Permissions: To create or edit Validator Definitions, users must have the Validator Configure privilege.

Validator is a conformance tool that enables validation of imported data against a standard as well as a controlled terminology version (with the exception of the DMOD standard). Validator provides a quick way to verify that all required variables for the standard are present, and that no unexpected or non-standard variables are included beyond those optionally allowed by the standard.

Access Validator

1. Access Validator module from the module drop-down from a study or global data store details page.
   
2. By default, the Definitions tab opens to display any existing Validation definitions as tiles.
   

Create a Validator Definition

1. Click the plus sign in the master header to create a new definition. A New Definition window opens with the Details tab highlighted.
   
2. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the definition.
3. In the Rules to run area, click to select or clear checkboxes for the types of validation to be performed on the data. Options include:
   • Missing Datasets – Validates that the data store includes all datasets required by the selected standard.
   • Dataset not found in the standard – Validates that only datasets that are required or optional exist.
   • Expected variable not found – Validates that all required variables exist in datasets.
   • Variable not found in the standard – Validates that datasets only contain required and optional variables.
   • Required variable not found or has null values – Validates that required variables exist and have values.
   • Controlled terminology – Validates values in fields that use defined controlled terminology. When selected, a specific Controlled Terminology version must be selected on the Standard tab. This option is grayed out if the selected standard on the Standard tab is DMOD.
   • Dataset variable type mismatch – Validates that all variable data types match the selected standard.
   • Variable is in the wrong order within domain – Validates that the variables in a dataset are in the standard order.
   • Data Type Mismatch – Validates that all values in a variable can be converted to the data type defined for that variable in the selected standard.
   • Data Precision Too low –Validates that, for float types, the number of significant digits in the data is not less than the number of significant digits defined in the standard.
   • Data Length/Precision too high – Validates that variable lengths in the data do not exceed the length specified in the standard for each variable, and ensures that for float data types, the number of significant digits does not exceed the defined limit in the Standard.
4. Click the Data tab.
   
5. In the Data Store field, select the appropriate staging area or data mart from the drop-down menu that contains the datasets to be validated.

6. In the Included Domains field, select one of the following options from the drop-down menu: Include all domains, Include the following domains, or Exclude the following domains.

   If the Include or Exclude option is selected, the list of domains for the selected data store are shown. Select the checkbox for specific domain(s), or use the Domain Wildcards field to enter a pattern with wildcards, for example, LB_* (which matches LB_CHEM and LB_SAE) to specify domains in the select data store to include/exclude them from validation.

7. Click the Standard tab.
8. In the Standard field, select a standard from the drop-down list. Available options correspond to the standards defined in the Standards module. Once a standard is selected, the associated Standard Domains  display.
   
9. If necessary, in the Study Domain Overrides(s) field, enter the domain name(s) to be validated against the standard. A comma-separated list can be used, along with wildcards such as *(any characters) and ?(any single character).
10. In the Controlled Terminology field, select the appropriate version from the drop-down menu. This field is only available if the Controlled Terminology option is selected in the Rules to run area and is not available when the selected standard is DMOD. 
11. Click Save. The new definition displays in the table / tiles. 

Tip: To support reusability and the scheduling of conformance validations, create validation definitions that can be run manually or scheduled to run at a later time.

Run a Validator Definition

1. When viewing a Validator Definition tile, click the the Run Validator (play) icon to run the Validation Definition immediately.
2. After the job completes, the results are available on the Results tab.

Schedule a Validator Definition

1. When viewing a Validator Definition tile, click the Schedule (calendar) icon to schedule the Validation Definition to run.
2. The New Task window opens, defaulting to the Task tab.
3. Enter a Name and Description for the task.
4. Click the Schedule tab, and configure the schedule, including any repeat settings.
5. Click the Actions tab. The Validator and Email actions are added by default.
6. Adjust or add actions as needed.
7. Click Save to create the scheduled Validator task.

Tip: Visit the Automated Tasks section for more details on how to schedule a validator task.

Edit a Validator Definition

1. When viewing a Validator Definition tile, click the Edit Definition (pencil) icon.
2. The Edit Definition window opens, defaulting to the Details tab.
3. Modify the conformance rules to run and data store to be validated.
4. Click Save to confirm the changes, or Cancel to exit without saving.

Delete a Validator Definition

1. When viewing a Validator Definition tile, click the Delete (trashcan) icon to remove the Validation Definition.

Note: Previous results are still viewable.

View Validator Results

Click the Results tab to view the outcome of a completed validation job. Results for all previously executed jobs are displayed.

Each row in the results represents a violation of the rules specified in the Validator Definition. By default, 10 rows are displayed. To change the number of rows shown, click the drop-down next to '10' in the master header and select: 25, 50, or 100. Use the page navigation controls at the bottom of the window to move between pages. The results include the following items:

• Type: The rule from the definition that triggered the error
• Message: A brief explanation of the issue
• Domain: The domain where the error occurred
• Field: The specific field that does not match the validator rules

Tip: If the results include a large number of errors, use the search fields at the top of the results table to locate specific items.

View Previous Validator Results

On the left side of the Results tab, a history of previously run Validator Definitions displays. Selecting one of these validation jobs loads the associated results in the results area on the right.

Export Validator Results

1. In the Results tab, select the validation job to export from the list on the left.
2. Click the Export button in the master header.
3. Select Export to Excel or Export to CSV. 

Delete Validator Results

1. In the Results tab, select the validation job to delete from the list on the left.
2. Click the Delete (trashcan) icon in the master header.