Validation

How it worksLink to this section: How it works

Here’s how form validation works with OUDS Web:

• HTML form validation is applied via CSS’s two pseudo-classes, :invalid and :valid. It applies to <input />, <select>, and <textarea> elements.
• OUDS Web scopes the :invalid and :valid styles to parent .was-validated class, usually applied to the <form>. Otherwise, any required field without a value shows up as invalid on page load. This way, you may choose when to activate them (typically after form submission is attempted).
• To reset the appearance of the form (for instance, in the case of dynamic form submissions using Ajax), remove the .was-validated class from the <form> again after submission.

• As a fallback, .is-invalid and .is-valid classes may be used instead of the pseudo-classes. They do not require a .was-validated parent class.
• Due to constraints in how CSS works, we cannot (at present) apply styles to a <label> that comes before a form control in the DOM without the help of custom JavaScript.
• All modern browsers support the constraint validation API, a series of JavaScript methods for validating form controls.
• Feedback messages may utilize the browser defaults (different for each browser, and unstylable via CSS) or our custom feedback styles with additional HTML and CSS.
• You may provide custom validity messages with setCustomValidity in JavaScript.