Calling a RequiredFieldValidator and ValidatorCallExtender inside GridView

Question

I have a GridView with its columns being TextBoxes and after user made modifications to data within GridView I have a "Commit" Button thats located outside the GridView and also located under a different Content within the page... How do I set the Validator to work even though I have the validator set correctly but when I click on the "Commit" button it doesn't check for the validation and I believe its because the button is not inside the GridView or UpdatePanel... Is there a way to get around that? or A better approach? Thanks for your help in advance.

    Please select a Test from the dropdown below.<br />
    <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlResult" runat="server" 
        onselectedindexchanged="ddlResult_SelectedIndexChanged" 
        AutoPostBack="True" CausesValidation="false">
    </asp:DropDownList>
    <br />
    <asp:UpdatePanel ID="upGrid" runat="server">
        <ContentTemplate>
            <asp:GridView ID="grdResults" runat="server"
                        CssClass="gridview" 
                        RowStyle-CssClass="gridview_itm" 
                        AlternatingRowStyle-CssClass="gridview_aitm" 
                        HeaderStyle-CssClass="gridview_hdr" 
                        Width="100%" AutoGenerateColumns="False">
                        <Columns>
                            <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Test">
                                <ItemTemplate>
                                    <asp:Label ID="lblTest" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Test")%>'></asp:Label>
                                </ItemTemplate>                                                                            
                            </asp:TemplateField>

                            <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Result">
                                <ItemTemplate>
                                    <asp:TextBox ID="tbResult" runat="server" Text='<%#Request.QueryString["t_ID"] == null ? null : Eval("n_Result") %>'></asp:TextBox>                                        
                                    <asp:Label ID="lblResult" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Validate")%>' ForeColor="#D50000"></asp:Label>
                                    <asp:FilteredTextBoxExtender ID="ftbe" runat="server" TargetControlID="tbResult" FilterType="Custom, Numbers" ValidChars='<%#Eval("n_Mask")%>' />
                                    <asp:RequiredFieldValidator runat="server" ID="RReq"
                                        ControlToValidate="tbResult"
                                        Display="None"
                                        ErrorMessage="A Result is required." />
                                    <asp:ValidatorCalloutExtender runat="Server" ID="RReqE"
                                        TargetControlID="RReq"
                                        HighlightCssClass="validatorCalloutHighlight" />                        
                                </ItemTemplate> 
                            </asp:TemplateField>

                            <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="Date Completed">
                                <ItemTemplate>
                                    <asp:TextBox ID="tbDate" runat="server" Text='<%#Request.QueryString["t_ID"] == null ? null : Eval("d_DateCompleted") %>'></asp:TextBox>
                                    <asp:Image ID="imgCalendar" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/App_Themes/Sugar2006/images/Calendar_scheduleHS.png" ImageAlign="Middle" />
                                    <asp:CalendarExtender ID="ce" runat="server" TargetControlID ="tbDate" PopupButtonID="imgCalendar" />        
                                    <asp:MaskedEditExtender ID="mex" runat="server" 
                                        TargetControlID="tbDate" 
                                        Mask="99/99/9999" 
                                        MaskType="Date"
                                        MessageValidatorTip="true"
                                        OnFocusCssClass="MaskedEditFocus"
                                        OnInvalidCssClass="MaskedEditError" />
                                    <asp:MaskedEditValidator ID="mev" runat="server" 
                                        ControlToValidate="tbDate"
                                        ControlExtender="mex" 
                                        Display="Dynamic" 
                                        InvalidValueMessage="This date is invalid!" Font-Bold="True" 
                                        ForeColor="#D50000" />
                                    <asp:RequiredFieldValidator runat="server" ID="DReq"
                                        ControlToValidate="tbDate"
                                        Display="None"
                                        ErrorMessage="A Date is required." />
                                    <asp:ValidatorCalloutExtender runat="Server" ID="DReqE"
                                        TargetControlID="DReq"
                                        HighlightCssClass="validatorCalloutHighlight" />  
                                </ItemTemplate>                                                
                            </asp:TemplateField>                                                            
                        </Columns>        
            </asp:GridView>
            <br />
            <asp:Label ID="lblSave" runat="server" Text="**After Each Test Entry Please Save." ForeColor="#D50000"></asp:Label>
        </ContentTemplate>        
        <Triggers>
            <asp:AsyncPostBackTrigger ControlID="ddlResult" EventName="SelectedIndexChanged" />
        </Triggers>
    </asp:UpdatePanel>

<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="cntSidebar" runat="server">
<asp:Button ID="btnSave" runat="server" Text="Save" Width="80%" 
    onclick="btnSave_Click"/> <br />
<asp:Button ID="btnClose" runat="server" Text="Close" Width="80%" 
    onclick="btnClose_Click" CausesValidation="false"/>
</asp:Content>

Answer 1

Have you tried setting the following properties on the Commit button:

CausesValidation="true" ValidationGroup="vgMyGroup"

Also, try setting the validation controls property: ValidationGroup="vgMyGroup"

Another suggestion could be to do a postback on the Commit button's click event and check for

if(Page.IsValid)...

I would be interested to see if setting the ValidationGroup property persists across the ASP content controls..