Back Forward Validate form
Completing the Validate tab

About Validate rules

 zzz Show all 

Complete this tab to define editing for a list of properties. When the system runs the validate rule, it evaluates entries starting at the top.

When executed, a validate rule adds messages to the clipboard page containing the properties that fail validation. This does not directly cause the messages to be presented to a user.

CautionIf the Required? check box is selected and at runtime the user leaves the field blank:

As a result, you can't use a validate rule to present a custom error message about a required field.

 zzz Using the controls

Using the controls

Click any validation or condition to enable these controls.

Control

Action

open icon
zzz

Click to review a property rule (for a field that contains a property reference). If the property does not exist, click thezzzbutton to create a new property rule.

expression selector
zzz

Click thezzz button to display a drop-down list of all boolean expressions.

row buttons
zzz,zzz, and zzz

Select any validation to enable. Click the zzz, zzz, or zzz buttons to add a new validation before or after the selected validation, or to delete the selected validation. (Equivalently, use the Insert  ,  Shift+Insert  , and  Delete   keys).

condition buttons

zzz,zzz, or zzz

Select any condition in a validation to enable. Click the zzz, zzz, or zzz

buttons to add a new condition before or after the selected condition, or to delete the selected condition.

Display Name

Display Label

When reviewing this tab, you can see a presentation using either property names or the Short Description (pyLabel) of properties. Click to toggle the display. (Note that two or more properties may have the same Short Description text.)

 zzz Modifying branches with drag and drop operations

To move a validation to a different location, click and drag the small circle located to the left of the entry.

To copy a validation, drag the entry while holding down the CTRL key.

 zzz Completing fields

Field

Description

Validation Entries

At runtime, entries are processed in order, starting at the top, until a property is found to be invalid and the Continue? box for that entry is not selected.

Validate Type

Choose between Validate, Validate Each, Call, or Call for Each. If Call or Call for Each is chosen, choose the step page and the validation to be run.

  • Validate — Directly validates a top level property
  • Validate Each — Directly validates an embedded property
  • Call— Calls another validate record
  • Call for Each— Calls another validate record on an embedded page
Property

SmartPromptOnly visible if Validate or Validate Each is selected. Select a Single Value property or qualified reference to a value of an aggregate property. Typically, choose a property that appears in an HTML form as an input (not display only).

Required?

Only visible if Validate or Validate Each is selected. Select to require a user to enter a non-blank value for the property. If selected and the field is blank at runtime when the form is submitted, the system associates the message:

This field may not be blank.

with the property. You cannot override this message.

If not selected, the blank value is allowed.

NoteDo not select the Required? check box for a field that appears at runtime as a check box, because the cleared (unchecked) value may correspond to blank.

Conditions?

Only visible if Validate or Validate Each is selected. Checking conditions allows the user to add and enable validation conditions for the property.

Continue?

Only visible if Validate or Validate Each is selected. Select to indicate that later validation entries in this form are processed even when the edit validate rule in the current entry fails. This is always checked if the Validation type is Call or Call for each.

Expression

Only visible if Validate or Validate Each is selected and if the Conditions? check box is checked. This area defines the validation.

Click the zzz button to select a boolean expression from the drop-down list. The form changes to reflect the expression selected.

Most selections require parameters, which may themselves be expressions. Use SmartPrompt to select a property as a parameter.

Message

SmartPromptOptional. Only visible if Validate or Validate Each is selected and if the Conditions? check box is checked. Select a Rule-Message key to associate with the property or qualified reference to a value of an aggregate property when the edit validate rule fails for the non-blank value provided by the user. You may also type your own message.

This text is not used when the Required? box is selected.

For more information about messages, see Message Rules.

Step Page

SmartPromptOnly visible if Call or Call for Each is selected. Choose a step page to call a validate rule to run against.

Validate

SmartPromptOnly visible if Call or Call for Each is selected. Choose which validate rule to run against the step page specified.

zzz About Validate rules