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Validations

Validations help you control what must be filled in, selected, or changed before an email can be reviewed or exported.

You can enable validations per input in the Template Editor when a field should follow a specific rule, for example:

  • a headline must not be left blank
  • a default value must be changed before sending
  • a text field must stay within a character limit
  • a number field must stay within an allowed range

How validation works​

When a validation is enabled:

  • the email editor shows a small warning icon next to invalid inputs
  • hovering the icon explains what is wrong
  • the Review step is blocked until all validation errors are fixed

Some inputs can also show an invalid default value directly in the template editor, so you can spot the issue before anyone uses the template.

If an input is hidden by a conditional visibility rule, it does not block Review or export while hidden.

Supported validations​

String​

Supports:

  • Required
  • Must change from default
  • Regex
  • Minimum characters
  • Maximum characters

Use this for plain text values such as labels, alt text, IDs, and other non-rich content.

Multi-line text​

Supports:

  • Required
  • Must change from default
  • Minimum characters
  • Maximum characters

For rich text inputs, the minimum and maximum character limits are based on the plain text content, not the HTML markup.

If you configure required Custom Link Attributes on a multi-line text input, those rules are checked per link. Review/export is only blocked when the content actually contains a link and one or more of its required attributes are missing.

Select​

Supports:

  • Required
  • Must change from default

If a select input is required, review/export is blocked until a non-blank value is selected.

Number​

Supports:

  • Required
  • Must change from default
  • Minimum / Maximum value

Use this for numeric values such as spacing, layout controls, counters, or limits.

If the input is shown as a slider, both minimum and maximum values are required. The configured step size is used for both the slider and manual numeric entry.

Supports:

  • Required
  • Must change from default
  • Regex

Link inputs also include format rules:

  • Only allow https is enabled by default
  • Allow merge tags can be enabled when the URL should accept a merge tag such as [destination_url]

When the saved default URL is invalid for the current link settings, the template editor shows the error and blocks saving until the default is fixed.

Required Custom Link Attributes on Link inputs are validated on the attribute field itself. When a URL is present, every required attribute must also be filled in before review/export can continue.

Color​

Supports:

  • No validation constraints

Color inputs do not support Required, because a color value is always selected.

Predefined color options can still include optional friendly names such as Primary Blue or Accent Red, but those labels are editor metadata only and do not affect validation.

Image​

Supports:

  • Required
  • Must change from default
  • Minimum width / height
  • Maximum width / height

Use these image-specific rules when a slot should only accept artwork within a known size range, for example a hero image that must be at least 1200px wide or a logo that must stay below a maximum size.

Image dimension rules are enforced whenever the image is changed in the Email Editor:

  • when a marketer uploads a new file
  • when a marketer enters an image URL
  • when Betty AI tries to set the image for that input

Boolean​

Supports:

  • Must change from default

Boolean inputs do not support Required, because the value is always either on or off.

Default values​

Default values still matter when validation is enabled.

  • Must change from default checks whether the marketer has changed the saved default value.
  • For image inputs with built-in Alt Text enabled, Must change from default applies to both the image and the stored alt text.
  • Some inputs can show an invalid default state in the template editor so you can fix it early.
  • Number inputs also block invalid defaults in the template editor when the default value falls outside the configured range.
  • Link inputs also block invalid defaults in the template editor when the saved URL does not match the current format rules.
  • Image inputs also block invalid defaults in the template editor when the saved image dimensions fall outside the configured width or height bounds.
  • Hidden inputs are ignored while they are hidden, and become active again when the visibility rule makes them visible.

For select inputs, a blank default can still be saved even when the field is required. In that case the input remains visibly invalid until the end user picks a value in the email editor.