Question

I have a form that uses ASP.NET validations. I am using some inline C# in the aspx to show/hide certain controls depending on a user’s role. I would use the Visible property, but there are so many of them, I just decided to do inline C# to show and hide (I know, not best practice, but bear with me for a second). I am having an issue where Page.IsValid is always set to False when I submit my form (when certain fields are being hidden).

Will the validations still fire off even if the controls are not even rendered on the page? Also, if this is not the case, is there an effective way of breaking down Page.IsValid to find out what is setting it to False?

Answer 1

If you set Visible to false, validation for that control will not fire. From ASP.Net Validation in Depth:

Why not just use Visible=false to have
an invisible validator? In ASP.NET the
Visible property of a control has a
very strong meaning: a control with
Visible=false will not be processed at
all for pre-rendering or rendering. As
a result of this stronger meaning,
Visible=false for a validator means
that not only does not it not display
anything, it is does not function
either. It is not evaluated, does not
affect page validity, and does not put
errors in the summary.

If you want a control to validate but have it hidden on the page, use CSS to set display to none.