Validating Data
Validation ensures that the XBRL data you are filing conforms to the XBRL specification. The report data should be validated before you export it to XBRL. You might also want to validate data progressively, after each action that could potentially render it invalid (for example, after pasting new rows into the spreadsheet).
To validate data, click the Validate button in the EBA tab of the Excel ribbon.
Be patient while Altova® European Banking Authority (EBA) XBRL add-in for Excel performs the validation process. To validate XBRL data, the add-in creates a temporary in-memory XBRL instance. When validation of the in-memory instance completes, a validation report similar to the one below is displayed.
The validation result can be any of the following:
Message type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| The instance data is valid. |
| The instance data is valid, but has inconsistencies or warnings. |
| The instance data is not valid. |
The Validation Report dialog box may additionally display any of the following message types: information messages, warnings, and errors.
Message type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Denotes an information message. Information messages do not make the XBRL instance invalid. |
| Denotes a warning message, or an inconsistency. Warnings and inconsistencies do not make the XBRL instance invalid. |
| Denotes an error. If there are validation errors, the XBRL instance is not valid, and you will need to edit the report data so as to resolve each error before proceeding with the export to XBRL.
Note: During validation, the add-in checks XBRL formula assertions and reports them as errors. If you are using the Altova RaptorXML+XBRL Server for validation (https://www.altova.com/raptorxml), XBRL formula assertions may be optionally configured not to be reported as errors. |
| Note: | By default, the add-in treats invalid cell values as errors. If necessary, you can configure the add-in to treat invalid cell values as warnings instead, see Settings. |
When a report fails successful validation, the Validation Report window may display links to the cell where the error originates. To quickly find a cell where the error originates, click the underlined text and the cursor will be positioned automatically on the required cell. Note that there are cases where multiple cells are involved in a single validation check; in such cases, clicking on the error link will select just one of the affected cells.
To copy the contents of the validation report to clipboard:
•Click 
Copy, and then paste into a target file (for example, an email). Alternatively, right-click inside the Validation Report window and select Copy All Messages from the context menu.
To save the validation report as text or HTML:
•Click 
Save. Alternatively, right-click inside the Validation Report window and select Save Validation Report from the context menu.
To clear the validation report:
•Click 
Clear. Alternatively, right-click inside the Validation Report window and select Clear from the context menu.