The action of your form needs to point towards this script
(obviously), and
the method must be POST or GET in capital letters.
Syntax:
<form action="/cgi-bin/BFormMail.pl" method="POST">
Necessary Form Fields:
======================
There is only one form field that you must have in your
form, for
FormMail to work correctly.
This is the recipient field.
Field:
recipient
Description: This form field allows you to specify to
whom you wish for your
form results to be mailed.
Most likely you will want to
configure
this option as a hidden form field with a value equal
to that of your e-mail address.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="recipient"
value="email@your.host.com">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optional Form Fields:
=====================
Field:
subject
Description: The subject field will allow you to specify
the subject that you
wish to appear in the e-mail that is sent to you after this
form
has been filled out.
If you do not have this option turned on,
then the script will default to a message subject: WWW Form
Submission
Syntax:
If you
wish to choose what the subject is:
<input type=hidden name="subject" value="Your
Subject">
To
allow the user to choose a subject:
<input type=text name="subject">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: email
Description: This form field will allow the user to
specify their return
e-mail address. If
you want to be able to return e-mail to your
user, I strongly suggest that you include this form field
and
allow them to
fill it in. This will be put into the From:
field of the message you receive. If you want to require an
email address with valid syntax, add this field name to the
'required' field.
Syntax:
<input type=text name="email">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: realname
Description: The realname form
field will allow the user to input their real
name. This field is
useful for identification purposes and will
also be put into the From: line of your message header.
Syntax:
<input type=text name="realname">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field:
redirect
Description: If you wish to redirect the user to a
different URL, rather than
having them see the default response to the fill-out form,
you
can use this hidden variable to send them to a pre-made HTML
page.
Syntax:
To
choose the URL they will end up at:
<input type=hidden name="redirect"
value="http://your.host.com/to/file.html">
To
allow them to specify a URL they wish to travel to once the
form is filled out:
<input type=text name="redirect">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field:
required
Version: 1.3 & Up
Description: You can now require for certain fields in
your form to be filled
in before the user can successfully submit the form. Simply
place all field names that you want to be mandatory into
this
field. If the required fields are not filled in, the
user will
be notified of what they need to fill in, and a link back to
the form they just submitted will be provided.
To use
a customized error page, see 'missing_fields_redirect'
Syntax:
If you
want to require that they fill in the email and phone
fields in your form, so that you can reach them once you
have
received the mail, use a syntax like:
<input
type=hidden name="required" value="email,phone">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: env_report
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: Allows you to have Environment variables
included in the
e-mail message you receive after a user has filled out your
form. Useful if you
wish to know what browser they were using,
what domain they were coming from or any other attributes
associated with environment variables. The following is a short
list of valid environment variables that might be useful:
REMOTE_HOST - Sends the
hostname making a request.
REMOTE_ADDR - Sends the IP
address of the remote host making
the request.
REMOTE_USER - If server
supports authentication and script
is protected, this is the username they have
authenticated as. *This is not usually set.*
HTTP_USER_AGENT - The browser the client is using to send the
request.
There
are others, but these are a few of the most useful. For
more information on environment variables, see:
http://www.cgi-resources.com/Documentation/Environment_Variables/
Syntax:
If you
wanted to find the remote host and browser sending the
request, you would put the following into your form:
<input type=hidden name="env_report"
value="REMOTE_HOST,
HTTP_USER_AGENT">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: sort
Version: 1.4
& Up
Description: This field allows you to choose the order in
which you wish
for your variables to appear in the e-mail that FormMail
generates. You can
choose to have the field sorted
alphabetically or specify a set order in which you want the
fields to appear in your mail message. By leaving this field
out, the order will simply default to the order in which the
browsers sends the information to the script (which is
usually
the exact same order as they appeared in the form.) When
sorting by a set order of fields, you should include the
phrase
"order:" as the first part of your value for the sort
field, and
then follow that with the field names you want to be listed
in
the e-mail message, separated by commas. Version 1.6 allows a
little more flexibility in the listing of ordered fields, in
that you can
include spaces and line breaks in the field without
it messing up the sort.
This is helpful when you have many form
fields and need to insert a line wrap.
Syntax:
To
sort alphabetically:
<input type=hidden name="sort"
value="alphabetic">
To
sort by a set field order:
<input type=hidden name="sort" value="order:name1,name2,
name3,etc...">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: print_config
Version: 1.5
& Up
Description: print_config
allows you to specify which of the config
variables you would like to have printed in your e-mail
message.
By
default, no config fields are printed to your
e-mail. This
is because the important form fields, like email, subject,
etc.
are included in the header of the message. However some users
have asked for this option so they can have these fields
printed
in the body of the message.
The config fields that you wish to
have printed should be in the value attribute of your input
tag
separated by commas.
Syntax:
If you
want to print the email and subject fields in the body of
your message, you would place the following form tag:
<input type=hidden name="print_config"
value="email,subject">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: print_blank_fields
Version: 1.6
Description: print_blank_fields
allows you to request that all form fields
are printed in the return HTML, regardless of whether or not
they were filled in. FormMail defaults to turning this off, so
that unused form fields aren't e-mailed.
Syntax:
If you
want to print all blank fields:
<input type=hidden name="print_blank_fields"
value="1">
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: title
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: This form field allows you to specify the
title and header that
will appear
on the resulting page if you do not specify a
redirect URL.
Syntax:
If you
wanted a title of 'Feedback Form Results':
<input type=hidden name="title" value="Feedback Form
Results">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: return_link_url
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: This field allows you to specify a URL that
will appear, as
return_link_title, on the following report page. This field
will not be used if you have the redirect field set, but it
is
useful if you allow the user to receive the report on the
following page, but want to offer them a way to get back to
your main page.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="return_link_url"
value="http://your.host.com/main.html">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: return_link_title
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: This is the title that will be used to link
the user back to the
page you specify with return_link_url. The two fields will be
shown on the resulting form page as:
<ul>
<li><a href="return_link_url">return_link_title</a>
</ul>
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="return_link_title"
value="Back to Main Page">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: missing_fields_redirect
Version: 1.6
Description: This form field allows you to specify a URL
that users will be
redirected to if there are fields listed in the required
form
field that are not filled in. This is so you can customize an
error page instead of displaying the default.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="missing_fields_redirect"
value="http://your.host.com/error.html">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field:
background
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: This form field allow you to specify a
background image that
will appear if you do not have the redirect field set. This
image will appear as the background to the form results
page.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="background"
value="http://your.host.com/image.gif">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: bgcolor
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: This form field allow
you to specify a bgcolor for the form
results
page in much the way you specify a background image.
This
field should not be set if the redirect field is.
Syntax:
For a
background color of White:
<input type=hidden name="bgcolor"
value="#FFFFFF">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: text_color
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: This field works in the same way as bgcolor, except that it
will change the color of your text.
Syntax:
For a
text color of Black:
<input type=hidden name="text_color"
value="#000000">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: link_color
Version: 1.3 & Up
Description: Changes the color of links on the resulting
page. Works in the
same way as text_color. Should not be defined if
redirect is.
Syntax:
For a
link color of Red:
<input type=hidden name="link_color"
value="#FF0000">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: vlink_color
Version: 1.3
& Up
Description: Changes the color of visited links on the
resulting page. Works
exactly the same as link_color. Should
not be set if redirect
is.
Syntax:
For a
visited link color of Blue:
<input type=hidden name="vlink_color"
value="#0000FF">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: alink_color
Version: 1.4
& Up
Description: Changes the color of active links on the
resulting page. Works
exactly the same as link_color. Should not be set if redirect
is.
Syntax:
For a
visited link color of Blue:
<input type=hidden name="alink_color"
value="#0000FF">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: cc
Description: This form field will allow you to send a
copy of the users
form data to
another address instead of putting multiple
addresses in the
recipient field. This will be added to
the e-mail as a
Cc: field.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="cc"
value="webmaster@infosheet.com">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: cc_visitor
Description: This form field will allow you to send a
copy of the users
form data to the
email address specified by the visitor in
the email field. This
could be helpful to confirm orders
so the visitor has a copy of what was submitted. This tag
will not work in conjunction with the cc field above. This
will be added to
the e-mail as a Cc: field.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="cc_visitor"
value="1">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: bcc
Description: This form field will allow you to send a
blind copy of the
users form data
to another address instead of putting multiple
addresses in the
recipient field. This will be added to
the e-mail as a
Bcc: field.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="bcc"
value="webmaster@infosheet.com">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: courtesy_reply
Description: This field initiates an automated courtesy
reply to the user
to thank them for
filling out your form!
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="courtesy_reply"
value="yes">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: courtesy_reply_texta
Description: The first line of your courtesy reply text
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="courtesy_reply_texta"
value="Thank you for taking the time...">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: courtesy_reply_textb
Description: The second line of your courtesy reply text
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="courtesy_reply_textb"
value="Call us if you need anything...">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: courtesy_who_we_are
Description: Tell the visitor who you are in the courtesy
reply footer
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="courtesy_who_we_are"
value="The Byte Shop">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: courtesy_our_url
Description: If you want to put your url in the footer of the reply
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="courtesy_our_url"
value="http://www.infosheet.com">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: courtesy_our_email
Description: If you want to put your mailto in the footer
of the reply
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="courtesy_our_email"
value="bsietz@infosheet.com">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: append_db
Description: Appends field values to a flat-file
database.
I have been asked about this feature more
than anything
else, and is
taking more time to give suggestions and
debugging help
than I have time for. Please be sure to
read this section
completely and use your system
administrator as
a resource first. I can only provide
VERY limited support!
If you wish to append the form fields to a
flat file
database, just
specify the filename as the value of this
field. The value should specify the path and file to
hold
the data.
When
using the append to database feature, the initial blank
datafile MUST be created on the
server prior to using the
script. The script
does not automatically create it; it
only appends to it! (Very common mistake) In addition, the
data file AND the
directory containing it MUST have world
write
permissions. If you do not understand Unix permissions,
please ask your
system administrator for help. The
permission
for the directory
holding the data files must have world write
access since the
server does not have any special privs. On my
system, world
execute access is also required, so the protection
should be 773 (rwx, rwx, wx). As for the data file itself,
remember it must
be created first, manually. Use any
editor to
create an empty
file. If you don't understand empty,
create a
file with the
letter "A" in it, then delete the "A" and resave it!
The file MUST have world write permissions
for the same reason as
above. Use 662 (rwx, rwx, w).
When
specifying the datafile itself in the form field, it
can be
either a full unix path, e.g.
"/home/users/smith/public_html/cgi-bin/data/datafile.dat"
or a relative path, e.g. "./data/datafile.dat". It is
important to note that if you specify a relative path, it is
usually the path relative from the CGI-BIN directory. Do not
specify the
CGI-BIN as the location of the data file since most
servers do not
allow write access to this directory.
You CANNOT
specify a URL
such as "http://www.myserver.com/cgi-bin/data.dat".
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="append_db"
value="./formdata/InfoSheet.dat">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: db_fields
Description: Specify exactly which fields are appended to
the database.
Any
field not specified in db_fields will not be appended
to the
database.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="db_fields"
value = "realname,email,homephone">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: db_delimiter
Description: The separator character between fields in
the database.
avoid using
common characters, like @.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="db_delimiter"
value = "|">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: faxservice
Description: The e-mail to fax service provider. Current support is
built-in for the following services:
faxaway - http://www.faxaway.com
faxsav - http://www.faxsav.com
(now netmoves)
netmoves - http://www.netmoves
If faxservice is not specified, no fax will be sent.
BFormMail will format the e-mail as required by the
specified service.
Faxsav (Netmoves) and Faxaway are www services which will convert
an e-mail message to a fax for a reasonable fee. These services
allow the webmaster to create a feedback form and have the
results faxed to the recipient for those who don't have
e-mail!
The only
problem is the requirement that the From: field be a
registered user of their service, and the To: field is the
fax
telephone number.
Matt's script was
not designed this way; the From: field is
designed to be the web visitor (which will most likely NOT
be an
existing customer).
The fields faxnum and
faxfrom were added to
support the requirements for this service. If faxservice is
specified, an additional e-mail message is sent using the faxnum for
the "To: " field, and the faxfrom
as the "From: " field.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="faxservice"
value = "netmoves">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: faxnum
Description: The telephone number to send the fax,
including country code
area code and number.
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="faxnum"
value = "16097951994">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Field: faxfrom
Description: The From: for a fax
(see below)
Syntax:
<input type=hidden name="faxfrom"
value = "webmaster@infosheet.com">
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any other form fields that appear in your script will be
mailed back to
you and displayed on the
resulting page if you do not have the redirect
field set. There is no limit as to how many other form
fields you can
use with this form, except the
limits imposed by browsers and your server.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------