5250 error 0024: Decimal field, entry not valid
5250 error 0024 means you pressed a key that a digits-only field doesn't accept. Only the digits 0 to 9, and Dup where the program allows it, can go in, so a letter, sign, decimal point or space locks the keyboard.
Other names for this code
Also written as 0024, error 0024, 5250 0024, operator error 0024, decimal field entry not valid, digits only field, AS/400 error 0024.
What it means
IBM describes 0024 as a decimal field entry that isn't valid. The valid keys are the digits 0 to 9, plus Dup when the field format allows it. Anything else locks the keyboard and puts 0024 on the error line.
IBM's support page doesn't name the field type. The allowed keys match the digits-only keyboard shift, D in position 35 of the DDS, which is the strictest numeric field a display file can have. IBM's DDS reference says blanks and special characters can't be typed in it, Field- isn't allowed, and Field+ is treated as unsigned. The field takes positive whole numbers only. Field Exit, Field+ and Dup are the keys that work besides the digits.
The three numeric shifts each have their own code when you break the rule. A numeric-only field (shift Y) takes digits, signs, comma, period and space, and gives 0009. A signed numeric field (shift S) takes digits and gets its sign from Field- or Field+, and gives 0010. A digits-only field takes digits alone, and going by the allowed keys, it gives 0024.
Common causes
- You typed a decimal point, for example 2.5 in a quantity field that holds whole units.
- You typed a minus sign, or a plus sign, in front of the number.
- You typed a space to clear a position or to separate groups of digits.
- You typed a letter, often O for zero or l for one.
How to find the problem
- Look at the cursor. It marks where the refused character would have gone.
- Press Help while 0024 is on the error line to see the system's text for the error.
- In the display file source, check position 35 for the field. D means digits only.
How to fix it
- Press Reset (also called Error Reset) to free the keyboard. In many PC emulators Reset is the left Ctrl key by default. Then type the value with digits only.
- To clear the field, move the cursor to its first position and press Field Exit, which blanks the field from the cursor to the end. You can't type spaces in it.
- If the value has decimals or is negative, this field can't hold it. Check whether the screen has another field for the value, or ask whoever looks after the application.
- For programmers, if the field must take decimals or negative values, change the shift to S or Y and set the decimal positions, then recreate the display file with CRTDSPF and recompile the programs that use it if the record format level changes.
Read this error in WND Terminal
For a visible 5250 error 0024 message, Explain this screen can help interpret the screen under IT’s configured AI policy. It does not establish the cause of a rejected host data stream. Preserve the exact status and follow the diagnostic steps in this article.
Try the WND Terminal sample with fictional data · 3270 emulator features and installation · 5250 emulator for IBM i
IBM documentation
IBM Personal Communications documentation. Use the documentation for your installed release.
This link opens the relevant IBM reference library or lookup instructions. Match the complete code and your installed product release; it is not a code-specific review.
Related codes
Questions
Why can't I type a decimal point or a minus sign?
The field is digits only. It accepts 0 to 9 and nothing else, because the program expects a positive whole number there.
What is the difference between 0009, 0010 and 0024?
Each comes from a different kind of numeric field. 0009 is a numeric-only field, 0010 is a signed numeric field, and 0024 matches a digits-only field, the strictest of the three.
How do I blank out a digits-only field?
Put the cursor on the first position of the field and press Field Exit. That clears everything from the cursor to the end of the field.