Symbols allowed in the mask
The following table lists and describes symbols that are allowed in mask.
| Symbol | Meaning |
| 9 | A numeric position |
| * | A leading numeric position in which an asterisk is placed if this position contains a 0. |
| Z | A leading numeric position in which a space is placed if this position contains a 0. |
| . | The decimal point. Output is aligned on this position. This symbol is replaced by the appropriate symbol for the output language. |
| , | A thousand-separator. This symbol is replaced by the appropriate symbol for the output language. |
| $ | A single-character currency symbol. This symbol is replaced by the appropriate symbol for the output language. |
| U | A multi-character currency symbol. This symbol is replaced by the appropriate 3-character ISO 4217 code for the output language. |
| + | Editing sign control |
| - | Editing sign control |
| CR | Editing sign control. The CR symbol is only permitted at the end of the mask |
| DB | Editing sign control. The DB symbol is only permitted at the end of the mask. |
| B | A space |
| / | A slash. Note that the / must be escaped when written in a "…" expression. |
All symbols are case-insensitive.
Repeating symbols can be abbreviated by specifying a repeat-count between parentheses.
The following two patterns are equivalent:
"$9(5).9(2)CR"
"$99999.99CR"