{"id":8197,"date":"2023-02-03T10:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T10:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threesl.com\/blog\/?p=8197"},"modified":"2023-02-09T13:47:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T13:47:31","slug":"specifying-custom-number-format-in-free-text-categories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threesl.com\/blog\/specifying-custom-number-format-in-free-text-categories\/","title":{"rendered":"Specifying Custom Number Format in Free Text Categories"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a project, you may wish to enter a supporting reference number for an item of data. For example, an Equipment Number<\/em>. This number might require a given format.<\/p>\n

Where:<\/p>\n

Project Code<\/strong> –\u00a0 4 alpha characters
\nEquipment Code<\/strong> – 5 numerical characters<\/p>\n

\"Supporting
Supporting Reference Number for a Project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can achieve this by creating a user-defined category<\/a> with no category values defined and include a Category Verification Test<\/em> using a Regular Expression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Example
Example Category Verification Test<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this example, the regular expression ^[A-Z]{4}(?:-[0-9]{5})?$<\/strong> can be broken down into:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Regular Expression<\/th>\nDescription<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
^<\/strong><\/td>\nThe beginning of the string<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
[A-Z]{4}<\/strong><\/td>\nThe project code must be 4 alpha characters long in uppercase<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
?:-<\/strong><\/td>\nA hyphen separator<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
[0-9]{5}<\/strong><\/td>\nThe equipment code must be 5 numeric characters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
$<\/strong><\/td>\nThe end of the string<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Applying Category to the Item<\/h2>\n

Once you have defined the category, you can assign this to an item type<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"Assigning
Assign Category to Item Type<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Creating\/Editing an Item<\/h2>\n

If you now create or modify an item of data, Cradle will present you with an error message on saving if the category value does not match what you have specified in the Category Verification Test<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Reference
Reference Number in Categories<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Invalid
Invalid Category Value dialog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here the validation test would fail because you have not included a hyphen separator.<\/p>\n

\"Validation
Validation Test result<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You will also receive an error if the incorrect case is used. E.g. demo<\/strong>-12345.<\/p>\n

\"Invalid
Invalid Validation Test<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, if you enter a value such as DEMO-12345<\/strong>, this would save without any warning or error message.<\/p>\n

\"Example
Example saved category<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Regular expressions can be used in many areas of the tool. Using this functionality to enforce an input in free text categories can be a very useful feature.<\/p>\n

For further information about regular expressions (regexes) please refer to the page https:\/\/www.threesl.com\/cradle\/help\/7.7\/#general\/regularexpressions.htm.<\/a><\/p>\n