Validating controls in ListView insert/edit templates - asp.net

Question

I added a RequiredFieldValidator to my InsertItemTemplate, and it seems to be working fine. The problem I am having, however, is that now I cannot do anything else in the ListView (like edit or delete items) UNLESS the required field has a value. Is there some way I can manually do the validation when the user clicks the 'Insert' button on the InsertItemTemplate, or some other little trick I can perform so the user doesn't have to first type in a value just to delete something else in the list?
Thanks

Answer 1

A_Nablsi,
Please provide the code for your solution to turn the Insert New validation controls off when in Edit/Update mode or turn Edit/Update validation controls off when both the Edit and Insert Rows are active at the same time. This code using your notional solution fails with a null reference to the updateButton.
LinkButton updateButton = LVTasks.EditItem.FindControl("UpdateButtonTask") as LinkButton;
updateButton.CausesValidation = false;
The solution that works is adding Validation Groups.
Include ValidationGroup="myVGEdit" with your Validator Control(s) in the EditItemTemplate and your Update button.
Include ValidationGroup="myVGInsert" with your Validator Control(s) in the InsertItemTemplate and your Insert button.
<asp:ListView ID="LVTasks" runat="server"
DataKeyNames="IDTask"
DataSourceID="LDS_LVTasks"
InsertItemPosition="FirstItem"
oniteminserting="LVTasks_ItemInserting"
onitemupdating="LVTasks_ItemUpdating"
onitemcommand="LVTasks_ItemCommand"
>
<EditItemTemplate>
<asp:TextBox ID="TaskUpdateTextBox" runat="server"
Text='<%# Bind("Task") %>'
TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="1" Font-Bold="true" Width="300px"
/>
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator ID="RequiredFieldValidator1" runat="server"
ErrorMessage="Please Set Task title"
ControlToValidate="TaskUpdateTextBox"
ValidationGroup="myVGUpdate"
/>
<asp:LinkButton ID="UpdateCancelButton" runat="server"
CommandArgument='<%#Eval("IDTask") %>'
CommandName="Cancel"
CausesValidation="False"
ToolTip="Cancel - Abort - No Changes"><div class="Cancel"></div></asp:LinkButton>
<asp:LinkButton ID="UpdateButtonTask" runat="server"
CommandArgument='<%#Eval("IDTask") %>'
CommandName="Update"
CausesValidation="True"
ValidationGroup="myVGEdit"
ToolTip="Save Changes - Update"><div class="Update" ></div></asp:LinkButton>
</EditItemTemplate>
<InsertItemTemplate>
<asp:TextBox ID="TaskInsertTextBox" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("Task") %>'
TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="1" Font-Bold="true" Width="300px"
/>
<asp:RequiredFieldValidator ID="RequiredFieldValidator1" runat="server"
ErrorMessage="Please Set Task title"
ControlToValidate="TaskInsertTextBox"
ValidationGroup="myVGInsert"
/>
<asp:LinkButton ID="CancelButton" runat="server"
CommandArgument='<%#Eval("IDTask") %>'
CommandName="Cancel"
CausesValidation="False"><div class="Clear" ></div></asp:LinkButton>
<asp:LinkButton ID="InsertButtonTask" runat="server"
CommandArgument='<%#Eval("IDTask") %>'
CommandName="Insert"
CausesValidation="true"
ValidationGroup="myVGInsert"
><div class="Insert" ></div></asp:LinkButton>
</InsertItemTemplate>

Answer 2

Yes,
set the CausesValidation property to false on the controls you don't want them to trigger the validation.