csFormbuilder Usage Instructions

Logging In

Using your web browser go to the URL where csFormbuilder.cgi is located (i.e. http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-script/csFormbuilder/csFormbuilder.cgi). Enter the username and password you configured during the installation procedure. Click inside the Remember Me check box if you wish to have the login screen remember your username and password when you return at a later date. If more than one person uses your computer we advise you not to use this feature.

Form Management

This is the primary management screen, the Home links throughout the application will bring you back to this page. All the forms are created and modified using this form. Each form that is created will be listed under the Maintenance List. The Actions dropdown shown at the top of the screen is used to Create and Administer forms. In this dropdown you have two subcategories with multiple selections within. The complete list is as follows (each option is broken down below):

• Create Form
  • Create from Scratch
    This option allows you to create a form from the very beginning. There will be no predefined form fields supplied. Each form field will have to be created from scratch. Further instructions are shown below.
  • Create from Template
    This options allows you to start a form using a predefined template. This is geared to save the user time when creating a new form. A handful of templates were provided in the script upon delivery. You can use the template exactly the way it was created or you can modify it to suit your needs. Further instructions are shown below.
• Administration
  • Change Password
    This option is used to change the password used to login to the management screen.
  • Links Wizard™
    This opens up a window that lists multiple types of code that are used to add the form to your website. Further instructions are shown below.
  • Logout
    Use this option to log off from the management system.

Form Actions

This column contains actions that can be performed on each form. The Modify action allows you to edit the Form Configuration settings (explained below). The Delete action allows you to permanently delete the form. Caution, there is no way to recover a deleted form. The Copy action allows you to use an existing form as a base for another form you would like to create. It copies an existing form to another name. You can then go into this form and edit it as you see fit.

Creating a New Form

You can create a new form from scratch or using one of the many templates that comes with csFormbuilder. To create a new form, select either the Create from Scratch or Create from Template from the Actions dropdown menu. 

If you select Create from Scratch a new form will be created using the configuration data you provide. You are taken to the Form Configuration page where you establish the Field Settings, Delivery Settings, IP Restrictions, and Email Delivery. Each of these form configuration options will be described in detail below.

If you select Create from Template you will be taken to the Form Configuration page, much like the Create from Scratch option. The primary difference between the two configurations screen is the addition of the Template selection dropdown. Select a template to choose the template you would like to use as a base for your new form.

Form Configuration

On the Form Configuration page there are four main areas that need to be configured. As indicated above, the four areas are the Field Settings, Delivery Settings, IP Restrictions, and Email Delivery. Here is a breakdown of what purpose these four areas serve:

Field Settings:
Within the Field Settings area of this management screen you configure these three data types.

• Form Name
  The Form Name field is designed to help you identify each created form at a later date. Choose a brief yet descriptive name that will enable you to recognize and recall each form as time goes on. All form names should only contain alpha-numeric characters (no spaces).
• Form Title
  This will appear as the title of the page (browser title bar). Leave blank for no title.
• Redirect To
  Use this option to configure a multi-page form. There is no limit on the number of forms that can be linked. Select the form you wish to link the current form to. A multi-page form is configured by chaining individual forms together. Configuration of the form (email delivery, auto-response, etc.) is done with the last form of the chain. For example, you could use this option to break very long forms into multiple pages. This makes it easier for the user and also allows you to get more advertising exposure (if you choose to show advertising on each form).

Delivery Settings:
In this area you will configure how the notification and/or results of the form submissions will be communicated to the appropriate people. Listed below are the options shown in the configuration area.

Subject:
This is a conditional field. Built into this field are two option, Basic mode (default) and Advanced mode.

• Basic
  This option provides the administrator with a simple text field. Whatever is typed in this field will appear as the subject of the form submission (also will be shown as the Subject of the email submission).
• Advanced
  This option is used to allow the administrator to specify the Subject of the email based upon what the user selects in a predefined field. This option keys off variables that are defined in a field that already exists in the form. The example below assumes there is a field named Department that has the options Sales and Support. Instructions to use this option are as follows:
  
  Entry format (aka subject variable set): Fieldname|Fieldvalue|Subject
  What you specify as Fieldname identifies what field the program is keying off of. 
  If what you specify as Fieldvalue matches the selected value of the field then the associated subject is used.
  What you specify as Subject is the text used as the Subject in the email that is sent.
  
  Note: Show each subject variable set on a separate line in the textarea (see example below).
  
  Example:
  ---
  Department|Sales|Sales Submission
  Department|Support|Support Submission
  ---
  
  How it works:
  Assume there is a dropdown in the form that allows the user to select the department they want to contact. If the user selects Sales the subject will be Sales Submission. If the user selects Support the subject will be Support Submission.

To:
This is a conditional field. Built into this field are two option, Basic mode (default) and Advanced mode.

• Basic
  This option provides the administrator with a simple text field. The email address that is typed in this field is who will receive the form submission.
• Advanced
  This option is used to allow the submitter of the form to select options from a dropdown list. This option keys off variables that are defined in a field that already exists in the form. The example below assumes there is a field named Department that has the options Sales and Support. Instructions to use this option are as follows:
  
  Entry format (aka subject variable set): Fieldname|Fieldvalue|Send to Email Address
  What you specify as Fieldname identifies what field the program is keying off of. 
  If what you specify as Fieldvalue matches the selected value of the field then the associated email is used.
  What you specify as Send to Email Address is the email address the submission is sent to.
  
  Note: Show each subject variable set on a separate line in the textarea (see example below).
  
  Example:
  ---
  Department|Sales|sales@yourdomain.com
  Department|Support|support@yourdomain.com
  ---
  
  How it works:
  Assume there is a dropdown in the form that allows the user to select the department they want to contact. If the user selects Sales the email address that is used will be sales@yourdomain.com. If the user selects Support the email address that is used will be support@yourdomain.com.

Cc: and Bcc:
These two fields are rather simple. If you want to carbon copy or blind carbon copy (hidden to submitter)the submission to one or more additional email addresses then list them in this textarea, one per line.

From:
This is only required if you don't have an email address field on your form. If you added an email address field to the form then that email address will automatically be used as the From variable. Otherwise you can type whatever email address you would like to in the field provided (or leave blank).

Limits:
Using this option you can limit the number of form submissions that one user is allowed to submit per day or hour. This prevents someone from flooding your email inbox with submissions. You can restrict it to individual IPs or all IPs. Leave blank for unlimited.

IP Restrictions:
Use this option to restrict individual IPs or entire blocks of IPs from submitting your form. Enter IP addresses, one per line, that you wish to restrict from submitting the form. Partial IP addresses are permitted. For example, 192.168 would block 192.168.*.*. (all IPs starting with 192.168 would be blocked).

Email Delivery:
With Normal selected the submissions will be emailed to the address already specified. With None selected the submissions will not be emailed at all; only stored in the submission database.

After you have entered all your configuration options, click 'Submit Configuration'.

Submissions

This column on the Form Management page is used to show the number of submissions, allow you to view the log of the submissions, and to clear the submission log file. The Last Submission column simply shows the last time the form was submitted.

Configuring Fields

Once your form has been created your next step is to configure the fields and style of the form. Click the Fields/Style link to go into the configuration. The Show Style Configuration button will allow you to toggle between the style settings and field configuration. Click the Add Field dropdown to add a new field; select from the wide assortment of fields we have predefined for you. After selecting a field type you will be taken to the add/edit page to configure the field. Follow the instructions on the add/edit page for the particular type of field you are adding. Once you've saved the field configuration, you will see it listed on the the page with links to Modify, Delete, Copy, Move Up, and Move Down. The move up/down options allow you to change the order of the fields on the form. Click Save Form to save the settings. Click the Home button to go back to the main management screen.

Form Success Page/Email Results Configuration

From the main management screen, click the Results link to configure the Success Page/Email Results and what the user sees after submitting the form. You can choose between predefined default settings, redirecting the user to a specified web page of your liking (for the results page only), or choose the template option that allows you to specify the exact look and feel of the results.

You can add any submitted field to your template (either success page or email) by adding {fieldname} where 'fieldname' is the name of the field you specified in the field configuration page. A default template is provided which will have all the fields currently configured on your form. There is also a reset template link for both the success page template and email template which will rebuild those based on the current fields on your form. You can add, modify, delete, and even rearrange the fields as you see fit.

Automatic Response (Autoresponder) Configuration

You can enable an autoresponse of the submission to be emailed to the submitter of the form. To enable this feature, click the Autoreponder link from the main management screen. Then click the Enable Autoresponder button and continue to fill out the other fields in this section. You can also add file attachments to the autoresponse.

Alright, now you know how to create and configure the form. How do you put in on your website?

Use the Form

There are a few different ways to display the form on your site. On the main management screen click the Actions dropdown and select the Links Wizard™ option. This opens the Links Wizard™.

Now select the form you would like to you want to show on your website. The page will refresh with the HTML code for that form. For the JavaScript, Server Side Includes (SSI), and PHP links, simply copy/paste the code into any existing web page. Wherever the code is placed in the HTML page the form will appear. The JavaScript method can be used on any web page. To use the Server Side Include (SSI) code, it will more than likely have to be used. If you have trouble getting the SSI call to work either switch to JavaScript or contact your server administrator for assistance. The PHP code should be used on a page with a PHP extension.