I have placed the validation routine in the lostfocus of the textbox. I add the condition that if empty(textbox.value) skip the validation. If !empty() then I do the validation. If the validation fails then I automatically open a picklist or in your case fire the selection form.

If a valid entry is required in the textbox before the form can be saved, I check to make sure the textbox is not empty in the click method of the save button.

So far this combination has worked fine.

Alan Wyne
Rollpak Corp