Input Parsing and Value Formatting
The XtraEditors Library provides 25 controls that accept data input and offer your end-users keyboard driven data entry wherever possible - along with flexible data representation formats for all textbox-based editors. The features listed below were engineered to help users enter information more quickly and navigate within a form more efficiently.
Custom Parsing
Custom parsing allows you to convert any entered string into the editor's actual value. This is a good way to improve the end-user experience by allowing them to:
- Enter less information
For instance, you can provide aliases for the most commonly entered strings. Another example can be allowing them to enter a partial web site address and providing the 'http://www.' prefix automatically.
- Enter strings that cannot be directly converted to the target value type
For instance, you can allow users to enter strings that represent hexadecimal numbers and convert these strings to integers.
- Enter strings that require additional processing
For instance, you can capitalize the first letter in each word of the entered string.
The opportunities available to you when using custom parsing are endless... 
Display Value Formatting
The data editors that ship within the XtraEditors Library provide you with a complete set of options for display value formatting. This can be as simple as providing a single-character format string for numeric and date-time values or more complex formatting mechanisms so you can handle any value type and provide any desired output.
- Standard or Custom Numeric Format Strings
- Standard or Custom Date-Time Format Strings
- Custom Formatting
ENTER to Proceed
When an editor's EnterMoveNextControl option is enabled, pressing the ENTER key moves focus to the next control within the tab order.
Null Value Management
A very common requirement for data editing is the ability to handle null values. The XtraEditors Library offers you an out-of-the-box solution for such situations. An editor's AllowNullInput value specifies whether the CTRL+0 and CTRL+DEL shortcuts reset the edit value to null. Editors that hold null values display a string specified by the NullText property so that end-users can distinguish between zeros, empty strings and actual null values.
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