in the database.

Is there an easy way to stop access from modifying the value or am I going to have to take as a string and do some work to use the value in calculations?

is there a way to set a value mask that will allow preceding zero's in a number?

 

[alvechurchdata]

It doesn't really matter how Access stores the data - design is easier if you keep the data and presentation layers separate. You can use FORMAT(x, "00000") to display x with leading zeroes but use the numeric value of x for calculations.

Geoff Franklin

http://www.alvechurchdata.co.uk

 

[MajP]

You will have to enter as a string, unless all numbers have the same amount of preceding zeroes. Geoff's idea will work if they have all the same number of preceeding zeros, but not if you have:
0001245
0024527
0345542

Enter as a string and then in a query make a calculated field to convert to a long.
lngStationaryNumber:CLNG(tblName.strStationaryNumber)

 

[PHV]

MajP, I must disagree:[tt]
Format(1245,"0000000") 0001245
Format(24527,"0000000") 0024527[/tt]

For me, the rule is: if you do math with a field then it should be stored as numeric.

 

[MajP]

Yeah, that was a bad example. What I meant was the case were you have.
0012
00002345
0236
0000000345987
I have no idea what the real data is like. I was thinking more on the line where you are concerned with precision of measurement. In that case
123.90
123.900
123.90000
Are all very different numbers.
I would either have to store as a string or store the number of significant digits in another field.