Expression® Web Design
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Frontpage Form Properties
Monday, November 06, 2006
If this is your first stop at out site, this page is a continuation of our Custom Form Tutorial.It isn't necessary to view it first, but as we move on to validation, the fields we are working with come from there.
Now it is time to set the form properties! By setting your form properties, you are telling the extensions how to handle your form input.
Right click in the form (inside the dotted or dashed lines) and select "Form Properties"
Set up your form properties like the example below, except substitute your website email instead of mine. The "File name:" should read something like _private/form_results.txt This could also be _private/form_results.htm either way, direct the save to the _private folder in order to protect the users input.
To create this file if you don't already have it, open a blank Notepad. Go to Save As, naming it like we did oin this case, form_results and direct the save to the _private folder. If you have used a form template such as the form wizard, FP will automatically create a file and place it in _private for you.
For now, leave the form name alone. It is of little importance at this point.
Click on "Options" and change the "File format:" to Formatted text by using the Drop Down Menu as in the example below. If you are sending to .htm location, you might try HTML or HTML definition list as options.
Notice we have kept the check in "Include field names". This isn't absolutely necessary, but it is easier to keep track of input for ambiguous fields.
Now select the E-mail results tab. Make sure your website email is visible and set the Subject line to "Custom Form Results" as in the example below. It is best to use site mail if you have it e.g. webmaster@example.com If not then, try using a Yahoo address. Yahoo mail is compatible with formmail, whereas AOL and some other accounts are not. Of course, if your host offers this option, you can send the results to site mail and have it forwarded to your personal email account.
As you can see above, our site address is showing along with the format set to Formatted text, same as file results. Custom Form Results is showing as the subject line and "Form field name" is unchecked. We will address this later.
If you wish a custom confirmation page, go to "Options" again and choose the "Confirmation Page". Use a site URL e.g. (confirm.htm) or if you want a full URL for an external site, depending on the purpose of your form. Whatever name you use for the custom confirmation page, be sure to create a new page with that same name. The custom confirmation page can be a simple Thank You page or it can be set up to display the users input for viewing or printing. More on this later.
Now click "Saved Fields" and select your preference. The example displays my personal choice. You can leave the "Form fields to save:" area alone. FrontPage automatically selects all fields.
I like to check the Additional info and choose a Date and Time format.
Now when you click OK you will see the infamous "Disk based web" message.
When prompted with a message to remove the email recipient...The answer is "No". The message is simply a reminder that the FrontPage Server Extensions or FPSE are properly installed on the destination server in order for the form to work.
Keep in mind, that you must also use the built in "Publish Web" method to http:// location. To access this go to File >> Publish Web.
Click "No" and save your page.
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