Calling a RequiredFieldValidator and ValidatorCallExtender inside GridView - asp.net

Question

I have a GridView with its columns being TextBoxes and after user made modifications to data within GridView I have a "Commit" Button thats located outside the GridView and also located under a different Content within the page... How do I set the Validator to work even though I have the validator set correctly but when I click on the "Commit" button it doesn't check for the validation and I believe its because the button is not inside the GridView or UpdatePanel... Is there a way to get around that? or A better approach?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Please select a Test from the dropdown below.<br />
<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlResult" runat="server"
onselectedindexchanged="ddlResult_SelectedIndexChanged"
AutoPostBack="True" CausesValidation="false">
</asp:DropDownList>
<br />
<asp:UpdatePanel ID="upGrid" runat="server">
<ContentTemplate>
<asp:GridView ID="grdResults" runat="server"
CssClass="gridview"
RowStyle-CssClass="gridview_itm"
AlternatingRowStyle-CssClass="gridview_aitm"
HeaderStyle-CssClass="gridview_hdr"
Width="100%" AutoGenerateColumns="False">
<Columns>
<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Test">
<ItemTemplate>
<asp:Label ID="lblTest" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Test")%>'></asp:Label>
</ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateField>
<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Result">
<ItemTemplate>
<asp:TextBox ID="tbResult" runat="server" Text='<%#Request.QueryString["t_ID"] == null ? null : Eval("n_Result") %>'></asp:TextBox>
<asp:Label ID="lblResult" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Validate")%>' ForeColor="#D50000"></asp:Label>
<asp:FilteredTextBoxExtender ID="ftbe" runat="server" TargetControlID="tbResult" FilterType="Custom, Numbers" ValidChars='<%#Eval("n_Mask")%>' />
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator runat="server" ID="RReq"
ControlToValidate="tbResult"
Display="None"
ErrorMessage="A Result is required." />
<asp:ValidatorCalloutExtender runat="Server" ID="RReqE"
TargetControlID="RReq"
HighlightCssClass="validatorCalloutHighlight" />
</ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateField>
<asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Date Completed">
<ItemTemplate>
<asp:TextBox ID="tbDate" runat="server" Text='<%#Request.QueryString["t_ID"] == null ? null : Eval("d_DateCompleted") %>'></asp:TextBox>
<asp:Image ID="imgCalendar" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/App_Themes/Sugar2006/images/Calendar_scheduleHS.png" ImageAlign="Middle" />
<asp:CalendarExtender ID="ce" runat="server" TargetControlID ="tbDate" PopupButtonID="imgCalendar" />
<asp:MaskedEditExtender ID="mex" runat="server"
TargetControlID="tbDate"
Mask="99/99/9999"
MaskType="Date"
MessageValidatorTip="true"
OnFocusCssClass="MaskedEditFocus"
OnInvalidCssClass="MaskedEditError" />
<asp:MaskedEditValidator ID="mev" runat="server"
ControlToValidate="tbDate"
ControlExtender="mex"
Display="Dynamic"
InvalidValueMessage="This date is invalid!" Font-Bold="True"
ForeColor="#D50000" />
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator runat="server" ID="DReq"
ControlToValidate="tbDate"
Display="None"
ErrorMessage="A Date is required." />
<asp:ValidatorCalloutExtender runat="Server" ID="DReqE"
TargetControlID="DReq"
HighlightCssClass="validatorCalloutHighlight" />
</ItemTemplate>
</asp:TemplateField>
</Columns>
</asp:GridView>
<br />
<asp:Label ID="lblSave" runat="server" Text="**After Each Test Entry Please Save." ForeColor="#D50000"></asp:Label>
</ContentTemplate>
<Triggers>
<asp:AsyncPostBackTrigger ControlID="ddlResult" EventName="SelectedIndexChanged" />
</Triggers>
</asp:UpdatePanel>
<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="cntSidebar" runat="server">
<asp:Button ID="btnSave" runat="server" Text="Save" Width="80%"
onclick="btnSave_Click"/> <br />
<asp:Button ID="btnClose" runat="server" Text="Close" Width="80%"
onclick="btnClose_Click" CausesValidation="false"/>
</asp:Content>

Answer 1

Have you tried setting the following properties on the Commit button:
CausesValidation="true" ValidationGroup="vgMyGroup"
Also, try setting the validation controls property: ValidationGroup="vgMyGroup"
Another suggestion could be to do a postback on the Commit button's click event and check for
if(Page.IsValid)...
I would be interested to see if setting the ValidationGroup property persists across the ASP content controls..