too many errors

[roedygr]

HTMLValidator displays 0 error messages, and complains there are too many errors to display.

It says I can increase the limit in the validator engine options. I can find no such place.

I turned off the error about space around <a tags, which there are lots of.

[Albert Wiersch]

HTMLValidator displays 0 error messages, and complains there are too many errors to display.

Did you check all the Results Window message tabs? The errors may be in another tab. If that doesn't help, then I will need a way to reproduce this issue in order to investigate further.

It says I can increase the limit in the validator engine options. I can find no such place.

In v10, you can increase the maximum number of errors and warnings in the Message Output page of the Validator Engine Options. In previous versions, the option is in the Validator 1 tab.

[roedygr]

In v10, you can increase the maximum number of errors and warnings in the Message Output page of the Validator Engine Options. In previous versions, the option is in the Validator 1 tab.

Every time I want to change a validator option, it takes at least 10 minutes and sometimes much more. I have been using this program for years, and still I have a heck of a time finding option switches. Imagine how it feels to a novice!

Some ideas to improve things:

• Consolidate all the options in one place, not merge them, just access them by a single command. That way you cannot overlook one of the sources of options.
• Provide some fat tooltip help on what you can find in each submenu to give a good hint which submenus are most like to be productive to explore.
• Display a half a page of help explaining the overall structure of the options when you first click options. It is like being a weasel chasing a rabbit in a warren. You just keep chasing down hole after hole blinding hoping to find the rabbit. You need a "big picture" map.
• Consider some sort of global reorg of options so that there is an obvious pattern to what you can find where.
• Get rid of those numbered flags. They need names! That is a holdover from a prototype.
• Provide a quick menu that takes you directly to the 10 most likely things you would want to configure. It is cruel to expect your users to master the entire slew of options.

[MikeGale]

Configuration is a hard thing. I agree it's not always quick. Having said that the configuration available in the validator is one of it's strong points, in my opinion.

I find normal configuration systems to be pretty poor. What I personally want is
1. A way to make my own notes about settings, and for those to persist across updates.
2. Set up my own configuration interface, the things that I want to set.

Two ways to achieve that come to mind. (I haven't thought about these so the ideas are more "brainstorm" than anything.)

1. An internal "My Configurations" system. Pick what you want, leave notes.
2. An API to read and set config values, combined with an easy way to write your own external UI. I think the existing API does the first part already. My recent work with self modifying HTA's suggests a way to do the second part. A starter kit, and maybe even a way inside CSE to "generate setting code" would give users a way to easily get started. With a configurable "Start My Configuration" setting inside CSE to start the "external UI"...

[Albert Wiersch]

Sorry for the confusion. I tried re-designing and re-organizing the options in v10. I think they are better organized now, though it may still be difficult to find the option you want. I also added descriptions to the numbered flags, as can be seen in the Validator Engine Options in v10.

With all the options, it's really difficult to simplify it... I can only think of getting rid of many of the options to make it easier, but of course that would limit what one can configure, and I don't want to remove options.

Would a documentation page that tells one where some popular options are be helpful (similar to the "quick menu" suggestion)? Or perhaps a drop-down submenu next to the "Import/Export" submenu in the Validator Engine Options with some popular options listed (based on the "quick menu" suggestion)? That sounds like it may be easily possible and helpful... but what are the "popular options" that should be listed?