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Validation ​

PoshUI includes a built-in validation engine that ensures user input meets your requirements before the automation logic proceeds. This reduces errors and improves the reliability of your scripts.

Types of Validation ​

1. Mandatory Fields ​

The most basic form of validation. Marking a control as -Mandatory ensures the user provides a value.

powershell
Add-UITextBox -Step 'User' -Name 'Email' -Label 'Email Address' -Mandatory
  • Effect: The "Next" or "Finish" button remains disabled until all mandatory fields on the current step are filled.

2. Regex Pattern Validation ​

Available for TextBox, MultiLine, and Password controls. You can specify a regular expression that the input must match.

powershell
Add-UITextBox -Step 'Config' -Name 'ServerName' -Label 'Server Name' `
              -ValidationPattern '^[A-Z]{3}-[0-9]{3}$' `
              -ValidationMessage 'Format must be AAA-000 (e.g. SRV-101)'
  • ValidationMessage: This custom text is displayed in a tooltip or error label when the input doesn't match the pattern.

3. Range Validation ​

Specific to Numeric and Date controls.

powershell
# Numeric Range
Add-UINumeric -Step 'Config' -Name 'InstanceCount' -Minimum 1 -Maximum 10

# Date Range
Add-UIDate -Step 'Schedule' -Name 'StartDate' -Minimum (Get-Date)
  • Effect: The UI prevents the user from selecting values outside these bounds.

4. Choice Validation ​

For Dropdown and ListBox controls, the user is restricted to the options provided in the -Choices or -ScriptBlock parameters.

Live Feedback ​

PoshUI provides real-time feedback as the user types:

  • Visual Cues: Invalid fields are highlighted with a red border.
  • Error Messages: Hovering over an invalid field shows the ValidationMessage.
  • Button State: Navigation buttons automatically enable/disable based on the validity of the current step.

Server-Side Validation ​

While UI validation catches immediate errors, you should always perform additional logic checks within your ScriptBody or task scripts.

powershell
Show-PoshUIWizard -ScriptBody {
    if (-not (Test-Connection $ServerName -Count 1 -Quiet)) {
        throw "Server $ServerName is not reachable. Please check the name and try again."
    }
}

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