# Character Type Acceptance

You must have at least one of these. Note that a blank in the first character position of _type_ is treated like an **A** to maintain compatibility with an AlphaAccounting quirk.

| | |
|------|------|
| **Value** | **Description** |
| \# | (number sign) Numeric (0-9). If nothing entered, displays a "0" (but returns just a blank string.) Also see **N**. |
| \$ | (dollar sign) [Currency Field](infld-character-codes.md#currencyfield). |
| \* | (asterisk) Accept all characters. Same as **A**. |
| , | (comma) Punctuation allowed. Punctuation is anything other than a number or letter. |
| @ | (at sign) [Control Character Input](infld-character-codes.md#controlcharacterinput). |
| \{ | (open brace) Character acceptance is limited to the set of characters specified in setdef. Typically you would combine this with **\***, else the characters may be rejected before even considering the setdef list. |
| a | Alphabetic characters allowed (a-z, A-Z), or as defined by the LDF (language definition file). |
| A | All characters allowed (subject to code b). Note that **A** is used for compatibility with INPUT, but to most people, **\*** makes more sense. Note that **A** or **\*** is equivalent to the combination **a#**, (alphabetic, numeric, and punctuation). |
| C | Carriage Return only. |
| d | [Date Input, Today](infld-date-time-codes.md#dateinputtoday). |
| D | [Date Input](infld-date-time-codes.md#dateinput). |
| H | Hours field. Like** \$** but omits the \$ from the display. |
| ||h | Accept hexadecimal digits (A-F, a-f, 0-9). |
| J | Accepts alphanumeric input, and if the input is wholly numeric, right justifies and fills with leading zeroes. |
| N | [No/Yes Field](infld-character-codes.md#noyesfield). |
| P | [Phone Number Or Zip Code Input](infld-character-codes.md#phoneorzipcodeinput). |
| t | [Time Field](infld-date-time-codes.md#timefield). |
| U | [European Date](infld-date-time-codes.md#europeandate). |
| X | Specifies a Y/N field, but with no default. May be used to force the operator to make a choice, or, with _xmin_=0, to allow a third option (blank). |
| Y | [Yes/No Field](infld-character-codes.md#yesnofield). |