The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause permits the blanking of an item when its
value is zero.
General Format
Syntax Rules
The BLANK WHEN ZERO clause can be used only for an elementary
item whose PICTURE is specified as numeric (with implicit or explicit USAGE IS
DISPLAY) or numeric edited. (See the topic
The PICTURE
Clause.)
The asterisk, when used as the zero suppression symbol, and the
clause BLANK WHEN ZERO should not appear in the same entry.
This construct is, however,
permitted in which case, zero suppression overrides the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause.
General Rules
When the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause is used, the item will contain
nothing but spaces if the value of the item is zero.
When the BLANK WHEN ZERO clause is used for an item whose PICTURE
is numeric, the category of the item is considered to be numeric edited.