Text validation

When you create a custom text field to request information from your signing party, you can set up a simple validation process using regular expressions (regex) to make sure the data your signing party enters conforms to a specific data format.

Example: IBAN number

Let's say you’re asking a customer for their bank account’s IBAN number. This short tutorial shows how you can:

• tell the signing party how to enter it (with a tool tip)
• require that they enter a valid data format before they can sign the document

We’ll use the following sample Swedish IBAN number:

SE4550000000058398257466

Using regular expressions (regex)

If you're not familiar with regular expressions, it’s easy to find pre-built regular expressions for many common situations. A Google search for "Swedish IBAN regex" finds the following regex, which you will use in the tutorial below: 

SE\d{2}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}|SE\d{22} 

In layman’s terms, this means the expected text input:

• must start with "SE"
• must be followed by 22 numbers
• can include spaces, but no special characters

The validation for the sample IBAN would work as follows:

• Valid: SE35 5000 0000 0549 1000 0003
• Valid: SE3550000000054910000003
• Fail: SE35-5000-0000-0549-1000-0003
• Fail: SE35500000000549100000 (not enough numbers)

IMPORTANT: Regex is a very powerful tool, but to avoid serious problems, it's critical that you properly validate and test any regular expression before using it.

Tutorial: IBAN validation

1. Start by placing a custom field in your document and naming it “IBAN”.
   
   
   
   
2. In the text field dialog, click More settings:
   
   
   
   
3. Under Validation click Add (only available for custom fields). The Field validation dialog opens:
   
   
   
   
4. Select Custom from the menu at the top of the dialog.

5. In the Regex Pattern field, paste this regex:
   
   SE\d{2}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}[ ]\d{4}|SE\d{22}
    
   
   
   Before you can save the regex, you need to verify it by providing a valid input example.

6. In the Provide a valid example to verify your regex field, paste the sample IBAN:
   
   SE4550000000058398257466
   
   The field turns green to confirm that the regex will work for this situation:
   
   
   
   

7. In the Tooltip message field, enter a clear instruction about the required data format. For example:

   "Please enter your Swedish IBAN number in the following format: SE4550000000012345678999"
   
   
   
   
8. Click Save.