Data validation at action invocation
The validate
action default attribute controls field validation when
an action is fired.
When using the UNBUFFERED
mode of interactive instructions such
as INPUT
or DIALOG
, if the user triggers an action, the current
field data is checked and loaded in the target variable bound to the form field. For example, if the
user types a wrong date (or only a part of a date) in a field using a DATE
variable
and then clicks on a button to invoke an action, the runtime system will display an invalid input
error and will not execute the ON ACTION
block corresponding to the button.
To prevent data validation for some actions, use the
action
attribute.VALIDATE
validate
action attribute can be set in the global action default file,
or at the form level, with the VALIDATE
attribute in a line of the ACTION
DEFAULTS
section.This validate
attribute instructs the runtime not to copy the input buffer text
into the program variable (requiring input buffer text to match the target data type).
ACTION DEFAULTS
...
ACTION zoom ( ... VALIDATE = NO ... )
...
END
This is especially needed in DIALOG
instructions; in singular dialogs like
INPUT
, predefined actions like cancel do not validate the current field value when
UNBUFFERED
mode is used.