| To get a free copy of the Formmail.pl script go
to Matt's
Archive
Formmail allows you to receive data and create
sophisticated forms without CGI scripting. There are two different
environments to consider when using formmail:
1. Regular, Non-secure (simple data gathering,
fill-in forms)
2. Secure , SSL
environment (credit card data gathering, all sensitive material)
To use Formmail in a non-secure environment
(i.e., simple information gathering of a non-sensitive type), create a
form with any decent web page creation software.
The form action line should be
<form method="POST"
action="/cgi-sys/ala-formmail.pl">
Notice that
the path is CGI-SYS. This is the path to
our universal CGI-BIN which holds the formmail.pl script.
formmail.pl will do all the programming work
for you. You alter the behavior of formmail by using hidden fields in your
form.
Basic Form Making
Instructions:
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="your_username@localnet.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: e-mail
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.
Syntax: <input type=text
name="e-mail">
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: sort
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 isn't always the exact same order 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.
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,etc...">
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 the user will end up
at:
<input type=hidden name="redirect"
value="http://your.address/to/file.html">
To allow the user to specify a URL he wishes to
travel to once the form is filled out:
<input type=text
name="redirect">
Field: required
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.
Syntax:
If you want to require that the user fill in
the e-mail 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="e-mail,phone">
Field: env_report
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 attribute is
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.
HTTP_USER_AGENT - The browser the client is using to send
the request. General format: software/version library/version
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: title
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
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.xxx/main.html">
Field: return_link_title
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: background
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.xxx/image.gif">
Field: bgcolor
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
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
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
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
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">
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.
Using formmail in a
secure environment:
You must get a free copy of the script from Matt's Script
Archive first. Follow the simple but important instructions there
(basically: ALWAYS download and upload the script in ASCII format ONLY,
and change the referers line to your IP address and domain name). Request
that your CGI-BIN be enabled through our online support
request form. Upload your copy of formmail.pl to your CGI-BIN. Follow
the instructions above for
form creation.  | 
