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mailform advice

this format doesnt work - whats missing?

         

claimsweb

6:05 pm on Aug 31, 2002 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Hello all
I need some help on what (having read recent threads in this forum) really should be termed script advice for kindergarten. I have a site that for now operates on non-commercial grade webspace. My isp does not allow for much scope to develop the site however they do allow a very basic form script as follows:

<FORM METHOD=POST
ACTION="/cgi-bin/mailform.cgi">
<Unknown Merge Field: <p>>Name :
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="name" SIZE=40>
<Unknown Merge Field: <p>>Email :
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="email" SIZE=40>
<Unknown Merge Field: <p>>Subject :
<INPUT TYPE="text"
<NAME="subject" SIZE=40>
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="targetpage"
<value="http://www.my url">
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="mailuser" value="my email address">
<Unknown Merge Field: <p>>Message :
<TEXTAREA NAME="comment" ROWS=20 COLS=70>
</TEXTAREA>
<Unknown Merge Field: <p>>
<INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Submit">
<INPUT TYPE="reset">
</FORM>

When using this I get the message - ''target page and mailuser error'' and obviously appreciate that something vital is missing. The problem is I dont know what! I also dont know how to format the cells or fields once they are inserted into my FP webpages - ie: how to line them up evenly - I can extend the size of the cells and text tho so I'm not a total thicko!

I may well get censored for this one but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
cheers
Clancy

jatar_k

6:17 pm on Aug 31, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Administrator 10+ Year Member



if not previously offered claimsweb,
Welcome to WebmasterWorld

first things first, some of your tags are bad and I am not sure what the "Unknown Merge Field:" entries are.

I am hoping that this file exists /cgi-bin/mailform.cgi because that is the script that the form will be sending it's information to.

the form you put up should be like this on the original page.

<FORM METHOD=POST ACTION="/cgi-bin/mailform.cgi">
<p>Name : <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="name" SIZE=40>
<p>Email : <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="email" SIZE=40>
<p>Subject : <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="subject" SIZE=40>
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="targetpage" value="http://www.my url">
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="mailuser" value="my email address">
<p>Message :<TEXTAREA NAME="comment" ROWS=20 COLS=70>
</TEXTAREA>
<p><INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Submit">
<INPUT TYPE="reset">
</FORM>

Your subject field had a bad tag and there were some extra brackets floating around.

'target page and mailuser error' may need to be fixed in the script. They are both hidden values in the form and if they are not set properly this could cause the script to error out. They could just have the wrong format. In the actual form did you set them or are they as above?

claimsweb

7:34 am on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Thanks for your prompt reply Jatar_k
The code that Ive pasted in above was provided in its entirity by my isp as the basic script that they will accept. I'm not sure if any other variant will work but I will give it a go.

I would also like to know how to move the fields / cells and line them up evenly - at the moment all I can do is align L,R or centre and this doesnt do the job. Is there a way to space out the cells in a desired format.

Many thanks for your assistance

claimsweb

8:43 am on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Back again

The form seems to function fine Jatar_k but I have not received the emails response on my test runs. Could be a few reasons for this such as a delay at the cgi server but Ive checked and re-checked the address and it all looks ok yet no mail has come in after an hour of waiting

any ideas?

sorry to bug - again any advice greatly appreciated

Callum

8:57 am on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)



>>> Is there a way to space out the cells in a desired format.

You'll need to put it all in a table. Of course, get the script working first and if your ISP supplied it then tell them you have a problem and let them fix it. It sounds like they're running one of the cgi scripts from Matts Script Archive to me, however I replied because of your lining up question!

When I first started out in 1997, I remember doing a search for forms to have a look at raw source code from other sites. This showed me how others did this. There's no getting away from it, a high quality table wrapped around a FORM is the only way to go.

The amount of times I see larger corporates with bad FORM layout.. Set yourself apart and get stuck right into the TABLE tag and all its glory.

Callum.

claimsweb

9:39 am on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Callum
thanks for that
could you steer me in the right direction for either a tutorial or a sneak preview of a decent table tag script? Got to start somewhere and despite viewing a few sites with decent forms, I still cant get a grip of how to format my own site.
cheers

dhdweb

3:46 pm on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



A search on echoecho is a great place to start.

echoecho search results [echoecho.master.com]

dhdweb

claimsweb

4:41 pm on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member



Thanks again for the input

Staffa

5:44 pm on Sep 1, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



claimsweb, I have several forms in tables on my site (URL in profile).
Feel free to view/copy source code and adjust for your own use.
Hope this helps. :)