NO, there is no way to apply a display format to a STRING removing characters, all you can do is adding characters in between.

See QRG.PDF(Version 8.4.06) page 7-1:

String
For string fields with data type String or Special String, the valid display
format codes are:

? Character from data element.
%? One question mark.
%% One percent symbol.
Any ASCII character That ASCII character as a constant.
 

Uli

P.S: haven't we discussed a similar issue on "using replace one in tricky way" ?

Hi Uli ,

 We did discuss that , but here requirement was in dispaly format and not exactly replacing it , anyways thanks for the information .

handling it in display would have been very simple ..by coding in the form i know , but I though this can be implemented in display format .

Now I know it ,

Thanks

Regards

lal

If the "to ignore characters" are only on the front of the value, than one can use this code:

FORMAT-Trigger:

  $format=$replace(@$fieldname,1,$syntax("&*/"),"",-1) 

DEFORMAT-Trigger
  variables
     string v_ORG
  endvariables
  v_ORG=@$fieldname
  $format="%%v_ORG[1:$length(v_ORG)-$length($replace(v_ORG,1,$syntax("&*/"),"",-1))]%%$format%%%"

If there is a more complex "rule", just put other code into FORMAT/DEFORMAT-Trigger

If you wan't to have this code reusable, then declare two global functions
 FORMAT:   $format=GF_FMT_<some_type_name>($format,"")
 DEFORMAT: $format=GF_DFMT_<some_type_name>($format,"")

Or

 FORMAT:   call GP_FMT_<some_type_name>("")

 DEFORMAT: call GP_DFMT_<some_type_name>("")

[Where the last argument are for further parameters in UIL format]

As $format and $fieldname a availble in the globale procedure context, there is no need to pass them by parameter

Next step is to put this code into the FORMAT/DEFORAMT-trigger in model so all components have this code inside without further programming

Ingo