# Customizing validates\_xxx messages **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [November 26, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872 "2005-11-26T00:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/1 "2005-11-26T00:26:51Z")
Hello group- The validates\_xxx helpers provide a ‘:message’ parameter to customize the message somewhat. However, they always prefix this message with the table column name that caused the trouble. Is there a way to turn this part off so that the custom message is the only thing displayed? i.e., rather than say: Name\_funky is already being used. I’d like a validated\_uniqueness\_of to say something like: Your funky name is already being used. Please choose another. Jake ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/2 "2005-11-26T03:44:53Z")
I just wrote up a hot to page on the Rails wiki [http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/HowToWritePluginToModifyRailsCore](http://wiki.rubyonrails.org/rails/pages/HowToWritePluginToModifyRailsCore) This might be one way to go for you. -Peter ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/3 "2005-11-26T03:48:54Z")
My example is not exactly what you want to do but using a plugin to modify the core to stop including the column name could be done I think. ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/4 "2005-11-26T04:28:30Z")
Thanks. I’ve seen how to change the default error messages and I think that’s useful in many cases. However, I’m curious how ‘real’ apps do validation. The validates\_xxx framework seems pretty limited – not quite as limited as the scaffolding, but in a similar vein. I imagine commercial apps want a more custom way of handling validation results, but I don’t quite see the best way to do it. What I mean to say is that the helpers are nice and suit many needs, but do people generally throw them out and replace them with custom validation stuff? In the end, the helpers are useful and I don’t want to rewrite all that logic, but I don’t quite see the most economical way of attaching my own view to these helpers. Jake petermichaux wrote: > My example is not exactly what you want to do but using a plugin to > modify > the core to stop including the column name could be done I think. ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 7:10am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/5 "2005-11-26T07:10:16Z")
At the risk of being flamed, “Me too! Me too!” I had expected (Dave T. said Ruby and Rails is terribly intuitive!) that if I override the error message with :message, that it would replace the whole thing, as Jake also lamented here. Like him (and his “Name funky” attribute) I have an attribute that doesn’t work very well in a message, and of course it blows the whole i18n possibility right out the water! Hendie Dijkman Calgary, AB ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/6 "2005-11-26T07:30:26Z")
It is not that hard, i use the following method : validates\_presence\_of :email , :message=\>‘Your message’ then you create a method in you helper that you pass a object or add a method to the rails code def my\_error\_message(object) html = “ # ERROR # ” html += “ ” object.errors.each do | field , message | html += “- #{message} ” end html += “ ” html end Use in your views as \<%= my\_error\_message(@customer) %\> ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 9:11am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/7 "2005-11-26T09:11:11Z")
Hendie, I just posted a message announcing a plugin which allows you to customize validation messages. A side effect of this plugin is that it allows for easier localization of messages since you’re free to put the fieldname placeholder anywhere you like. Let me know if it works for you. Hammed ---
**Author:** ![janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/53a042/32.png) [@janovetz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/janovetz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 7:46am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/customizing-validates-xxx-messages/48872/8 "2005-11-26T07:46:35Z")
On 11/25/05, Hendie Dijkman wrote: > Dave T. said Ruby and Rails is terribly intuitive! Terribly intuitive rather than fantastically intuitive? :S gulp