format specification, format string

The format specification describes how many and what type of characters are expected to appear in a field. This information is normally used during extraction (to locate and extract the field) and when validating the field.

Instructions:

• Specifying the extraction format for barcode classifiers and fields

• Specifying the extraction format for character fields and classifiers

• Specifying the field format for invoice profiles
   

Most format specifications include a format string, which is a string of characters that tells exactly what is allowed in the field.

• Syntax for format strings in field specifications

• Syntax for format strings in field definitions, field profiles, and identifiers