# Edit Syntax

In the following descriptions, "X" and "Y" are edit expressions, "L" is any literal, surrounded by quotes and N is a number.

Expression | Desription
( X ) | Parentheses may be used to separate expressions as in algebra.
[ X ] | The expression X is optional.
{ X } | The expression X may occur any number of times, but must occur at least once.
< L > | The literal may appear, but if it doesn't, filePro will add it. Examples: "Y<es>" will accept either "Y" or "Yes" as input and will turn a "Y" into a "Yes". ~"N"_<o> will accept any of the following as input and turn it into "No". N n no NO No nO
! L ! | The literal must appear, and filePro will delete it.
X | Y | Either expression is permitted. Example: "N" | "N"!o! will accept only "N" or "No", and will turn a "No" into an "N".
X & Y | The data must conform to both expressions.
* | Accept any single character.
\ | At beginning of line. Right-justifies the resulting field.
\C\ | At beginning of line. Right-justifies the resulting field using a fill character as specified by "C".
^ | Ignores case differences. Takes effect where it occurs on line.
% | Turns off case conversion. Takes effect where it occurs.
~ | Converts data to uppercase. Takes effect where it occurs.
_ | Converts data to lowercase. Takes effect where it occurs.
@ | Use to identify where to end a field. Example: ["-"] ( {N}|<0> ) ( (<.><0><0>@) | ( "." ( N <0> @ | N N [{N}] ) ) ) 2 would be displayed 2.00 2.1 would be displayed 2.10 2.12 would be displayed 2.12 2.123 would be displayed 2.123

Punctuation Combinations - Punctuation may be combined to form the following functions:

[{ X }] -- The expression may occur any number of times, or not at all.

[! L !] -- If the literal appears, it will be deleted.

Prompted Edits

filePro Plus lets you add prompts to your edits. When the user moves to a field that uses a prompted edit, the prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen before the user types anything into the field.

Syntax:

name 'prompt' normal edit syntax

where "name" is the name of the edit and "'prompt'" is the prompt text enclosed in apostrophes (do not use quotation marks).