Field required error not showing

When a required field is not properly triggering an error message during form submission, it can prevent users from filling out the form correctly. Typically, this issue occurs due to misconfiguration in the form, JavaScript validation issues, or problems with the field’s properties. Below is a detailed guide to troubleshooting and resolving the “Field Required Error Not Showing” issue in Power Pages.

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1. Check Field Properties in Dataverse

First, verify that the required fields are correctly configured in the Dataverse entity.

Steps to verify:

1. Open Entity in Dataverse:
   • Go to the Power Platform Admin Center and navigate to the Dataverse environment that contains the entity associated with the form.
2. Check Field Requirements:
   • Check the properties of the field in the Entity and ensure that it is marked as required. You can do this by editing the field and ensuring that the Field Requirement is set to Required.
3. Check for Default Values:
   • If the required field has a default value, ensure that this does not conflict with the validation on the form.
4. Field Validation:
   • Ensure that the field is not mistakenly marked as “Optional” in the form configuration or overridden by business rules.

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2. Verify Form Configuration in Power Pages

In Power Pages, the form configuration needs to ensure that required fields trigger validation messages correctly.

Steps to verify:

1. Check Form Settings:
   • Open the Portal Management area and check the settings for the form. Make sure that the field is included in the form and is set as required.
2. Review Validation Settings:
   • Ensure that form validation is enabled for required fields. If you have custom validation logic (e.g., JavaScript), ensure that it correctly checks the required fields before submission.

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3. Check for Custom JavaScript Validation

If you have custom JavaScript running on the form, it could override or prevent the default validation behavior, causing required field errors not to appear.

Steps to verify:

1. Inspect JavaScript Code:
   • Review any custom JavaScript attached to the form to see if there’s a script that handles the validation for required fields. Custom JavaScript validation can sometimes conflict with the built-in validation of Power Pages forms.
   Example of a basic JavaScript required field check:
   var fieldValue = document.getElementById("fieldId").value; if (!fieldValue) { alert("This field is required."); return false; }
2. Disable JavaScript:
   • Temporarily disable or comment out the custom JavaScript code and see if the required field validation works as expected. If it does, there may be a conflict or issue in the script preventing the error message from showing.

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4. Review Business Rules in Dataverse

Dataverse business rules can affect form behavior and might unintentionally prevent required field validation from being triggered.

Steps to verify:

1. Check for Business Rules:
   • In Dataverse, check if any business rules are applied to the form fields. Business rules can make fields visible, editable, or required under certain conditions.
2. Validate Business Rule Logic:
   • Ensure the business rule logic doesn’t conflict with field requirements, especially in cases where fields are dynamically shown or hidden based on certain conditions.
3. Check for Field Visibility:
   • If a field is conditionally required based on another field’s value, verify that the business rule properly handles this condition.

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5. Check Field Labels and HTML Structure

Sometimes, form field labels or the way the field is structured in HTML can affect the display of error messages.

Steps to verify:

1. Inspect HTML:
   • Right-click the form and inspect the HTML structure using browser developer tools (e.g., F12 in Chrome). Ensure that the required field has the proper HTML attribute (required) and the correct error message markup is in place.
2. Ensure Error Message Element Exists:
   • Check if the form includes an element to display error messages for required fields. Sometimes, the error message is generated but is hidden due to CSS or improper markup.

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6. Check Portal Theme and Custom CSS

If the required field error message is not visible but is actually being triggered, it may be hidden due to CSS or styling issues.

Steps to verify:

1. Inspect Error Message Styling:
   • Inspect the error message element using browser developer tools to check if it’s being hidden due to CSS (e.g., display: none; or visibility: hidden;).
2. Check Portal Theme:
   • If you have a custom theme, ensure that it does not unintentionally hide the error messages. Specifically, check the CSS styles for the form error messages to ensure that they are visible when triggered.
3. Test with Default Theme:
   • Temporarily switch to a default portal theme to see if the error message displays properly. If it does, the issue is likely with custom CSS or styling.

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7. Verify Browser Compatibility

Some validation behavior might differ depending on the browser or browser version being used.

Steps to verify:

1. Test in Different Browsers:
   • Test the form in different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.) to check if the required field error message is showing up in one browser and not others.
2. Check Browser Console:
   • Check the browser console (via F12 Developer Tools) for any errors that could indicate issues with client-side validation scripts, such as JavaScript errors or missing resources.

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8. Review the Portal User’s Role and Permissions

In some cases, the user’s role and permissions can impact how forms behave, especially if there are field-level security settings or role-based access control.

Steps to verify:

1. Check Security Roles:
   • Verify the Portal User’s role and ensure they have the correct permissions to view and submit the form. A restricted role could cause fields to behave incorrectly.
2. Field-Level Security:
   • If you’re working with sensitive data, ensure that field-level security isn’t preventing the required field from being visible or accessible during form submission.

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9. Check for Caching Issues

Sometimes cache issues in the browser or portal can prevent the form’s required field validation from functioning properly.

Steps to verify:

1. Clear Browser Cache:
   • Clear your browser cache and cookies to rule out any outdated data causing the issue.
2. Test in Incognito Mode:
   • Test the form in Incognito or Private Browsing mode to avoid cache-related issues.