How to: Specify the Format of a Form Field Value with DevExpress PDF Document API

Sep 22, 2025
4 minutes to read

The following example describes how to specify the value format of the new form field. You can specify the format for the following form fields:

Create Value Format

Use the ValueFormat property to access the PdfAcroFormValueFormat object. Its methods allow you to specify the following formats:

Format	Method
Number format	PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateNumberFormat
Date and Time format	PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateDateTimeFormat
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateTimeFormat
Percent format	PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreatePercentFormat
Special format (postal codes, telephone numbers, etc.)	PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateSpecialFormat

The following code snippet specifies formats to different form fields:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

//Create a text box with a date value:
var textBox = new PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("date", 1, new PdfRectangle(10, 20, 100, 50));
textBox.ValueFormat = 
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateDateTimeFormat("mm/dd/yyyy");
textBox.Text = "01/20/2020";

//Create a text box with a monetary value:
var numberBox = new PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("number", 1, new PdfRectangle(10, 70, 100, 100));
numberBox.ValueFormat = 
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateNumberFormat(2, PdfAcroFormNumberSeparatorStyle.Dot, "$", PdfAcroFormCurrencyStyle.AfterWithSpace, PdfAcroFormNegativeNumberStyle.None);
numberBox.Text = "264.88 $";

//Create a text box with a postal code value:
var specialBox = new PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("special", 1, new PdfRectangle(10, 120, 100, 150));
specialBox.ValueFormat = 
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateSpecialFormat(PdfAcroFormSpecialFormatType.NineDigitZipCode);
specialBox.Text = "3000856";

'Create a text box with a date value:
Dim textBox = New PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("date", 1, New PdfRectangle(10, 20, 100, 50))
textBox.ValueFormat = 
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateDateTimeFormat("mm/dd/yyyy")
textBox.Text = "01/20/2020"

'Create a text box with a monetary value:
Dim numberBox = New PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("number", 1, New PdfRectangle(10, 70, 100, 100))
numberBox.ValueFormat = 
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateNumberFormat(2, PdfAcroFormNumberSeparatorStyle.Dot, "$", PdfAcroFormCurrencyStyle.AfterWithSpace, PdfAcroFormNegativeNumberStyle.None)
numberBox.Text = "264.88 $"

'Create a text box with a postal code value:
Dim specialBox = New PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("special", 1, New PdfRectangle(10, 120, 100, 150))
specialBox.ValueFormat = 
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CreateSpecialFormat(PdfAcroFormSpecialFormatType.NineDigitZipCode)
specialBox.Text = "3000856"

Date and Time Format Codes

You can use the following codes to specify date and time format:

Code	Description	Sample Result
d	Displays the day as a number, 1 to 31 .	5
dd	Displays the day as a number, 01 to 31 .	05
ddd	Displays the 3-letter abbreviation for the day of the week according to the current culture.	Fri
dddd	Displays the full day of the week according to the current culture.	Friday
m	Displays the month as a number, 1 to 12.	6
mm	Displays the month as a number, 01 to 12.	06
mmm	Displays the 3-letter month abbreviation according to the current culture.	Nov
mmmm	Displays the full month name according to the current culture.	November
yy	Displays the 2-digit year.	20
yyyy	Displays 4-digit year.	2020
h	Displays the hour on 12-hour clock, 1 to 12	4
hh	Displays the hour on 12-hour clock, 01 to 12	04
H	Displays the hour on 24-hour clock, 0 to 23.	4 or 20
HH	Displays the hour on 24-hour clock, 00 to 23.	04 or 20
M	Displays minutes, 0 to 59.	8
MM	Displays minutes, 00 to 59.	08
tt	Displays time in am/pm notation.	04:20 am
ss	Displays seconds, 01 to 59.	05

Use JavaScript to Specify Value Format

The following PdfAcroFormValueFormat properties allow you to use JavaScript to define the value format:

PdfAcroFormValueFormat.FormatScript - specifies a script that is executed before the field is formatted.
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.KeystrokeScript - specifies a script that is executed when the user modifies a character in a form field.
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.ValidateScript - specifies a script that is executed to recalculate the value of this field when that of another field changes.
PdfAcroFormValueFormat.CalculateScript - specifies a script that is executed when when the field’s value is changed.

Note

The scripts are in effect for PDF viewers that support JavaScript.

The code sample below shows how create a text box and specify the value format using JavaScript:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

var scriptBox = 
new PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("script", 1, new PdfRectangle(10, 170, 100, 200));
scriptBox.ValueFormat = new PdfAcroFormValueFormat();

//Specify a script that allows you to enter only numbers
//in the "x-x-x" format:
scriptBox.ValueFormat.FormatScript = "if (event.value != \"\") {" +
    "var value = event.value; " +
    "event.value = \"\"; " +
    "for(var i = 0; i<value.length - 1; i++)" +
    " event.value += value.charAt(i) + \"-\";" +
    "event.value += value.charAt(value.length - 1);}";
scriptBox.ValueFormat.KeystrokeScript = "var re = /^[0-9]+$/;" +
    "if (event.value != \"\") {" +
    " event.rc = re.test(event.value);" +
    "}";

Dim scriptBox = 
New PdfAcroFormTextBoxField("script", 1, New PdfRectangle(10, 170, 100, 200))
scriptBox.ValueFormat = New PdfAcroFormValueFormat()
'Specify a script that allows you to enter only numbers
'in the "x-x-x" format:
scriptBox.ValueFormat.FormatScript = "if (event.value != """") {" & "var value = event.value; " & "event.value = """"; " & "for(var i = 0; i<value.length - 1; i++)" & " event.value += value.charAt(i) + ""-"";" & "event.value += value.charAt(value.length - 1);}"
scriptBox.ValueFormat.KeystrokeScript = "var re = /^[0-9]+$/;" & "if (event.value != """") {" & " event.rc = re.test