Validation Reports

Understanding Validation Reports & Correcting Errors

Once the validation process is complete, a Validation Report will be produced.  If the Instrument has passed validation, the user will be provided with a confirmation that the file is valid at that point.  Where an Instrument has not successfully passed validation the Validation Report will show where errors have been found.

Any comments found in the Instrument are identified by a sequential error number. Under the heading, there will be one or more messages:

• messages appearing in red are errors which must be fixed
• messages appearing in orange starting ‘Warning only’ are warnings.  These may indicate an error, and it is good practice to check and correct these where necessary.

Each error message carries a reference number (e.g. ‘e00096) that is unique to that type of error.  These are provided to help users obtain more detailed information about the type of error and, where possible, describe the most common causes of the error, and potential  fixes.  A full list of error messages and common resolutions is available in the SI Validation Error Message Guide.

A comment is attached to a paragraph where validation rules fail.  Each rule has a corresponding error message therefore more than one error message may appear next to a paragraph.  These may be triggered for the same fault so reading them together will help with the diagnosis.

The report may be prefixed with “Global Errors” and this indicates a problem with the document that cannot be associated with a specific paragraph.

Sometimes, a paragraph may not match exactly the pattern of characters expected for that style. While this may not be wrong, it is consistent with an error.  This will be marked as a warning and suggest what part of the text needs to be reviewed.

While most warning and error messages provide specific advice, some may only provide general guidance; in this case, you should refer to the SI Template Manual for further guidance or contact the SI Support Team.

The most common errors are incorrect style use.  Although a numbered paragraph, without its number, may appear to be a text paragraph, it is not the same and cannot be processed.  Adjustments to indentation, alignment or spacing may also be invisible or seem insignificant, but can invalidate the document.