• Rule Reference
• Prepping Reference
• Function Reference
• Helper Reference

Rule Reference

The following is a list of all the native rules that are available to use:

Note: These rules can also be called as discrete functions. For example:

$this->form_validation->required($string);

Note: You can also use any native PHP functions that permit one parameter.

Prepping Reference

The following is a list of all the prepping functions that are available to use:

Note: You can also use any native PHP functions that permit one parameter, like trim, htmlspecialchars, urldecode, etc.

Function Reference

The following functions are intended for use in your controller functions.

$this->form_validation->set_rules();

Permits you to set validation rules, as described in the tutorial sections above:

• Setting Validation Rules
• Saving Groups of Validation Rules to a Config File

$this->form_validation->run();

Runs the validation routines. Returns boolean TRUE on success and FALSE on failure. You can optionally pass the name of the validation group via the function, as described in: Saving Groups of Validation Rules to a Config File.

$this->form_validation->set_message();

Permits you to set custom error messages. See Setting Error Messages above.

Helper Reference

The following helper functions are available for use in the view files containing your forms. Note that these are procedural functions, so they do not require you to prepend them with $this->form_validation.

form_error()

Shows an individual error message associated with the field name supplied to the function. Example:

<?php echo form_error('username'); ?>

The error delimiters can be optionally specified. See the Changing the Error Delimiters section above.

validation_errors()

Shows all error messages as a string: Example:

<?php echo validation_errors(); ?>

The error delimiters can be optionally specified. See the Changing the Error Delimiters section above.

set_value()

Permits you to set the value of an input form or textarea. You must supply the field name via the first parameter of the function. The second (optional) parameter allows you to set a default value for the form. Example:

<input type="text" name="quantity" value="<?php echo set_value('quantity', '0'); ?>" size="50" />

The above form will show "0" when loaded for the first time.

set_select()

If you use a <select> menu, this function permits you to display the menu item that was selected. The first parameter must contain the name of the select menu, the second parameter must contain the value of each item, and the third (optional) parameter lets you set an item as the default (use boolean TRUE/FALSE).

Example:

<select name="myselect">
<option value="one" <?php echo set_select('myselect', 'one', TRUE); ?> >One</option>
<option value="two" <?php echo set_select('myselect', 'two'); ?> >Two</option>
<option value="three" <?php echo set_select('myselect', 'three'); ?> >Three</option>
</select>

set_checkbox()

Permits you to display a checkbox in the state it was submitted. The first parameter must contain the name of the checkbox, the second parameter must contain its value, and the third (optional) parameter lets you set an item as the default (use boolean TRUE/FALSE). Example:

<input type="checkbox" name="mycheck[]" value="1" <?php echo set_checkbox('mycheck[]', '1'); ?> />
<input type="checkbox" name="mycheck[]" value="2" <?php echo set_checkbox('mycheck[]', '2'); ?> />

set_radio()

Permits you to display radio buttons in the state they were submitted. This function is identical to the set_checkbox() function above.

<input type="radio" name="myradio" value="1" <?php echo set_radio('myradio', '1', TRUE); ?> />
<input type="radio" name="myradio" value="2" <?php echo set_radio('myradio', '2'); ?> />