<Validate Type="XML">

The XML validator prevents the form from being submitted unless the target control's value can be parsed as well-formed XML. It's a quick well-formedness check (matching tags, balanced quotes, single root element) — it does not validate against any schema or DTD.

Server-side only

This validator runs only on the server. The form must pass all client-side validation and POST back before the XML check happens.

Example

<AddForm>
  <SubmitCommand CommandText="INSERT INTO Users(FirstName, LastName, MyXml)
                              VALUES(@FirstName, @LastName, @MyXml)" />
  <table>
    <tr>
      <td>
        <Label For="txtFirstName" Text="First Name" />
        <TextBox Id="txtFirstName" DataField="FirstName" DataType="string" />
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        <Label For="txtXml" Text="Your XML" />
        <TextArea Id="txtXml" DataField="MyXml" DataType="string" />
        <Validate Type="XML" Target="txtXml" Message="Please enter well-formed XML" />
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td colspan="2">
        <AddButton Text="Add" />&nbsp;<CancelButton Text="Cancel" />
        <ValidationSummary />
      </td>
    </tr>
  </table>
</AddForm>

Properties

Property	Values	Default	Description
Type *	XML		Identifies this as an XML validator
Target *	control ID		ID of the control to validate
CssClass	string		CSS class name(s) for styling the validator's error display
Display	Static Dynamic	Dynamic	Whether the validator reserves layout space when no error is shown
EnableClientScript	True False	True	When True, the validator participates in the page's client-side validation framework. Note that the actual XML check always runs on the server
Height	size		Height of the validator's error display
Message	string		Text shown in the <ValidationSummary> when validation fails
Text	string		Text shown inline at the validator's location when validation fails
Width	size		Width of the validator's error display

* Required property

Deprecated Properties

These properties use ASP.NET inline styling and are no longer recommended for modern web development. Use the CssClass property to apply CSS classes or the Style property for inline CSS instead.

Property	Values	Description
BackColor	color name | #dddddd	Background color of the validator's error display
BorderColor	color name | #dddddd	Border color
BorderStyle	NotSet None Dotted Dashed Solid Double Groove Ridge Inset Outset	Border style
BorderWidth	size	Border width
Font-Bold	True False	Bold text
Font-Italic	True False	Italic text
Font-Names	string	Font family name
Font-Overline	True False	Overline text decoration
Font-Size	XX-Small X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-Large or size	Font size
Font-Strikeout	True False	Strikethrough text decoration
Font-Underline	True False	Underline text decoration
ForeColor	color name | #dddddd	Text color. Note: the validator hard-codes red, bold text by default. If you set CssClass, XMP automatically clears ForeColor so your stylesheet's color rules take effect

Property Details

• Type: Set to XML to identify this as an XML validator.

• Target: The ID of the form control whose value should be checked.

• Message: The error text shown in the <ValidationSummary> (if you have one) when validation fails. If no <ValidationSummary> is present, this text appears at the validator's location instead.

• Text: The text shown inline at the validator's location when validation fails. Used together with Message and <ValidationSummary>: a short inline marker (*, **, or an icon) at the validator + the full sentence in the summary block.

• Display: Whether the validator reserves layout space even when no error is shown. Dynamic (the default) collapses to no space until validation fails. Static always reserves space.

• EnableClientScript: Whether the validator participates in the client-side validation framework. The actual XML well-formedness check always runs server-side (XML parsing requires a server-side .NET XmlDocument), so the only practical effect is whether the validator's display is updated client-side after a postback.