User Guide > Scripting > Using Scripts to Perform Specific Tasks > Setting Up Picture Masks
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Setting Up Picture Masks
The Picture Mask option designates special data formatting, such as how Date, Time, Date/Time, and Boolean values are stored in your source data file or table.
Formatting Boolean Data
The following table contains examples of Boolean picture masks.
Note:  The Boolean picture masks are case-insensitive.
 
Boolean Picture Example
Description
True.False
Returns a true or false value
Yes.No
Returns a yes or no value
Formatting Date/Time Data
The following table lists the date and time value placeholders, called tokens, that you can combine to create date/time picture masks in Actian DataConnect.
Note:  Most of the tokens are case-sensitive. For example, use "mm" for months and "MM" for minutes.
Tip...  For date and time values, we recommend using the DateValMask Function in EZscript Script Editor for better format conversion results.
Date/Time Token Name
Description
am
The am/pm indicator. Case does not matter, what you write will be recognized. This must be followed by a blank, and led by either a blank or one of HH, MM, or SS.
d
Day of the month (1 - 31)
dd
Day of the month in two digits (01 - 31)
ddd
Day of the year (001-366)
dw
Day of week (1-7)
dww
Abbreviated name of day
dwww
Full name of day
*dtf*
Displays date and time in localized (short) format
hh
Displays hours as 01-12
h24
Displays hours as 0-23
m
Month of the year (1 - 12)
mm
Month of the year in two digits (01 - 12)
mon
Abbreviated name of month
month
Full name of month
*sdf*
Displays date in localized "short date" format
*tf*
Displays time in localized format
yy
Last two digits of year (00 - 99)
Equivalent to YY2000 (the century split is assumed to be 2000).
yyyy
Full year in four digits
YYxxxx
Two-digit year with base century and century split to be automatically applied.
The "xxxx" represents the base century (right-most two digits) and the century split (left-most two digits).
See Using Masks to Convert Two-Digit Dates.
HH
Time of day in 12-hour format (am/pm)
H24
Time of day in military 24-hour format (0 - 23)
MM
Minutes in two digits (00 - 59)
M*
Displays minutes as 0-59
SS
Seconds in two digits (00 - 59)
S*
Displays seconds as 0-59
TTx
Thousandths of a second. The "x" represents the number of digits. If missing, a value of 3 is used.
TZH
Time zone hours.  Always two digits, always signed (+/-)
TZM
Time zone minutes.  Always two digits.
Last modified date: 09/22/2025