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Validation Rules

Overview — Why a Save Button Stays Grey

NSCAT validates forms as you type and keeps the save button disabled until everything passes. When a button will not enable and nothing looks obviously wrong, one of the rules on this page is the reason.

This is a reference. It collects the limits that apply across the application in one place, so you can check a rule rather than guess at it.

PRO TIP  A disabled save button is almost always a validation failure, not a fault. Scroll the whole form — the offending field shows a red message underneath, and on long forms it is often above or below the visible area.

Passwords

Applies to Register a User, Manage User (with Changing Password? ticked), Reset Password, and Profile.

A password must satisfy all of:

Requirement

Detail

Minimum length

6 characters

Uppercase letter

At least one, A–Z

Lowercase letter

At least one, a–z

Number

At least one, 0–9

Special character

At least one of @ $ ! % * ? &

 

The message on failure is: "Minimum 6 characters, One capital latter, Special charater, Number".

HEADS UP  Only @ $ ! % * ? & count as special characters, and no other symbol is permitted anywhere in the password. A password containing #, -, _, ., +, or / is rejected even if it also contains a valid special character. This is the single most common validation surprise in NSCAT.

 

PRO TIP  When a strong-looking password is rejected, the cause is nearly always an unsupported symbol rather than a missing one. Replace anything outside @ $ ! % * ? & and try again.

 

GOOD TO KNOW  Confirm Password must match exactly. A mismatch is reported separately from the policy rules, so a valid password can still fail on the confirm field alone.

Email Addresses

Applies wherever an email is typed rather than picked from a list.

The address must be a structurally valid email — a local part, an @, and a domain with a dot and a two-or-more-letter suffix. Failure reports "Invalid e-mail."

GOOD TO KNOW  This checks format only. NSCAT cannot tell whether the mailbox exists, so a typo in a valid-looking address passes validation and only shows up when mail does not arrive.

Required Fields

The general required rule rejects two things:

1.      An empty value — and whitespace-only text counts as empty, since the value is trimmed first.

2.      The literal value `Select` — the placeholder some pickers start on.

Both report "Required."

HEADS UP  A picker still showing Select counts as empty even though it does not look blank. If a form insists a field is required and it appears filled in, check whether it is still on its placeholder.

 

PRO TIP  Spaces are trimmed, so a field containing only spaces fails as empty. Where a field looks filled but reports Required, select the contents and retype.

Multi-Select Limits

Several fields accept a list, and lists have caps.

Rule

Minimum

Maximum

Used by

Standard list

1

20

Add / Delete themes, CPRO utilities, Team Leads

Trending activities

1

20

Trending Report activity selection

At least two

2

—

Consolidate Themes

 

Messages are "At least one required", "Maximum of number of activities allowed is 20", and "At least two required".

GOOD TO KNOW  The maximum message mentions "activities" wherever it appears, including in the theme dialogs. The 20-item limit is what it means; the wording is generic.

 

HEADS UP  The 20-item cap bites hardest on the Trending Report, where a long assessment history can easily exceed it. Split the comparison into overlapping batches of 20 rather than trying to force it into one report — see Trending Report.

 

PRO TIP  Consolidate Themes needs two or more selections because merging one theme into a new name is simply a rename. If the button will not enable with one theme selected, use Rename Theme instead.

Numeric Fields

Where a number is required, it must be present, must actually be a number, and must be zero or greater. Messages are "Required.", "Must be a number.", and "Must be 0 or greater."

GOOD TO KNOW  Negative numbers are rejected in these fields. This does not apply to rating scale values, which are fixed at -1/0/+1 or -3…+3 and are not typed in — see Rating Scales.

Text Length

Some short fields cap at 20 characters — "Max 20 characters" — and some longer ones require a minimum of 8 — "Min 8 characters".

PRO TIP  The 20-character cap is a hint about intent. A field with it is meant for a label or an abbreviation, not a description — a utility Short Name, for instance. If you are fighting the limit, the value probably belongs in the corresponding long-name field.

Themes — Naming

Themes are named by convention as Attribute - Trait, for example Standards - Personal Accountability.

HEADS UP  This format is not enforced. The theme name field accepts any non-empty text, so a free-form or mistyped name saves without complaint. Consistency has to be maintained by your team — see Theme Management.

Rules That Are Not Validation

Some things that block a save are not field validation and produce a dialog rather than a red message:

Restriction

Where

Rating scale type frozen once responses exist

Activity Properties — shows Cannot Change Rating Scale

Published questions cannot be edited

Question Composer — the Edit button is absent

Deprecation cannot be reversed

Question Composer — the switch is disabled

Saved ISF Traits and Attributes cannot be deleted

Manage ISF — no delete icon

A locked activity is read-only

Everywhere in the activity

Utility must match to edit an activity's team

Activity Properties — fields greyed out

 

GOOD TO KNOW  These are structural rules, not form validation. No amount of correcting fields will satisfy them — the state of the data has to change, or a different account has to make the change.

Quick Diagnosis

Symptom

Check

Save disabled, nothing obviously wrong

Scroll the whole form for a red message; check for a picker still on Select.

Password rejected

Remove any symbol outside @ $ ! % * ? &.

Passwords "do not match"

Retype both fields; check for a trailing space.

Field looks filled but says Required.

Whitespace-only, or still on the Select placeholder.

Multi-select refuses more entries

You have hit the 20-item cap.

Button disabled with one item selected

That field needs at least two — you probably want a different operation.

Number rejected

Must be numeric and zero or greater.

A dialog blocks the change rather than a field

A structural rule, not validation. See the table above.

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