Operation Manual

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USING DREAMWEAVER
Building Spry pages visually
Last updated 3/28/2012
2 Complete the Input Tag Accessibility Attributes dialog box and click OK.
Note: You can also insert a Validation Text Area widget by using the Spry category in the Insert panel.
More Help topics
Create accessible HTML forms” on page 638
Specify when validation occurs
You can set the point at which validation occurs—when the user clicks outside the widget, as the user types, or when
the user tries to submit the form.
1 Select a Validation Text Area widget in the Document window.
2 In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), select the Validate On option that indicates when you want
validation to occur. You can select all of the options or Submit only.
Blur Validates whenever the user clicks outside the text field.
Change Validates as the user changes text inside the text field.
Submit Validates when the user tries to submit the form. The submit option is selected by default, and cannot be
deselected.
Specify a minimum and maximum number of characters
1 Select a Validation Text Area widget in the Document window.
2
In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), enter a number in the Min Chars or Max Chars box. For example,
if you enter 20 in the Min Chars box, the widget only validates if the user enters 20 or more characters in the text area.
Add a character counter
You can add a character counter that lets your users know how many characters they have typed, or how many
characters are remaining when entering text in the text area. By default, when you add a character counter, the counter
appears outside the lower-right corner of the widget.
1 Select a Validation Text Area widget in the Document window.
2 In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), select either the Chars Count or Chars Remaining option.
Note: The Chars Remaining option is only available if you’ve already set a maximum number of characters allowed.
Display widget states in Design view
1 Select a Validation Text Area widget in the Document window.
2 In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), select the state you want to see from the Preview States pop-up
menu. For example, if you want to see the widget in its valid state, select Valid.
Change required status of a text area
By default, all Validation Text Area widgets that you insert with Dreamweaver require user input when published on
a web page. You can, however, make text areas optional for validation.
1 Select a Validation Text Area widget in the Document window.
2 In the Property inspector (Window > Properties), select or deselect the Required option, depending on your
preference.