# <Validate type="RegEx">
The Validate tag whose type is set to "regex" is referred to as a Regular Expression Validator and is used to ensure the value of the target control matches the specified regular expression pattern. This can be used, for example, to ensure a phone number matches the format you specify or that an email address is properly formatted.
# Syntax
<Validate
BackColor="color name|#dddddd"
BorderColor="color name|#dddddd"
BorderStyle="NotSet|None|Dotted|Dashed|Solid|Double|Groove|Ridge| Inset|Outset"
BorderWidth="size"
CssClass="string"
Display="Static|Dynamic"
EnableClientScript="True|False"
Font-Bold="True|False"
Font-Italic="True|False"
Font-Names="string"
Font-Overline="True|False"
Font-Size="string|Smaller|Larger|XX-Small|X-Small|Small|Medium| Large|X-Large|XX-Large"
Font-Strikeout="True|False"
Font-Underline="True|False"
ForeColor="color name|#dddddd"
Height="size"
Message="string"
Target="string"
Text="string"
Type="RegEx"
ValidationExpression="string"
Width="size"
/>
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# Remarks
When the Type
attribute is set to RegEx, the control prevents the form from being submitted if its associated control's value does not match the regular expression pattern specified in the ValidationExpression
attribute. You associate a control with the <Validate>
tag by setting its Target
attribute to the ID of the control you wish to validate. The Message
attribute is the text that will be displayed to the user when validation fails. If you are using the <ValidationSummary>
tag, then you can also supply a Text
attribute. When validation fails, the Text
will be displayed where your <Validate>
tag is and the Message
will be displayed in the <ValidationSummary>
.
BackColor: Color of the background of the control.
BorderColor: Color of the border around the control.
BorderStyle: Style of the border around the control. Defaults to NotSet.
BorderWidth: Width of the border around the control, specified in units
CssClass: Name of the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) class used to style this control.
Display: This attribute determines if the
<Validate>
tag will reserve space for its message in the page layout - typically resulting in blank space in your form -or whether it will dynamically allocate the space for the message when validation fails. Defaults to Dynamic display.EnableClientScript: Use the EnableClientScript property to specify whether client-side validation is enabled. Defaults to True.
Font Properties: A series of attributes such as font-bold, font-size, etc. that allow you to control how the text in the control is displayed. More
ForeColor: Sets the foreground color (typically the color of the text) of the control.
Height: Height of the control, specified in units.
Message: This is the text that will be displayed to the user, when validation fails. If you are using the
<ValidationSummary>
, then this is the message that will be displayed in the<ValidationSummary>
when validation fails.Target: Set this attribute to the ID of the control you wish to validate.
Text: If you are using the
<ValidationSummary>
tag, then you can also supply aText
attribute. When validation fails, theText
will be displayed where your<Validate>
tag is and theMessage
will be displayed in the<ValidationSummary>
.Type: When the
Type
attribute is set to RegEx, the control prevents the form from being submitted if its associated control's value does not match the regular expression pattern specified in theValidationExpression
attribute.ValidationExpression: This determines the pattern used to validate a field.
Width: Width of the control in units.
# Example
<AddForm>
...
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<Label For="txtPhone" Text="Phone" />
<TextBox Id="txtPhone" DataField="Phone" DataType="string" />
<Validate Type="regex" Target="txtPhone"
ValidationExpression="\(\d\d\d\)\s+\d\d\d\-\d\d\d\d"
Message="The phone number must be in the format: (999) 999-9999" />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<AddButton Text="Add" /> <CancelButton Text="Cancel" />
<ValidationSummary />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</AddForm>
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