Informix Error -2952: In order to use a picture, the picture length must be the same as the display field length.

Reasons / Common Causes

-2952 fires when a PICTURE attribute's string doesn't have exactly the same length as its display field's width in SCREEN — per the official guidance, the PICTURE string's length and the field's SCREEN length must agree exactly.

1. A PICTURE string shorter or longer than the field's declared width in SCREEN, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause.

Solutions / Resolution

1. Review the definition of the field, and make the two lengths agree, per the official guidance.

Examples

A PICTURE string shorter than its field

SCREEN
{
Phone: [phone           ]
}
END

ATTRIBUTES
  phone = phone_num, PICTURE = "(###)###-####";
-- -2952: PICTURE is 13 characters, but the field is 16

Corrected

SCREEN
{
Phone: [phone        ]
}
END

Diagnostic Checks

1. Compare the PICTURE string's character count to the field's width in SCREEN, and adjust whichever is inconsistent.

Related Errors / Related Topics

• -2933 — "The format width is larger than the allocated display width." The equivalent length-mismatch rule for FORMAT, applied here to PICTURE.
• -2934 — "The format width is less than the allocated display width." The equivalent narrower-mismatch rule for FORMAT, applied here to PICTURE.

A PICTURE string's length doesn't match its field's declared width in SCREEN — adjust one to match the other.