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validatesInclusionOf()

Ensures that a property’s value exists in a predefined list of allowed values. It is commonly used for dropdowns, radio buttons, or any scenario where only specific values are acceptable.

Name Type Required Default Description
properties string No Name of property or list of property names to validate against (can also be called with the property argument).
list string Yes List of allowed values.
message string No [property] is not included in the list Supply a custom error message here to override the built-in one.
when string No onSave Pass in onCreate or onUpdate to limit when this validation occurs (by default validation will occur on both create and update, i.e. onSave).
allowBlank boolean No false If set to true, validation will be skipped if the property value is an empty string or doesn't exist at all. This is useful if you only want to run this validation after it passes the validatesPresenceOf test, thus avoiding duplicate error messages if it doesn't.
condition string No String expression to be evaluated that decides if validation will be run (if the expression returns true validation will run).
unless string No String expression to be evaluated that decides if validation will be run (if the expression returns false validation will run).
1. Ensure that the user selects either "Wheels" or "Rails" as their framework
validatesInclusionOf(
    property="frameworkOfChoice",
    list="wheels,rails",
    message="Please try again, and this time, select a decent framework!"
);

2. Validate multiple properties at once
validatesInclusionOf(
    properties="frameworkOfChoice,editorChoice",
    list="wheels,rails,vsCode,sublime",
    message="Invalid selection."
);

3. Only validate when creating a new object
validatesInclusionOf(
    property="subscriptionType",
    list="free,premium,enterprise",
    when="onCreate",
    message="You must choose a valid subscription type."
);

4. Skip validation if property is blank
validatesInclusionOf(
    property="preferredLanguage",
    list="cfml,python,javascript",
    allowBlank=true
);

5. Conditionally validate only for users in Europe
validatesInclusionOf(
    property="currency",
    list="EUR,GBP,CHF",
    condition="this.region eq 'Europe'",
    message="Invalid currency for European users."
);
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