How do I combine the \b and \@ switches in MERGEFIELD?

{MERGEFIELD "Date2" \@ yyyy/MM/dd} ...has the desired effect.

{MERGEFIELD "Date2" \b " - "} ...has the desired effect.

{MERGEFIELD "Date2" \@ yyyy/MM/dd \b " - "} ignores the \b switch.

In my case I need to combine the two switches.

What am I missing in the syntax?

Any help appreciated.

Garry Jones
Sweden