Newb needs help

html help

[tmccann11]

Hi All. I'm new the webmaster world forums and i'm looking for some help. I've recently decided to put a web site up. I've been doing pretty good with the html, but there is still alot for me to learn. I'm trying to include several fields in which surfers would be able to enter some input. How would I mine this information? I understand how to put the fields in and the submit buttons, but where would the information go?

If anyone could point me to where I could learn about this, i'd be extremely greatfull.

Thanks in advance

Tom

[brotherhood of LAN]

Welcome to Webmaster World!

I understand what you want to do. Its a case of making a form (collects the user information) and a script (runs on your web server and processes this info and puts it where it should be).

Frontpage is ideal for beginners and web page, and youll have plenty of practice re-sorting the HTML :)

If you have Frontpage extensions on your web server you can make a form in Frontpage and follow the instructions within. Hope this helps, if not im sure someone else in here will have a good answer a link for you to read up

Stick around in these forums too, youll learn more here in a week than you previously did in six months ! :)

[tmccann11]

I am actually using FP 2000 for this project. It's taking some time, but my site's getting there. It's actually for my home and small business networking service. Should've taken the web design courses too :). I was reading alot of posts here and it seems like a great forum, so I do hope I will learn alot. Do you know what type of scripting i will need?

Thanks
Tom

[Macguru]

Hi tmccann11,

Welcome to WmW. The "engine" for forms are little programs that reside server side. Most of them are CGI scripts written in the PERL programming language. Fortunatly, you can find a lot of them for free on special sites.

Just use your favorite search engine and use such keystrings as "free perl scipt" or "free CGI script". Chances are you will find one that does exactly what you want to do. Theses files need a little configuration and it is a matter of hours before it works OK even if you do this for the first time.

Good luck!

[brotherhood of LAN]

Macguru, does Frontpage run on a Mac? I guess not :)

TMC, Im doing something very similar just now. If you have windows 98 you have just about all the tools you need.

There should bea folder within windows called add ons. It might be here on your HD C:\cd win98

Its Microsoft Personal Web Server, and if what your looking for is just running on your LAN, then you can use that to execute scripts and work databases etc, all through working with Frontpage (and access if you want to).

If you have any probs getting the personal web server, use the sticky mail thing at the top

The Microsoft Personal Web Server is pretty cool, I just got it running last night. You dont have to understand any scripting to understand it.

Its great for the average frontpage user, no offence intended but that can be a bit of a joke to some :) but hey i use frontpage so im in the same boat :)

Hope it works...

[tmccann11]

My site is being hosted by geocities (yahoo). I don't think i'll be able to run perl or cgi scripts from there. Any other suggestions?

[txbakers]

I'll say it again, but I much prefer Dreamweaver over Front Page.

You can get a free copy for download at www.macromedia.com

[Michael Weir]

Same here. A page designed in Dreamweaver has a much cleaner html source code.

[Macguru]

Hi again tmccann11

I have heard of some JavaScripts forms that can mail you the output, but never tried them. I guess JavaScript or other "on page" scripting language is the only option on Geocities.

[straysparrow]

if its hosting on geocities... look around in the geocities add-ons and such. I have a page hosted there and if I remember correctly I got my cgi scripts from geocities themselves. I just cut and pasted the code into BBEdit.

Oh and Brotherhood... though there could be a Mac version of Front Page... who would want it? But Dreamweaver most definitely works on a Mac ;)

[pageoneresults]

A page designed in Dreamweaver has a much cleaner html source code.

Who says? If you know FP, and if you set up your page preferences correctly, I'll show you pages that are head and heels over a DW page! Don't be knockin' FP until you've seen what it is capable of in the right hands!

The forms feature in FP has got to be one of the best time saving tools for beginning webmasters. Its a no brainer. And sure, FP is guilty of all the things people discuss in here. But, you know what, it all comes down to how the user has their preferences set up.

I just recently started using .asp with my forms because every now and then the FP extensions have a hiccup and the forms become non functioning. Well, I should say they function but the user does not know it because they receive an FP error upon submit. The fix is to reset the extensions on that site.

Its fairly easy to set up the .asp backend and you can save all information to a simple Access or Sequel database. We are using Sequel because that is what my techie likes and he is definitely a guru when it comes to Sequel.

You can even use the barebone basics of FP forms and save to an Access database. Problem is, I haven't figured out how to send an e-mail when data is posted. Outside of that, FP forms are great tools for the beginner! Better than DW so there! ;)

(edited by: pageoneresults at 5:23 pm (utc) on Mar. 21, 2002)

[pageoneresults]

Macguru, does Frontpage run on a Mac?

Not sure if you were being funny, but yes, FP runs on the Mac. I believe it is version 1.0?

[Eric_Jarvis]

I would recommend avoiding FP for forms...one of the most tedious jobs I have at present is clearing up the mess caused by having only partially accessible FP forms...the whole essence of the marketing of FP is to lock you into using it once you go that route

there are loads of free form-mail PERL scripts...the scripting forums here have discussed the issue before it shouldn't take too much digging around to find it...the chances are that your ISP already supplies one

IMO there is a big weakness to using WYSIWYG editors for anything but css...mark up of all kinds, including forms, is primarily about making decisions on the context of the content...exactly the sort of thing software is no good at

far better to find a good tutorial in a style you like...then keep a few examples of forms you think are useful in a text file to tinker with and use when appropriate

your web hosts will explain how to set the form up to connect with the form-mail script