Standard Visualforce input components, such as <apex:inputText />, can take an optional required attribute. If set to true, the component will be decorated with a red bar to indicate that it is required, and form submission will fail if a value has not been supplied as shown in the following screenshot:
In the scenario where one or more inputs are required and there are additional validation rules, for example, when one of either the Email or Phone fields is defined for a contact, this can lead to a drip feed of error messages to the user. This is because the inputs make repeated unsuccessful attempts to submit the form, each time getting slightly further in the process.
In this recipe we will create a Visualforce page that allows a user to create a contact record. The Last Name field is captured through a nonrequired input decorated with a red bar identical to that created for required inputs. When the user submits the form, the controller validates that the...