and/or contact us directly, describing the issue or problem in detail.
I lost my license key and/or need to download the program again.
Can I buy one license and install HTML Validator on two computers?
HTML Validator does not start (does nothing when trying to start).
Can I do a portable install?
I can't install the program. It tells me the file is corrupt.
How do I do a silent install?
I'm upgrading to a new computer. How do I move HTML Validator over to it?
I uninstalled a previous version of HTML Validator and am having problems using the new version.
How do I remove the HTML Validator option settings from the registry?
How do I replicate the configuration and options for multiple installs?
I'm having trouble with an upgrade installation. How do I do a clean install?
How do I install the latest standard/professional edition without uninstalling an older version?
HTML Validator freezes when reloading documents at startup.
HTML Validator displays the error "HTML Validator: Error Opening HTML Configuration."
HTML Validator displays an "Insert disk" or "No Disk" message like "Please insert a disk into drive A:."
HTML Validator cannot load the Tag Inserter Configuration.
HTML Validator freezes when trying to start.
I'm not getting the email with my registration information.
How can I automatically register HTML Validator by entering information directly into the registry?
How can I stop HTML Validator from requiring registration for different user accounts?
My registered version of HTML Validator is acting like it is the trial version.
How can I see the license agreement?
HTML Validator is unstable, crashes, or exhibits unusual GUI behavior.
HTML Validator freezes (stops responding) while trying to load or reload a document (or for unknown reason).
How do I change the sound that is played at the end of a validation?
How to I change the default folder when opening a file?
Viewing with the external viewer does not work.
I got a printing error when trying to print.
Why is HTML Validator generating errors for entities like &#147;, &#148;, and &#151;?
The validator is telling me that not all of my tags are closed. How do I find out which tags are not closed?
Why is the validator telling me that some of my tags are not closed (have no end tag) when the end tags are there?
What do the messages "Reached the end of the line...", "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line...", and "Reached the end of the document before..." mean?
Why is my "a" tag out of range?
How do I print or email a validation report?
Why does HTML Validator's results differ from W3C's validator results?
How do I check dynamic sites like PHP and ASP sites?
How do I check frames?
How do I validate to only HTML 3.2, HTML 4.01, or HTML5 standards?
How do I configure HTML Validator to validate a new tag?
How do I configure HTML Validator to accept only certain strings for attribute values?
Can I make HTML Validator more strict/picky?
How do I change a message type (like changing a warning message to an error message)?
How do I export all the tag name programs to a text file?
How do I switch between different sets of validation options?
Can I generate a single report for multiple documents?
Is there a way to batch process files?
How do I validate my website by giving HTML Validator one URL, file, or folder?
How do I exclude certain folders from being processed?
How do I check the links on my website using the link check tool?
Where can I get more information on the template tool (and other tools)?
Does HTML Validator support XHTML?
Does HTML Validator have a DTD ("real") validator?
Does HTML Validator fix my HTML?
Will HTML Validator run on Windows 9x, XP, a Mac, or Unix/Linux?
How do I add file associations in Vista?
How do I change the program associated with editing an HTML document? I don't want CSS HTML Validator associated with this anymore.
How do I stop HTML Validator from validating the source document when I choose View->Source in Internet Explorer?
How do I use CSS HTML Validator's Editor when choosing View->Source in Internet Explorer?
How do I add words to the dictionary?
Check your computer for viruses and malware! The most likely cause of this is a virus infecting the EXE that you have downloaded. When you run the CSS HTML Validator setup program, it detects the corruption and lets you know about it. If you don't find any viruses or malware on your computer then try downloading the file again. Also, make sure the file that you get is digitally signed by AI Internet Solutions LLC.
You should download the latest version of HTML Validator and install it using the setup program. Simply copying the files over will not perform a correct installation. After installing it, you can register it with your registration information.
If you have two versions of HTML Validator installed, then uninstalling one of them may interfere with the other. You should reinstall (into the same folder) the version that you want to keep using after uninstalling another version of HTML Validator that was also on your system.
WARNING! This removes your HTML Validator option settings from the registry! You should reinstall HTML Validator after doing this if you want to continue using HTML Validator. You may have to do this procedure for every user that you want the option settings removed for. You should also execute/open the *.reg file at least once as administrator because there is a certain key that should be removed that requires administrator access to remove.
You'll need to use the same configuration file. This file is named something like htmlvalV160.cfg or htmlvalV180.cfg. Make sure that the same configuration file exists on all computers and that the Config file option in the Validator Engine Options, Config File page points to it.
You can use the import/export options in the Validator Engine Options to export the validator engine settings to a file and then import them into another installation.
If you don't want to use the import/export options in the Validator Engine Options then you'll need to use the Registry Editor to export and import registry data. To replicate just the validator engine options (but not the editor options), export the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4\Validator DLL key on the source machine and then import it on the target machine. To replicate all registry settings (including the editor options), use the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4 key instead.
If you are importing registry data then be sure that the installation folder on the target machine is the same as the installation folder on the source machine.
Note that CSS HTML Validator should be installed with the setup program on all target machines before any registry data is imported.
Close CSS HTML Validator so that it is not running.
Uninstall all versions of CSS HTML Validator from your computer. You can use Uninstall a program (or Add or Remove Programs) in the Control Panel. If at uninstall you are asked to do a "full uninstall", then answer 'Yes'. If this question is asked and you answer 'yes' then you do not need to follow the link in the next step to remove the old option settings from the registry.
(if you did not answer 'yes' to a full uninstall) Remove old option settings from the registry (this will cause your CSS HTML Validator options and registration information to be forgotten so you can start fresh).
(optional) For an even cleaner install, you can manually delete the HTML Validator folders where you originally installed CSS HTML Validator. These are usually folders beginning with HTMLValidator in your C:\Program Files (x86) or C:\Program Files folder (like C:\Program Files (x86)\HTMLValidator160). Normally this step is not necessary.
Install the version of CSS HTML Validator that you want to use (we always recommend the latest version).
Run and then register CSS HTML Validator using your registration information.
How do I install the latest standard or higher edition without uninstalling an older version?
These steps are not for the lite edition. The lite edition acts independently of whatever standard (or higher) edition(s) you may have installed. These steps are only for installing multiple major versions of the standard and/or professional editions.
Third party applications that use CSS HTML Validator will use the version that was last installed. This is because the installation program installs the validator engine into the Windows system folder, overwriting any preexisting engine from a previous installation.
If you have more than one version of CSS HTML Validator installed and you want to uninstall one of the versions, then you should uninstall the version that you want to remove and then reinstall the version that you want to keep into the same folder that it is already installed in. This will restore any needed files that may have been removed with the uninstall.
This is often caused by an overreacting security program that is running in the background. Try temporarily disabling any security software and then running the program. Also, see if you can create an exception for CSS HTML Validator in any security software that may be blocking the program from running.
Two program that have, in some cases, been known to block CSS HTML Validator from starting are F-Secure and Zone Alarm. For a list of other programs that have been reported to cause problems and for some possible solutions, please see the forum topic about known issues with 3rd Party Software.
In CSS HTML Validator v10.0 and above, go to Options->Validator Engine Options and then to the Validator Engine->Config File page. Make sure that the default configuration file contains a FULL and correct path to the configuration file. For example, it should be something like C:\Program Files\HTMLValidator180\htmlvalV180.cfg for 32-bit systems or C:\Program Files (x86)\HTMLValidator180\htmlvalV180.cfg for 64-bit systems.
This is usually caused when the default selected folder in the Shell or Shell 2 tab of the Resource Window is on a removable drive and a disk is not in the drive. To solve this problem, either keep a disk in the default selected folder(s) or make the default selected folder a drive that does not use removable disks. You can do this by selecting the Shell tab in the Resource Window and selecting a different drive or folder (if the Resource Window is not visible, press Alt+F9). Do the same for the Shell 2 tab.
Also see HTML Validator freezes when trying to start.
Using regedit.exe, delete TagInserterConfigFileVXXX in the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4\Editor\Options. This will cause HTML Validator to reset this value to the default value which will likely fix the problem. If this doesn't work, and you have manually changed the Tag Inserter Configuration, then make sure that it is in the correct format or HTML Validator will not be able to load it.
This may happen if you have disconnected network drives. Check to make sure that you have no disconnected network drives and then try to restart HTML Validator. If this doesn't work, try using regedit.exe to delete SelectedFolder and SelectedFolder2 (if it exists) in the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4\Editor\Interface and then restart HTML Validator.
If you have two computers (such as a desktop and notebook) and you are the only user of both computers then you can buy only one license and use it on both computers.
First, make sure that your registration information and license keys have been emailed to you. If you do not receive it within 24 hours (although normally it comes much faster), then the most likely cause is a spam filter that is incorrectly filtering or blocking the email. You may need to address this with your spam filtering software to make sure that the email is not being discarded or incorrectly sent to the wrong folder.
If the above doesn't resolve the problem or you do not use spam filtering software or spam filtering rules on your computer, then your email service provider or ISP may be filtering or blocking the email. If you do not receive your registration information email within 24 hours after it is sent then we recommend that you contact your email service provider or ISP and ask them why you are not receiving email from htmlvalidator.com.
For CSE HTML Validator Std/Pro/Enterprise v16.0x, you can install these string value names: RegistrationKeyV160, RegistrationNameV160, and RegistrationPINV160 in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4.
For CSE HTML Validator Std/Pro/Enterprise v17.0x, you can install these string value names: RegistrationKeyV170, RegistrationNameV170, and RegistrationPINV170 in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4.
For CSE HTML Validator Std/Pro/Enterprise 2018/v18, you can install these string value names: RegistrationKeyV180, RegistrationNameV180, and RegistrationPINV180 in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4.
For CSE HTML Validator Std/Pro/Enterprise 2019/v19, you can install these string value names: RegistrationKeyV190, RegistrationNameV190, and RegistrationPINV190 in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4.
Also see how to stop HTML Validator from requiring registration for different user accounts.
NOTE: If running under Wine then you can run "wine regedit" from the terminal to edit Wine's registry.
HTML Validator stores registration information in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Therefore, it needs to be registered for each user who will use it under a different user account.
For v11.0x and above, this requirement can be overridden by creating new string values named RegistrationNameV180, RegistrationKeyV180, and RegistrationPINV180 under HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4 (be sure to use "v4" even if using a later version). The same is true for other versions, but replace "V180" in the value names with the correct version, such as "V160" for v16.0x, "V170" for v17.0x, "V180" for 2018/v18.0x, or "V190" for 2019/v19.0x. Store the value names and string values in HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4. The values should be your registration name, key, and PIN number as given in your license information.
Note that each user account will still have its own options and settings (they will not be shared among accounts).
First, make sure that you have downloaded a registrable version of HTML Validator using your registration number and PIN number. Then install it and enter your registration information into the program (Help->Register Program) according to the instructions provided when you purchased the license. Make sure that you enter the correct registration information into HTML Validator and that you use the correct key for the version of HTML Validator that you are using. A common problem is using an old key that was for a previous version of HTML Validator. You can also have your registration information (with the latest keys) sent to you again.
If the above doesn't work, then another possible cause of this problem is when there is an old or trial version of csevalidator.dll still on your hard drive after you install the registered version. Search your computer for csevalidator.dll and delete all copies of it except the copy in the Windows system folder. This file should only be in the Windows system folder. If this doesn't work, make sure that HTML Validator is not running and use the setup program to reinstall HTML Validator into the same folder as the original installation.
The license agreement is included with all versions of CSS HTML Validator. It's also included in the documentation of CSS HTML Validator. See also the 2019/v19 license agreement in the online version of the documentation.
First, make sure that you are using the latest version of CSS HTML Validator by doing an update check (choose Help->Check for Updates in the editor). You can also see what version you are using by choosing Help->About and comparing it to the latest version available for download. If you think you've found a bug, are using the latest version, and can consistently reproduce the bug, then please contact us.
Other possible causes of this are bad hardware (such as defective memory), running too many programs in the background, and running software that interferes with the normal operation of your computer. You may also want to try updating your video drivers, as bugs in video drivers have been known to cause system and application crashes.
If using CSS HTML Validator 2019/v19 then make sure you're using v19.0011 or above. If that doesn't fix the problem and you're using Windows 10 Version 1803 then update Windows 10 to a newer version/build, like 1809 or above, or apply all the latest updates for 1803. To find out what version of Windows you have, press Win+R and run "winver".
You can specify what sounds you want to play in the Validator Engine Options->Sound page, as well as enable and disable sounds.
For the standard or professional edition: HTML Validator normally uses the folder selected in the Resource Window, Shell tab as the default folder when opening files. To change the selected folder, view the Resource Window, select the Shell tab, and then select the folder that you want to be the default in the top half of the Resource Window.
For the lite edition (v7.0+): The "Start in" folder can be changed (by editing the properties of the shortcut used to launch CSS HTML Validator Lite) to the folder that you'd like to be the default folder when first opening a file with File->Open. CSS HTML Validator Lite will also remember the directory of the last opened file until the program is closed.
When choosing to view a document with an external viewer, CSS HTML Validator tells the operating system to open the document using its default program. Therefore, make sure that the operating system knows the correct program to open your documents with. For example, if you are having trouble viewing HTML files in Windows XP (you want your browser to open with the HTML document when you choose to view an HTML document with the external viewer in CSS HTML Validator), then open Windows Explorer, choose an HTML file, bring up the pop-up context menu for it (usually by right-clicking the mouse), choose Open With->Choose Program, select the browser you want (such as Internet Explorer), check the box Always use the selected program to open this kind of file, then click OK. Finally, try viewing an HTML document with the external viewer in CSS HTML Validator (it should now work). In Windows XP, you can also open Windows Explorer and go to Tools->Folder Options, File Types tab and change the behavior based on file type there.
Please exit CSS HTML Validator and then delete the registry key PrinterOptionsV1101 in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AI Internet Solutions\CSE HTML Validator v4\Editor\Options.
You are likely using non-standard, Microsoft specific entities. The use of these entities is not recommended. They may not work on other platforms. There are no displayable characters 128 to 159 in ISO-8859-1 or in Unicode. See this chart for alternate entities to use. If the alternate entities are not accepted by HTML Validator, then you may need to check the Numeric entities include Unicode option in the Validator 1 tab of the Validator Engine Options. If you still want to use the non-standard entities (not recommended), then you can tell HTML Validator (professional edition only) that these entities are OK by adding them to the configuration.
It is normal for some tags not to be closed (have end tags). For example, the <img> and <meta> tags should not have end tags. If a tag that should be closed is not closed then the validator will point it out with an error message. If it is acceptable for a tag not to have an end tag then the validator will not generate any error or warning messages and will not tell you specifically which tags are not closed.
The most likely cause of this is that there is a mismatched quotation mark in a tag, either an extra one or a missing one. This is confusing the parser and the validator is not able to see the end tags that are there. To find the problem, look for the first message that starts with "Reached the end of the line before a closing quote..." or "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line...". The mismatched quotation mark is probably on or near that line. Also see What do the messages "Reached the end of the line...", "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line...", and "Reached the end of the document before..." mean?
Important: If you don't receive any "Reached the end of the line before a closing quote..." or "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line..." messages, then you may have the Allow multi-line quotes option checked. You may want to go to the Validator Engine Options and uncheck this option so that "Reached the end of the line before a closing quote..." and "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line..." messages can be generated, thus making it easier to find certain problems caused by improper quotations. We recommend that you keep this option unchecked.
The "Reached the end of the line before a closing quote..." or "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line..." message could indicate two things: 1) You have a quoted string on multiple lines or 2) there is a missing or extra quotation mark. If #1, then we recommend that you put the whole quotation on one line and do not wrap it onto multiple lines. If #2, then you should look for an extra or missing quotation mark in the line that causes the first "Reached the end of the line before a closing quote..." or "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line..." message to appear.
The "Reached the end of the document before..." message is sometimes displayed when there is a mismatched quotation mark somewhere in the document. The mismatched quotation mark may make HTML Validator think that your HTML tags are in a quoted string, so it ignores them. This can cause HTML Validator to generate erroneous messages. To find where the problem is likely to be, look at the first line that causes the "Reached the end of the line before a closing quote..." or "This line contains part of a quoted string that spans more than one line..." message to appear. Look at this line to make sure that you have not misused any quotation mark characters by forgetting to include one or by using an extra quotation character.
It is likely that a previous "a" start tag was not ended. "a" elements cannot be nested, even if it is just a <a name="(name)"> tag. All <a> start tags must end with </a>.
If your edition supports the Batch Wizard, then you can use it to generate a validation report in HTML for single or multiple documents. The report can then be printed from your web browser. To do this, you can simply use the Validate with Batch Wizard function (Shift+F6) from the integrated editor. Otherwise you will have to go into the Batch Wizard and create a target list with the documents that you want to validate.
You can also choose Copy Messages to Clipboard from the context menu (right-click menu) of the Results Window. You can then paste the messages somewhere where they can be printed, such as a blank document in HTML Validator, or you can paste the messages into an email. Similarly you can choose Links->Export Links to Text in the context menu to generate a list of links that can be printed or emailed. To print the structure, choose Print from the context menu of the memo where the structure is being displayed.
Another method is to use the Drag and Drop Window. Using this window, you can drag and drop a document onto the Drag and Drop Window and the results will appear in Notepad (by default). You can then print the document from Notepad. To do this, make sure that the Drag and Drop Window is visible and that Use Validator on Dropped Files is checked. Then simply drag and drop the document that you want to validate onto the window.
W3C's main validation engine is a DTD based "real" validator while CSS HTML Validator's engine is more like real-world browsers and uses a custom designed HTML, XHTML, and CSS syntax checking engine. Because of the two different types of validation and parsing engines, the results of HTML Validator's engine and W3C's engine may be significantly different.
CSS HTML Validator's own validator engine is designed to be extremely powerful and to find many issues that other DTD based "real" validators and other syntax checkers cannot find. This is because DTD based validators are limited in the problems they can find due to technical constraints on what can be checked. Additionally, to save you time, CSS HTML Validator ignores many issues that are unlikely to cause problems so that you can concentrate on the more important problems.
However, if you still want results that are more similar to the W3C validator, then you can use the included DTD based validator in CSS HTML Validator Standard v8 and above. You could also try the 'Standards compliant check' validation mode that more strictly checks based on the standards.
Read more about this issue in the answer to Does HTML Validator have a DTD ("real") validator?. You can also read why CSE is better.
CSS HTML Validator is not designed to check raw/unprocessed ASP and PHP files (though it may still be useful in some cases, depending upon the structure of the document). We recommend that instead of checking the raw documents, that the output of the dynamic pages be checked instead.
To check the output of dynamic scripts, simply use the integrated web browser to browse your site's dynamic pages while at the same time displaying and checking the output. If any problems are found, then you can correct the script and then reload the page. HTML Validator can then automatically recheck the document.
You can also use the Batch Wizard (only in the professional and enterprise editions) to crawl your site and produce an HTML or XML report with the results.
Validate the document containing the <frameset> tag and then go to the Links tab in the Results Window. Right-click to bring up the context menu on the link containing the HTML source of the frame you want to check and choose Open Link in Editor (or you may want to choose Open Link in Browser).
If you want stricter standards-compliant syntax checking that does not allow for proprietary browser extensions, then try doing a 'standards-compliant check' with Validate->Standards-compliant check.
Please see the CSS HTML Validator Configuration Page.
CSS HTML Validator Pro and above can do this using the Configuration Editor. In this example, the "class" attribute will be checked for certain values, and a warning will be displayed if the value is not in the list. To do this, add the following code to the beginning of the attribute program for "class (124)" using the Programs tab of the Configuration Editor. Make sure that you select the Attribute program radio button and check Enable attribute program in the Programs tab.
A warning message will be displayed if the value for the attribute "class" is not "classname1", "classname2", or "classname3".
You can add more strings by separating them with commas.
matchCase() performs a case sensitive match. Use matchNoCase() instead of matchCase() for a case insensitive match.
You can also deactivate tag categories that you may not want to use, such as Internet Explorer extensions. You can do this using the Categories tab of the Configuration Editor.
In current versions you can easily change the type of a message by bringing up the context menu (usually done by right-clicking the mouse on the message). Then select Message Options->Change Message Type to and then select the message type. Note that these options are not available for all messages.
ADVANCED METHOD: Because HTML Validator is very configurable, you may be able to change some messages from one type of message (like a warning) to another type of message (like an error). To do this, the Configuration Editor must generally be used. For example, to generate an error message instead of a normal message when the "img" element is used without the "height", "width", or "alt" attributes, go to Options->Configuration Editor and the Programs tab. Select img (040) for the Tag Name Being Configured. Select Open tag name for the Edit Program Type. In the Program Editor, find the message that you want to change and then change the parameter that determines the message type. In this example, after finding the message that you want to change, change the MSG_MESSAGE value to MSG_ERROR. Other message types can be specified with MSG_WARNING and MSG_COMMENT.
NOTE: Changes to the configuration file are usually overwritten when you upgrade HTML Validator so your changes may be lost. To save the changes permanently, you will have to save the configuration using a different filename than the default.
In the professional and enterprise editions, there are advanced configuration features that can be enabled. One of these features is the ability to export and import the TNPL programs and functions (also called the tag name programs) of a configuration file to and from an XML file. This allows you to export the programs to an XML file, edit the programs there, and then import them back from the XML file. In many ways this can be easier than editing the TNPL programs in the Configuration Editor.
The options are Options->Configuration Editor->Export programs to file and Options->Configuration Editor->Import programs from file. If these options are not available then check the Options->Configuration Editor->Show Advanced Options option.
NOTE: This function is not robust because it is not designed for normal use. Be careful when using it and be sure to make backups of the configuration file at different stages. Be sure that the '<' character in tag name programs is represented as &lt; and the '&' character is represented as &amp;.
You can use the import/export options in the Validator Engine Options to load and save different sets of validator options to and from files. This also makes it easier to share the validator options/settings with other users (just share the export file).
Using the Batch Wizard (only in the professional and enterprise editions), you can specify multiple documents to validate. The wizard will then create a single validation report for all of the documents. The report created by the wizard is written in HTML and can be viewed with a standard browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.
You can drag and drop multiple files onto the Drag and Drop Window which is viewable by choosing Drag and Drop->View Drag and Drop Window. It is easy to do this by using Windows Explorer or the Find Files command to display the files, sorting the files by file type, and then dragging and dropping them onto the Drag and Drop Window.
Another way to batch process is to run cmdlineprocessor.exe on the command line with the name of the file to validate. You can run cmdlineprocessor.exe one time for each file, so you can make a batch program (*.bat) this way. The "-f" command can also be used for more efficient operation (see the documentation about Command Line Arguments for more information about the "-f" command).
Yet another way to batch process files is to use the Batch Wizard that is included with professional editions. This is considered to be the best and easiest way to batch process files. For more information, see the documentation about the Batch Wizard. Note that the standard and lite editions do not include the Batch Wizard.
Open the Batch Wizard (only in the professional and enterprise editions) by running CSS HTML Validator and then choosing Tools->Batch Wizard or pressing F2.
Press Ctrl+N to create a new target list.
Add a target that specifies the root page of your website. This can be a local file or a URL. To add a local file target, press Ctrl+F. To add a URL, press Ctrl+U. For example, if your site is at "http://www.mydomain.com/mysite/" then press Ctrl+U to add the URL "http://www.mydomain.com/mysite/" to the target list. You can also specify a folder where your website files are located by adding a folder target (Ctrl+D).
Select the target that you just added and press F5 to view the target properties.
Go to the Follow Links tab and check the follow links checkbox. Click OK.
Press F4 to go to the Batch Wizard Options and select the "Validator" tool. Click OK.
Press the Process List button (or press F6) to start the validation and process the target list.
Entire folders can be excluded by entering the folder names in the "Do not process targets beginning with these strings" option in the Target List Options tab of the Batch Wizard. For example, add something like http://www.domain.com/donotgohere/ or C:\webfiles\donotgohere\. Separate multiple folders with semicolons.
Load HTML Validator and press F2 to go to the Batch Wizard.
Add a target that specifies the root page of your website. This can be a local file or a URL. To add a local file target, press Ctrl+F. To add a URL, press Ctrl+U. For example, if your site is at "http://www.mydomain.com/mysite/" then press Ctrl+U to add the URL "http://www.mydomain.com/mysite/" to the target list.
Select the target that you just added and press F5 to view the properties.
Press F4 to go to the Batch Wizard Options and select the "Link check" tool. Click OK.
Press F6 to start the link check.
Please see the Tools and the Using the Template Tool documentation pages.
Yes. Check the below options in the Validator Engine Options. Note that these options are set automatically if CSS HTML Validator detects an XHTML document. You should also make sure that the XHTML categories are active. You can do this in the Categories tab of the Configuration Editor (professional and enterprise editions).
Current standards like HTML5 and above do not use DTD based validation.
Most or all real world browsers do not use real SGML parsers to parse HTML files. Currently, we know of no user agent that actually uses an SGML parser to parse HTML documents.
The main purpose of writing HTML documents is so other people can obtain information using real-world browsers. They are not written for the main purpose of being 100% compliant with the official HTML standard nor for only passing validation by an SGML parser.
A DTD validator allows "bad style" when it allows the omission of certain close tags. CSS HTML Validator helps you write better styled documents that are easier for real world browsers to understand.
The custom validator in HTML Validator is a powerful syntax checking engine that is capable of detecting many real HTML problems that a DTD validator is not capable of detecting. Read more about this in why CSE is better.
However, keep in mind that if you want to use DTD validation for HTML4 and older documents, then the option is there in CSS HTML Validator Std/Pro v8.0 and above. The DTD based validator messages can be generated alone or can be combined with CSS HTML Validator's own messages if desired.
Yes! The standard and higher editions include the Pretty Print/Fix/HTML Tidy Tool which uses HTML Tidy to automatically format ("pretty print") and fix HTML and XHTML. This tool can automatically fix some, but not all problems. Sometimes it is best to leave corrections up to the author to decide if to fix it, what to fix, when to fix it, and how to fix it. Programs that do "auto-fix" HTML may cause other problems or "fix" things in ways that the author doesn't want. However, depending on the specific document, the HTML Tidy Tool may be very helpful in fixing HTML problems. The lite edition does not include the HTML Tidy Tool and therefore cannot automatically format and fix HTML.
Windows Vista with User Account Control (UAC) enabled may generate an error when you try to add file associations. In order to successfully add the file associations, CSS HTML Validator may need to be run with administrator privileges. To do this, right-click on the CSS HTML Validator shortcut and choose "Run as administrator". Alternatively, to run the program as administrator each time it is launched from the shortcut, you can right-click on the shortcut, choose Properties, go to the Compatibility tab and check "Run this program as an administrator".
Go to Windows Explorer (start it if needed), choose View|Folder Options, and click the File Types tab. Note: The path to this dialog box may be different on your system; the above describes how to get to the needed dialog box on an NT 4.0 system with IE 4.0 installed, so your system may be different. When you are at the dialog box used to edit registered file types, 1) select "HTML Document" from the Registered file types list, 2) press the Edit button, 3) click on Edit in the Actions list and then 4) press the Remove or Edit button, depending on what you want to do. If you press the Edit button, you will need to assign the action to another program of your choosing.
CSE HTML Validator v8.0 to v17.0 run on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7/8/8.1/10, and above.
CSS HTML Validator 2018/v18 requires Windows 7 or above (32-bit or 64-bit).
CSS HTML Validator 2019/v19 requires Windows 7 or above (64-bit only).
Note that official support for Windows XP was dropped in v15+, however v15 and v16 should still run on Windows XP if the latest service pack (SP3) is installed (but why are you still using XP?).
In recent versions, load HTML Validator and go to Options->Editor Options and the Internet Explorer page. Press the Restore Source Viewer in Internet Explorer button.
In older versions, load HTML Validator and choose (from HTML Validator's menu) Options->Registry->Restore Source Viewer in Internet Explorer. If you have to do this manually for some reason then delete the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\View Source Editor\Editor Name.
Do I need to be an HTML expert to use CSS HTML Validator?
No, you do not need to be an HTML or CSS expert; you only need to have a basic understanding of HTML or CSS or want to learn it. If you're a student, then CSS HTML Validator is an excellent program to use for learning and we even offer student discounts.
CSS HTML Validator would not be for you if you don't have any knowledge of HTML or CSS and you do not want to learn.
If you do not have a basic knowledge of HTML and CSS but you want to learn HTML and CSS, then we recommending combining an online HTML tutorial or book with CSS HTML Validator. If at first you find yourself overwhelmed with all the messages that HTML Validator generates, then don't worry, you'll quickly catch on after a few days of use.
Some people may find this "view source" method more useful. Using it, you can view the source document in CSE's editor and validate it there. To do this, simply set a registry value so that the document source is opened in the editor when View Source is selected in Internet Explorer. For example, for CSE HTML Validator v16.0 installed into the default folder, set the default value data to C:\Program Files\HTMLValidator160\cse160.exe for the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\View Source Editor\Editor Name.
In Windows Vista and Windows 7/8/10 64-bit, this key is in HKEY_USERS\(somenum)\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\View Source Editor\Editor Name. This can be found by searching for "View Source Editor" using the Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
Also the path for the exe in any 64-bit version of Windows will be something like C:\Program Files (x86)\HTMLValidator160\cse160.exe.
The easiest way to add words to the spell checker is to check a document in the editor using Tools->Spell Check (F7) and add any misspelled words to the dictionary when prompted.
You can also add words by going to Options->Editor Options and the Editor->Spell Checking page, then clicking on the More Spelling Options button, then going to the Language tab and adding words to one of the listed dictionaries by selecting the dictionary to edit and then pressing the Edit button (the selected dictionary must be editable or the Edit button will not be selectable).
If you have a large list of words that you want to add then you may want to download the dictionary utility and create your own dictionary.