There have been a few questions raised recently on the functioning of the web feed back form "FormMail". In attempting to assist others, I've observed that there are number of errors on the
cgi-scrips support page.
| Quote |
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://homepages.plus.net/cgi-bin/form">
<INPUT TYPE="HIDDEN" NAME="recipient" VALUE="e-mail address" />
<INPUT TYPE="HIDDEN" NAME="subject" VALUE="feedback from my web page" />
<INPUT TYPE="HIDDEN" NAME="realname" />
Add a text box - you can have as mnay as you like, provided they all have different names.
By using 'email' as the field name, whatever is entered will be the 'from' address on the form response e-mail.
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="email" />
<INPUT TYPE="TEXT" SIZE="XX" MAXLENGTH="XX" NAME+"form field name" />
Add a check box input - select as many options as you like:
<INPUT TYPE="CHECKBOX" NAME="checkbox" VALUE="option 1" />
<INPUT TYPE="CHECKBOX" NAME="checkbox" VALUE="option 2" />
<INPUT TYPE="CHECKBOX" NAME="checkbox" VALUE="option 3" />
Add a radio button input - only one option can be selected:
<INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="radio" VALUE="option 1" />
<INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="radio" VALUE="option 2" />
<INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="radio" VALUE="option 3" />
Add a drop down list - again, only one option can be selected:
<SELECT NAME="select option">
<OPTION>Pick this one</OPTION>
<OPTION>Or pick this one</OPTION>
<OPTION>Or even pick this one</OPTION>
</SELECT>
Add a text area for longer input, such as comments and messages:
<TEXTAREA ROWS="XX" COLS="XX" NAME="text area">Enter some standard text here
if you wish</TEXTAREA>
Now we can submit the form - don't forget this line, it's the most important one!
<INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Submit form">
<INPUT TYPE="reset" VALUE="Clear form">
Finally, end the form:
</form>
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Whilst this page might well be only intended as a guide for people who know what they are doing, it is evident that some people are using this page as a primary source of information and the errors in the page are leading to difficulty. Errors I have marked in
red and suggested additions I have marked in
blue.
1. "realname" should be a visible field for the person filling in the form to identify who they are - this will also be used as the "display name" for the "from email address" on the form returned to the recipient
2. Typo on "many"
3. The addition of the "email" field (fully formed) makes the requirement clearer - there's not a lot of point in creating a contact form that provides no means of the recipient contacting the form filler - besides which this field's value becomes the "from email address" on the form returned to the recipient
4. Typo on the attribute name to value assignment operator - should be '=' and not '+'
5. I do not believe that spaces are acceptable in field name values
I note the following guidance...
| Quote |
| Note that the email address used on the 'recipient' line myst be your PlusNet address. Addesses for other service providers won't work with this script. |
I observe that in practice, this is not restricted to @account.plus.com but appears to be OK with any @domain_hosted_by.plus.com. Also the form can be sent to several recipient addresses - each should be separated by a comma. Note the typo on "must".
One of the FAQs on the FomMail support site is "Can I copy the form to the sender?" The support site shows a simple means by which this can be done - the practice is to add the email address to the recipient value on form submission. Given that PN have restricted the recipient list to @domain_hosted_by.plus.com - would it be possible to modify the restriction such that addresses in the email field are NOT rejected?
Regards,
Kevin
Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.
