Fill Out This Form...

So you have something to sell and you want people to respond to your web pages. Well, you can do that with an email link. It looks like this

<A HREF="mailto:dharper@jetstream.net">dharper@jetstream.net</A>

and it looks like this on the screen:

For more information email me at
dharper@jetstream.net
and I will reply promptly.

But maybe you want them to order on-line. How can you handle that?

Well, using a table format, you could design an order form that they could print right off the screen and have them return it to you by snail mail. As a matter of fact, many people would be very comfortable with this, especially with the ongoing concerns about net security.

But if you've got the technology, why not use it? And for this purpose there are some HTML tags that can help you design a fill-in form that can be emailed to you.

It's a matter of defining a variety of input fields. Here are some examples with the screen results.

<FORM ACTION="http://www.jetstream.net/cgi-bin/formmail.pl" METHOD="GET"> * This line handles the task of emailing the form's results to you. It is a CGI script that resides on the server. <INPUT NAME="recipient" TYPE=Hidden VALUE="dharper@jetstream.net"> * Obviously this line decides where to send the form results, in this case to me. <INPUT NAME="subject" TYPE=Hidden VALUE="Dharper_Test_Results" SIZE="32"> * This line labels the form results in the ensuing email <INPUT NAME="sort" TYPE=Hidden VALUE="name, here, like, opinion, choices, select"> * This line is critical in that it sorts the results in the order indicated here. It's a bit of a pain to set up. The names in the list are the names of the fields in your form. <INPUT NAME="env_report" TYPE=Hidden VALUE="REMOTE_HOST_,REMOTE_ID"> * This line has to do with internal instructions to the server. Should be copied verbatim <INPUT NAME="redirect" TYPE=Hidden VALUE="http://www.jetstream.net/dharper/itt"> * This line deals with the web address where the form resides. <!--=======================================================--> * In this section the fields are defined and I'm going to give an example of each type of field. The field is usually inserted after a text question (Your Name:) or before a series of multiple choice offerings. Your Name: <INPUT NAME="name" TYPE=Text SIZE="50" MAXLENGTH="100"> Do you come here often? <INPUT NAME="here" TYPE=Radio VALUE="Yes">Yes <INPUT NAME="here" TYPE=Radio VALUE="No">No <INPUT NAME="here" TYPE=Radio VALUE="Maybe">Maybe What food do you like? (choose two) <INPUT NAME="like" TYPE=Checkbox VALUE="Hot dogs"> <INPUT NAME="like" TYPE=Checkbox VALUE="Popcorn"> <INPUT NAME="like" TYPE=Checkbox VALUE="Pea Soup"> What is your opinion on the right to grow onions in the Yukon? <TEXTAREA NAME="opinion" ROWS=8 COLS=50 WRAP=Physical></tEXTAREA> Which is critical in a Brazilian rainstorm? <SELECT NAME="choices" SIZE=1> <OPTION>rubber boots <OPTION>rubber tent <OPTION>rubber matches <OPTION>rubber shirt <OPTION>none of the above </SELECT> Select two from the following list. <SELECT NAME="select" SIZE=6 MULTIPLE> <OPTION>peaches <OPTION>apples <OPTION>pears <OPTION>cherries <OPTION>plums </SELECT> Thank you for filling out this form. Now click on either one of these buttons to complete the task. <CENTER><INPUT TYPE=Submit VALUE="Submit form"><INPUT TYPE=Reset></CENTER> </FORM>

Now, let's see what this looks like on the screen.

Your Name:

Do you come here often?

Yes

No

Maybe

What food do you like? (choose two)

Hot Dogs

Popcorn

Pea Soup

What is your opinion on the right to grow onions in the Yukon?

Which is critical in a Brazilian rainstorm?

Select one from the following list.

Thank you for filling out this form. Now click on either one of these buttons to complete the task.

As you can see there are a variety of options for getting information out of people. The "Radio Button" style of choice (the round buttons) only allow you one choice but the "Checkboxes" (the square buttons) allow you multiple choices. The "Drop Down Menu" style of choosing is good if you want your form to be compact and the "List" is also a good alternative method for choosing items. And if you want someone's name or address or they need to type an explanation of something then the "Text" box serves that purpose. Note, though, that this box has to be defined for size.

When the viewer is finished making their selections then there are two buttons offered. One is "Submit Form" which then sends the result to you as an email or the "Reset" button which clears all the fields so that the viewer can do it all again.

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