Extended abstract. XBRL Formula1 provides for validation of business reports, such as those submitted to regulatory agencies. It was originally designed to exploit the XML syntax used for XBRL technologies by leveraging XLINK linkbases. Linkbases had been recently introduced when XBRL was designed, but they are not readable in the manner of ordinary software code. Specialized tools have been developed for projects and for the linkbase syntax. The difficult and low level nature of the syntax is perceived as a deterrent to wider use of XBRL Formula.