Validations

What are Validations?

Validations allow the back-end designer to limit the types of information that someone can enter into a text field. For example, a numeric validation prevents someone from keying any letters or symbols in a field; only numbers will appear in the text box. When validations give TAP additional information about the type of information submitted, TAP is also able to configure workflows with additional properties. For example, a text field validated as an “email address” type enables the back-end designer to turn that text box into a dynamic role – “get user data from form.”

To configure a validation:

1. In the Form Builder, select a text box you would like to configure with a validation.
2. Under Form Properties – Validation, select the radio button for the desired validation type (Email, Alphabetic, Numeric, etc), then click the Add validation button.
    
3. Note that the form field now displays the validation property name (Alpha in this case) in the top right corner.
   

There are several types of Validation. Let’s walk through each one and discuss its benefits.

Currency

• The Currency validation ensures that the end user sees that what is keyed into the form field will have some sort of currency symbol associated with it. End users can include up to two decimal digits, and if no decimals are included, the system will “zero-fill” the decimal places.
• The Currency validation allows for two options: Either the back-end designer can designate the currency type that the end-user will enter, or the back-end designer can identify the default currency while allowing the end-user to change currencies if desired.
  • To configure a mandatory currency field, after selecting the Currency validation and clicking Add Validation, you are prompted to identify the default currency (select the appropriate currency from the Currency Type drop down menu) and then select Single currency from the Selection Type drop down menu.
  • To configure a dynamic currency field, after selecting the Currency validation and clicking Add Validation, you are prompted to identify the default currency (select the appropriate currency from the Currency Typedrop down menu) and then select Multi currency from the Selection Type drop down menu.

Email Validation

• Email validation ensures that the entered text includes an @ sign and adheres to the following format: <1 or more alphanumeric symbol>@<1 or more alphanumeric symbol>.<2 or more alphanumeric symbols>
  • Examples: "valid_email@test.com", "1@1.22"
  • If either of these required values is missing, the end user receives an error message informing them the entered email is not in the correct form.

• Only special characters which are allowed:  "  ~ ` ! # $ % ^ & * + - = _ ? | / { } '  "

• Email validation allows the back-end designer to configure the email-validated form field as a role. See Workflow Roles.

Alphabetic Validation

• Alphabetic validation ensures that the entered text contains only alphabetic letters – no numbers or symbols can be submitted.

Alphanumeric Validation

• Alphanumeric validation ensures that all entered text is alphabetic or numeric – no symbols allowed!

Numeric Validation

• Numeric validation ensures that only numbers can be entered into a text field.
• After validating a text box with the Numeric validation, the end user can configure additional conditions at the stage and relationship setting. The comparatives available to someone who sets a condition on a numerically-validated field can include “Greater than,” “Greater or Equal to,” “Less than,” and “Less than” or “Equal to.”

Numeric Decimals Validation

• Numeric decimals validation ensures that only numbers and a specified number of digits after the decimal point can be entered into a text field.
• After validating a text box with the Numeric decimals validation, the end user can configure additional conditions at the stage and relationship setting. The comparatives available to someone who sets a condition on a numerically-validated field can include “Greater than,” “Greater or Equal to,” “Less than,” and “Less than” or “Equal to.”

Regular Expression Validation

• Regular expressions are special strings for describing or determining a search pattern – in other words, our Regular expression validation gives you the opportunity to create a custom validation that allows users to only enter a certain syntax. If you select the Regular expression validation, you can either define your own regular expression or use a pre-defined regular expression.
• To learn more about regular expressions, check out this link.

Phone Number Validation

• Phone number validation ensures that the end user enters information that fits the format of a 10 digit telephone number. Best practice for international phone numbers is to remove the validation and let users free type the number. 
  

Social Security Number (SSN) Validation

• SSN validation masks the first 5 digits of the Social Security Nmber and encrypts the data.
  
• In the Audit trail, all characters for this form field are hidden. To view the full Social Security Number, users can “click to reveal” in the Audit trail.
  

Date Range Validation

If the DatePicker has a range configured, and the entered date is outside that range, an error message will indicate the allowed range.

The validations supported by the Validate Date feature include the following formats:

Common Field Settings

In the workflow forms, there are several common field settings used for validation:

1. Required: Select this checkbox to make the field mandatory. The form cannot be submitted without completing this field.
2. Required for Save: Select this checkbox to ensure that the field is saved. This setting is necessary if the data needs to be retained.
3. Add to Repository: Select this checkbox to add the field to the repository, allowing it to be used later. This setting ensures that the field's data is stored for future reference.
4. Encrypt Field Values: When this checkbox is selected, the value entered into the field will be encrypted in the database using System.Security.Cryptography. This encryption method is similar to that used for SSN-validated fields, providing an additional layer of security for sensitive data. For more details, click here. 
5. Hide Audit Trail: Select this option if you want the data in this field to be hidden from the audit trail. By default, this data is visible in the audit trail, but you can enable the "Hide Audit Trail" setting to conceal it. 
6. Audit Trail Access: Use this dropdown to select the roles that can view the audit trail. This setting controls who has access to the audit trail information. To prevent a user from accessing values in the Audit Trail, you must disable the Audit Trail permission entirely.

Additional Text Field Validation

The details below provide additional clarity on field validations, including size limits, backend restrictions, and property behavior.