Working with HTML Forms

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Steps for Applying Validation Rules to a Form Field

To apply a validation rule to a form field, follow these steps.

1. Perform steps 1-4 in Creating a Form's Content Block.
2. Insert a text field, text area field, or a selection list.
3. Click the form element you just inserted so that it is surrounded by small squares.

4. Click the Set Validation button ( ) from the form element toolbar.
5. The Form Validation Rules window opens.

6. Select from the drop-down list a validation rule to apply to the form element.

The following table explains validation rules, and the fields to which you can apply each rule.

Validation Rule	Can be applied to...	When applied, data in the field must...	Valid Examples...
No Validation	Text field Text area field Select list field	No validation is applied
Cannot be blank	Text field Text area field	Contain text or numbers. Field cannot be left blank.	anything
Numeric Only	Text field only	Contain only numbers, no text	1248361
Text Only	Text field only	Contain only text, no numbers.	yada
Date Only	Text field only	Conform to a date format. For example, mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy	03/02/80 08/29/2002
Email Type Only	Text field only	Be a valid email address	ajo@company.com
Credit Card Validation	Text field only	Be a valid credit card number	VISA: 4111 1111 1111 1111 (16 digits) MC: 5500 0000 0000 0004 (16 digits) AMEX: 340000000000009 (15 digits) DC: 30000000000004 (14 digits) DIS: 6011000000000004 (16 digits)
Social Security Number	Text field only	Be a valid social security number	123-45-6789 123456789
U.S. Postal Codes (2 Letter state)	Text field only	Be valid U.S. state postal code	NH MA
U.S. Zip Codes	Text field only	Be a 5 digit U.S. zip code, or zip+4.	12345 12345-6789
U.S. & Canadian Phone Number	Text field only	Match the U.S. or Canadian phone pattern.	(123) 456-7890 (123)456-7890
Canadian Postal Code	Text field only	Match the Canadian postal code format.	Z5Z-5Z5 Z5Z5Z5
Time	Text field only	Be in a valid time format. HH:MM, HH:MM:SS, HH:MM:SS.mmm	12:45 12:45:05 12:45:05.052
IP Address	Text field only	Be in a valid IP address format. For example, 999.999.999.999	192.168.0.1 255.255.255.255
Dollar Amount	Text field only	Be in a valid dollar format.	100 100.00 $100 $100.00
Canadian Social Insurance Number	Text field only	Be in a valid Canadian social insurance number format.	999999999 123456789
Number of Characters	Text area only	Adhere to the max/min settings specified.
Cannot be first option	Select list only	Not be the first option on the selection list

7. Enter an error message. This message appears if the user's input does not conform to the validation rule.

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Tip!

If you apply validation rules to more than one field, include the field name in the error message. For example, enter The name field only allows text. This is good practice because error messages only appear after the form is submitted and, if the message does not identify the field, the user may be unable to identify which field needs correction.

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8. Click the Save button to save changes.

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