Email validation help.

[ronh100]

Can someone please make the code below check for simple formatting of x@x.x before validating. I've tried numerous times and can't get it right.
Thank you!

if (form1.email.value == "") {
alert( "Click OK and enter your E-Mail Address." );
form1.email.focus();
return false ;
}

[Philip M]

Form validation of the pattern if (document.formname.formfield.value == "") - that is blank - is barely worthy of the name, and virtually useless, as even a single space, an X or a ? will return false, that is pass the validation. Of course, that applies to email addresses. A much more sophisticated validation is required. This topic has been covered many times before in this forum.

var em = document.form1.email.value;
if (!(/^([a-z0-9])([\w\.\-\+])+([a-z0-9])\@((\w)([\w\-]?)+\.)+([a-z]{2,4})$/i.test(em))) {  
alert ("Please enter a valid email address");
document.form1.email.value = "";
document.form1.email.focus();
return false;
}

Having said that, one of the most effective email validations is to get the user to enter the address twice. If the two match is it assumed that the email is correct. The regex above checks the pattern of a valid email address, but obviously cannot detect mis-spellings such as me@gmial.com. Using both techniques gives maximum coverage.


Quizmaster: On what part of the body is a lobotomy performed?
Contestant: The bottom.

[ronh100]

Thanks Phillip M,

As you can tell, I'm a newbie. I'll look for the thread to show me how to code the enter twice validation method. If you have a link to that thread you could give me, I would appreciate it.

Thanks for your help!

[Philip M]

Originally Posted by ronh100

Thanks Phillip M,

As you can tell, I'm a newbie. I'll look for the thread to show me how to code the enter twice validation method. If you have a link to that thread you could give me, I would appreciate it.

Thanks for your help!

Enter your email address <input type = "text" id = "em1" size = "50">
<br>
Confirm your email address <input type = "text" id = "em2" size = "50" onpaste = "detectPaste()">


<script type = "text/javascript">

// include in form validation script

// check for valid email adddress
var em = document.getElementById("em1").value;
if (!(/^([a-z0-9])([\w\.\-\+])+([a-z0-9])\@((\w)([\w\-]?)+\.)+([a-z]{2,4})$/i.test(em))) {  
alert ("The address you have entered is not valid - Please enter a valid email address");
document.getElementById("em1").value = "";
document.getElementById("em2").value = "";
document.getElementById("em1").focus();
return false;
}

//check that the two (proved valid) email addresses match
var e1 = document.getElementById("em1").value;
var e2 = document.getElementById("em2").value;
if (e1 != e2) {
alert ("The two email addresses you have entered do not match.  Please re-enter them");
document.getElementById("em1").value = "";
document.getElementById("em2").value = "";
document.getElementById("em1").focus();
return false
}

function detectPaste(){
//document.getElementById('em2').value="Naughty boy!";  
alert ("You have pasted the confirmation of your email address text  - please re-type it");
setTimeout(erase,10);
}

function erase(){
document.getElementById('em2').value="";  
}


</script>

Bookshop Assistant: "This book about Javascript will save you half your work".
Lazy Student: "Oh good! I'll take two!"

[felgall]

Originally Posted by Philip M

Having said that, one of the most effective email validations is to get the user to enter the address twice.

That is actually one of the most useless and annoying non-validations that you can use.

For passwords it makes sense to require that it be entered twice as you can't see what you have typed in order to correct any typos. That doesn't apply for email addresses where most people if asked to enter it twice would simply copy the content of the first field and paste it into the second - thus the presence of the field provides proof of the person's ability to copy and paste regardless of whether the email address that they originally entered was correct or not.

[Philip M]

Originally Posted by felgall

That is actually one of the most useless and annoying non-validations that you can use.

For passwords it makes sense to require that it be entered twice as you can't see what you have typed in order to correct any typos. That doesn't apply for email addresses where most people if asked to enter it twice would simply copy the content of the first field and paste it into the second - thus the presence of the field provides proof of the person's ability to copy and paste regardless of whether the email address that they originally entered was correct or not.

That is a very good point. So prevent paste into the field:-

<input id="one" size = "40" value = "myemail@nowherre.com"><br>
<input id="two" size = "40" onpaste="detectPaste()">

<script type = "text/javascript">

function detectPaste(){
document.getElementById('two').value="Naughty boy!";  
alert ("You have pasted text into this document");
setTimeout(erase,10);
}

function erase(){
document.getElementById('two').value="";  
}

</script>

That works in all modern browsers. It does not work if Javascript is disabled - but neither does any of the other validations.
I have added the script to Post #4.

[felgall]

You still haven't explaied how entering the same garbage email address twice somehow makes the email address valid. I could enter goaway@felgall.com in both fields and have it accepted even though there is no such email address - not that I'd bother since I generally leave any site stupid enough to ask for an email address to be entered a second time without bothering to enter any email address at all. If you are going to ask for email address twice then why not ask for all the other fields twice as well just to make sure that the person gets lots of typing practice.

The only way to actually validate an email address is to send an email to the address that contains a specially coded link. When the person received the email and clicks on the link the web page that loads then updates a flag on the record to indicate that the email is valid.

[Philip M]

Originally Posted by felgall

You still haven't explaied how entering the same garbage email address twice somehow makes the email address valid. I could enter goaway@felgall.com in both fields and have it accepted even though there is no such email address - not that I'd bother since I generally leave any site stupid enough to ask for an email address to be entered a second time without bothering to enter any email address at all. If you are going to ask for email address twice then why not ask for all the other fields twice as well just to make sure that the person gets lots of typing practice.

The only way to actually validate an email address is to send an email to the address that contains a specially coded link. When the person received the email and clicks on the link the web page that loads then updates a flag on the record to indicate that the email is valid.

Entering the email address twice (by typing) reduces (but does not totally eliminate) the risk that the address contains a typing error such as two characters accidentally transposed. A regex which validates a pattern will not detect that mistake. Obviously if the user insists on entering garbage then nothing can be done to prevent that. In most situations the user has a motivation to get his email address right as he expects some sort of response, such as an order acknowledgement. So he would probaly welcome advice that his address was mis-typed.

If you are so fastidious (precious?) that you feel that you must leave any site that requires you to enter your email adddress twice, then naturally you are unable to take advantage of whatever that site potentially has to offer. So it is your loss as well. Something about cutting off one's nose to spite one's face comes to mind.

[felgall]

Originally Posted by Philip M

If you are so fastidious (precious?) that you feel that you must leave any site that requires you to enter your email adddress twice, then naturally you are unable to take advantage of whatever that site potentially has to offer. So it is your loss as well. Something about cutting off one's nose to spite one's face comes to mind.

Not really. Most browsers can remember your email address for you and fill it in automatically so that is the field leasy likely to contain typos in the first place.

For every site silly enough to ask you to enter a field twice just in case you make a typo the first time and are too blind to be able to go back and fix it, there are usually at least ten other sites offering the same thing that don't assume that you are too blind to correct your own typos. I'd far rather deal with one of those ten sites than with the one that stupidly assumes that my browser has misremembered my email address.

It makes more sense to ask someone to enter their name twice in case they mistype it than asking their browser to fill in their email address twice.

[Philip M]

Originally Posted by felgall

there are usually at least ten other sites offering the same thing that don't assume that you are too blind to correct your own typos.

Really?
How many million times have I told you not to exaggerate and spoil your arguments with silly statements?

I am sorely tempted to say that if you chose your e-commerce suppliers on such specious and tenuous grounds then you may perhaps be the sort of customer who they would prefer to do without.