Atlas validates source documents before transformation and output documents after transformation. Formats can include an XSD for structural validation and a Schematron file for business rules, such as checking that the invoice total equals the total without VAT plus the VAT amount.
A document can pass XSD validation and fail Schematron validation. Formats can also have validation rules that you review on a project's Rules stage.
How It Works
When the checks run
A transform in a project runs the checks in this order:
Atlas checks the source document against the source format's XSD and Schematron. A failure stops the run with Source document failed XSD or Schematron validation.
Atlas transforms the document.
Atlas checks the output against the target format's XSD and Schematron. A failure stops the run with Generated target document failed XSD or Schematron validation.
The target format's approved validation rules run on the output. A failed ERROR rule marks the run as an error with Validation failed: {n} ERROR rules did not pass, followed by up to three rule ids.
A check runs only when the format has that file attached, and a format with neither file gets no XSD or Schematron check. You attach them in Import format when you import the format, or later under Schema files on the format page. Bypass validations on the Transform stage skips all three kinds of check for one run and marks the output unvalidated.
Validation rules run only on transforms inside a project. Output rendered for the Docupath platform is checked only against the target format's XSD and Schematron.
What stops a run and what only warns
Check | Fails the run | Only reported |
XSD, on the source and the output | Any violation, since every XSD violation is an error | A warning when the XSD could not be loaded |
Schematron, on the source and the output | Any error | Warnings |
Validation rules of the target format | A failed ERROR rule | Failed WARNING and INFO rules |
An XSD that Atlas cannot load, for example one that imports other schema files Atlas does not have, is skipped with a warning. The Schematron check still runs, and the report shows the XSD as Skipped.
Validation rules
Validation rules are checks stored on a format, not on a project. You review them on a project's Rules stage, which opens the Validation rules page. The Format toggle switches between Source: {name} and Target: {name}, and the page opens on the source format.
Status | Tooltip | Runs in a transform |
Proposed | Awaiting review | No |
Approved | Reviewed and confirmed | Yes, when the rule belongs to the target format |
Modified | Edited after proposal | No. Editing a rule sets this status, and it runs again once you approve it |
Rejected | Marked as incorrect | No |
Generate rules asks AI to propose rules for the format shown, and they arrive Proposed. Once the format has rules the button reads Regenerate rules, which adds a new set of proposed rules and keeps the existing ones. The button is hidden when the format has an XSD or a Schematron, and the page says so, for example This format uses an XSD and a Schematron validation, so generated rules are unavailable. A format with a Schematron lists its assertions, read only, under Schema assertions ({n}).
Where results show
On a project's Transform stage:
Schema opens the Schema validation dialog: Valid or Invalid, one tile each for XSD · STRUCTURAL and SCHEMATRON · BUSINESS RULES (Passed, a count of findings, Skipped or Not run), and a card per finding with its id, ERROR or WARNING, the message and the location. It shows the output's report, or the source report when the run stopped at the source. A preview's schema badge and report cover the source document.
The Rules cell shows passed rules out of the total and opens the Validation rules report: All rules pass or how many are failing, the tiles SCORE, PASSED, FAILED and WARNINGS, and each failing rule with the value found. A dash means no approved rules ran for that file.
Validate only checks files against the source format's XSD and Schematron without transforming them. Validation rules do not run.
In the Docupath platform, Atlas checks the output of a document type that uses an Atlas format each time it renders it. A failure blocks Approve, Reject and Validate, and the findings show on the document's Destination tab.
Supported Configurations and Options
Severities and categories
Severity | Tooltip |
ERROR | Blocks output when the check fails |
WARNING | Flags an issue without blocking output |
INFO | Adds context without requiring action |
Category | Tooltip |
REQUIRED | Field must be present |
FORMAT | Value must match the required format |
RANGE | Value must be within the allowed range |
CROSS_FIELD | Related fields must agree |
CONDITIONAL | Runs only when its condition matches |
CUSTOM | Project-specific check |
Each rule also has a Target Path, the field it checks, and a Description. Edit opens Edit Rule: {id} with Severity, Description, Generate Expression (writes the expression from the description) and Expression (JavaScript).
Actions on the Rules page
Action | What it does |
Approve all / Reject all | Approve or reject the Proposed rules of the format shown. Unlike Approve all on the Field mappings page, they leave rules in other statuses as they are |
Row checkboxes | Approve {n} selected, Reject {n} selected or Clear |
Required only | Shows ERROR rules and REQUIRED rules (Show rules that can block output). A REQUIRED rule with WARNING severity is listed but does not block |
Delete | Removes the rule permanently |
Other Technical Specifications
A rule's expression is one check on
value: presence (value != null, or another presence form such as!!valueorvalue !== null && value !== undefined && value !== ""), a comparison with a number (value > 0), equality with a quoted string (value === "INV"), length (value.length <= 35),value.includes("x"),value.startsWith("INV-"),value.endsWith("x"), or one regular expression (/^[A-Z]{2}\d+$/.test(value)). Checks cannot be combined; write two rules for the same path instead. Atlas does not save any other expression. A rule with no expression checks that the value is present.In a Schematron, a failed
assertis an error and a triggeredreportis a warning. Anassertorreportwhoseroleorflagsayswarning,warn,infoorinformationcounts as a warning, anderrororfatalas an error.XML is validated up to 10 MB and a nesting depth of 200. Input may not contain a DOCTYPE or ENTITY declaration.
Notes
A format's approved rules apply in every project that uses it as the target, so approving one changes the checks everywhere.
The Rules page opens on the source format, whose rules never run. Switch to Target to see the rules that do.
A file added or replaced under Schema files is saved to the format's draft version and applies once that version is active.