Verify uniqueness of data

Sometimes you might want to be sure that certain data or a combination of data does not yet exist in your database.

Check uniqueness of one field

To set the uniqueness flag for a form field, simply click the 'pencil' icon next to its label.

A modal will appear with different field options. Select 'Unique' from the list and switch it to 'on'.

By doing this, the data in the field will always be checked for its uniqueness in the database. If it already exists, the form will not be submitted. 

In the Message unique validation box you can enter a message that will be displayed when the data entered in the field already exists in the same field in an item in Podio.

Check uniqueness of combination of fields

Sometimes, however, checking the uniqueness of one field alone might not be enough. In this case, you might want to check the uniqueness of a combination of fields. 

E.g. You might not want to check a first name alone for uniqueness, because that would mean only one of each possible first name would be allowed in the database. However, it might be desirable to check the combination of first name, last name, birthdate and possibly gender or even email.

To check the uniqueness of a combination of fields, select 'Unique Combined' from the form field options, instead of 'Unique'. Do this for every field you want to check the unique combination of.

By doing this, the data in these fields will be checked for their exact combination in the database.

Just as with the 'Unique' option, you will only see one specific option appear, namely the 'Unique combined message' which is the message that will be shown when the unique combined validation is triggered. You can add this message to every field that has Unique combined set to 'on'.