Validation Links
Aeon's patron web forms enforce required fields and field formats — the red asterisks on a Registration or Request form, the "Title is a required field" error a patron sees if they leave a box blank. Those rules live in the Web Validation table, where each rule belongs to a named rule set (for example, AllRequests). A rule set on its own does nothing until a form is told to use it. Validation Links is what connects the two: each link says "form X uses rule set Y."
This page covers the link editor only — the small mapping table that ties forms to rule sets. The rules themselves (field name, the regular expression, the error message) are created and edited in the separate Web Validation section.
- You created a new rule set in Web Validation and now need a form to actually apply it — add a link here.
- You want one rule set (say,
AllRequests) to apply to several forms — add a link from each form to that same rule set. - A form is enforcing rules you no longer want — remove the link here, rather than deleting the underlying rules (which other forms may still use).
In the Customization Manager, Validation Links sits under Web Interface, alongside Web Validation and Web Form Values. (In this documentation it is grouped with the other lookup-table editors, but in the app you'll find it in the Web Interface category.)
How forms, rule sets, and links fit together
There are two tables working together, edited in two different sections:
| Table / editor | What it holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Web Validation (separate editor) | The individual rules, grouped into named rule sets. Each rule names a field, a validation pattern, and an error message. | Rule set AllRequests → field ItemTitle, pattern .+, error "Title is a required field." |
| Validation Links (this editor) | The mapping: which rule set(s) apply to which form. | Form DefaultRequest → rule set AllRequests |
When a patron submits a form, Aeon looks up every link for that form name, gathers all the matching rule sets from Web Validation, and applies their rules to the submission. Because a form can have more than one link, you can layer rule sets — a base set that applies to all request forms, plus an extra set that applies only to photoduplication requests, for example.
Separating links from rules lets you reuse one rule set across many forms. Change the AllRequests rule set once in Web Validation, and every form linked to it picks up the change — you don't edit the rule on each form. Validation Links is just the wiring.
The Validation Links editor
Open the section and you'll see the Web Form Validation Links page — a table with two columns and a row per mapping:
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Form Name | The patron web form the rule set applies to (for example, DefaultRequest, PhotoduplicationRequest, ChangeUserInformation). |
| Rule Set | The name of the rule set, as defined in Web Validation (for example, AllRequests). |
Click either column header to sort by that column; click again to reverse the direction (an up or down arrow shows the current sort).
A form name appears on multiple rows when it's linked to more than one rule set — that's expected, and it's how layered validation works.
Adding a link
Say you've just created a rule set called PhotoduplicationRequests in Web Validation and you want the photoduplication request form to enforce it.
- Click Add Link (top right).
- In the Add Validation Link dialog, fill in:
- Form Name — the form to attach the rule set to, e.g.
PhotoduplicationRequest. - Rule Set — the rule set's name, e.g.
PhotoduplicationRequests.
- Form Name — the form to attach the rule set to, e.g.
- Click Add.
A "Validation link added" confirmation appears and the new row shows up in the table. From the patron's next submission on that form, the rules in that rule set apply.
The Rule Set value here has to match the rule set name you used in Web Validation character-for-character. The editor does not check that the rule set actually exists — if you mistype it, the link points at nothing and no rules are enforced. Both fields accept up to 100 characters. Likewise, the Form Name must match the form Aeon is serving; a link to a form name that doesn't exist simply never fires.
Editing a link
To repoint an existing link — for example, to send a form to a different rule set:
- Find the row and click the pencil (edit) icon at the end of it.
- The Edit Validation Link dialog opens with the current Form Name and Rule Set. Change either value.
- Click Update.
You'll see "Validation link updated" and the row reflects the new mapping.
Deleting a link
Removing a link stops that form from applying that rule set. It does not delete the rules themselves — they stay in Web Validation and continue to apply to any other forms still linked to them.
- Click the red trash icon on the row.
- In the Delete Validation Link confirmation, check the form and rule set named in the prompt.
- Click Delete.
A "Validation link deleted" message confirms the removal.
The confirmation states "This action cannot be undone." There's no recycle bin — if you remove the wrong link, you'll need to add it back manually. Deleting the link doesn't affect the rule set, so re-adding it restores the behavior.
Permissions
- To see this section at all: your role needs the Web Interface configuration capability. Without it, the Web Interface category — including Validation Links — doesn't appear in the Customization Manager.
- To add, edit, or delete a link: the save itself is gated by the Data, Fields & Lookups configuration capability (the shared gate on all Customization Manager table edits). If your role can open the section but lacks this capability, the Add Link, edit, and delete actions will be refused by the server.
A role with full configuration access (such as the built-in Administrator role) has both. If you can open the page but can't save changes, the Data, Fields & Lookups capability is the one to check.
A couple of things only an SME should confirm:
- Permission split: seeing the section is gated by the Web Interface capability, but saving a row is gated by Data, Fields & Lookups (the generic Tables gate). Confirm this split is intended; if a role should manage Web Interface tables end-to-end with just the Web Interface capability, it needs fixing in code.
- Screenshots needed: (1) the Web Form Validation Links table with a few rows; (2) the Add Validation Link dialog.
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