CSE HTML Validator Standard/Professional v6.01 Documentation
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Welcome to CSE HTML Validator! CSE HTML Validator Std/Pro is a powerful HTML, XHTML, CSS, accessibility, link and spell checking tool for web developers. CSE HTML Validator Lite is a free tool but is limited compared to the standard and professional editions. The lite edition does not support CSS, accessibility and link checking nor does it feature the thorough syntax checking of the standard and professional editions.
Most of this program should be self explanatory so that it should not be difficult to "jump in" and begin using HTML Validator to check your documents. But first, you may want to learn about the features of HTML Validator's integrated editor (new window), which you'll probably be using to edit and correct the problems that HTML Validator finds in web documents. If you are using the standard or professional edition, then you don't have to use the integrated editor. You may instead choose to use an editor or application that integrates with CSE HTML Validator Std/Pro.
To validate a document on the hard drive or on a network drive, follow these directions:
The results of the validation will appear in the Results Window. If you are using the standard or professional editions, then select the Messages tab in the Results Window to see the main validation messages. If you are using the lite edition, then there are no tabs that you can click on in the Results Window. Click on a message in the Results Window to view the complete message in the message box and to make HTML Validator highlight the part of the document that caused the message to be generated. Note that not all messages when clicked will cause a part of the document to be highlighted because not all messages have an associated character and line number. Some messages, such as comments, do not have an associated character and line number and will not cause any part of the document to be highlighted when the message is selected. To navigate through the messages, simply click on them with the mouse or use Alt+Up and Alt+Down (Up and Down refer to the cursor keys).
In the standard and professional editions, there is also a Grouped Messages tab. This tab helps to separate more important messages, such as errors and warnings, from the less important messages. Error and warning messages will normally be concentrated in the Messages tab while less important messages are normally concentrated in the Grouped Messages tab. The Grouped Messages tab also groups messages by category for easier viewing. If you would like the messages that appear in the Grouped Messages tab to also appear in the Messages tab, then please check the option to do so in the Editor Options.
In the standard and professional editions, there is also a Styles tab that shows messages generated by the CSS style checker. The CSS style checker can check CSS embedded in HTML and XHTML documents as well as external style sheets. The style checker can be disabled in the Validator Engine Options. If style checking is disabled then no messages will appear under the Styles tab.
In the standard and professional editions, there is also an Accessibility tab that shows accessibility messages generated by the validator. The validator engine can help check documents for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) compliance as well as compliance with US Section 508 federal standards. Accessibility checking may be disabled in the Validator Engine Options. If accessibility checking is disabled then no messages will appear under the Accessibility tab.
After you look at all the messages and edit the HTML document to correct any issues that are found, the document can be revalidated to update the validator messages. Continue editing the document and revalidating it until the validation results are satisfactory.
The numbers in brackets that appear in front of some of the validator messages (like "[10]") refer to flags that can be turned off (disabled) or turned on (enabled). By default, all flags are enabled. If you see a message that you do not want to see anymore on all future validations, then you can bring up the pop-up menu on that message and disable the flag (the pop-up menu is usually shown by right-clicking the mouse on the validator message). Disabling a flag will normally cause the message not to appear again, as well as other related messages. You can always enable any flags that you disable by going to the Validator Engine Options. This capability is a powerful customization feature of CSE HTML Validator Standard and Professional and is not included in the lite edition. Learn more about this capability and what the flags do (new window).
Most messages can be individually disabled. Unlike disabling a flag, which may cause many related messages to be disabled as well, disabling a message on an individual basis will not affect other messages. To disable an individual message, bring up the pop-up menu on the message and choose Options for this Message->Disable Message. Note that there are other options as well, such as changing the message type. Most, but not all, messages can be controlled like this.
A validation report cannot be directly printed from HTML Validator. However, the Batch Wizard (see below) can be used to print a validation report. The validation messages can also be copied to the clipboard by selecting that option to do so in the pop-up menu of the Results Window. The messages can then be pasted in any editor and then printed using the editor's print function.
The standard and professional editions allow you to view and/or check links. To do this, select the Links tab in the Results Window. Note that the links only appear after validating a document. Press the Check Links button to check the links (this button looks like a normal triangular "play" button). When the check is finished, HTML Validator will place a red square in front of all the links that HTML Validator believes to be broken. A yellow square will be placed in front of redirected links. If HTML Validator does not know how to check a link then HTML Validator will place a blue square in front of the link. Note that HTML Validator will only check local file or HTTP links and will do a syntax check on email addresses (email address syntax checking can be disabled). By default, HTML Validator will automatically press the Check Links button for you to check links in the background while you work. You can disable automatic link checking in the Editor Options.
The colored squares in the tab names in the Results Window show the severity of the content of the tab. For example, a red square in front of the tab name indicates error messages or, in the case of the Links tab, it indicates that there are bad links. A yellow square indicates warning messages or, in the case of the Links tab, indicates that there are redirected links. A blue or green square indicates no error or warning messages or, in the case of the Links tab, that no bad links were found. You should view the contents of any tab with a red or yellow square in front of it.
The standard and professional editions allow you to check URLs. To do this, the document must first be loaded into the editor. You can do this by choosing File->Open from the Web. You will need a network connection when opening documents from other computers. Once the document has been loaded into the editor, it can be validated as if it were a document that you opened from a local disk. However, editing and saving the document will not change the document that was sent from the server. You will have to change the original document that is normally located on the HTTP server. Often times this is done by uploading the file to the web server by using an FTP program.
Only the professional edition includes the Batch Wizard. The Batch Wizard (accessible from Tools->Batch Wizard or by pressing F2) can be used to generate a validation report in HTML format. The Batch Wizard can generate single or multiple page reports for one or more documents. If you wish, you can then print out the validation report using a web browser.
You can quickly validate documents that are open in the editor with the Batch Wizard. For example, choosing Tools->Validate with Batch Wizard or pressing Shift+F6 will quickly validate the current editor document with the Batch Wizard and allow you to see and print the HTML report generated by the Batch Wizard. This is simply another way to see the results of a validation. To validate all open editor documents, choose Tools->Validate All with Batch Wizard.
When used with a target list, the Batch Wizard can follow links. This lets you use the Batch Wizard to easily check an entire site or part of a site by only adding one target and then following the links in that target. Another feature is the Link Check tool that functions only as a link checker and not a validator. This lets you quickly check the links of a site without having to validate the pages and generate validation reports. Note that the Batch Wizard is designed to check only small to medium-sized web sites. If you have a large site, then it should be checked in parts.
If you have a question using CSE HTML Validator, then you may want to visit the Support Page or the Frequently Asked Questions Page on CSE HTML Validator's web site.
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