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e-mail FAQ
 
  How can I get information from persons visiting my website?  
 
 
   
1.

This page has directions for using "mailform," an html form you customize to collect information and inquiries from visitors to your site. Results are emailed to you. No cgi programming required. Copy and customize the HTML code from this sample form , and use it on your website!

   
2.

To get started, use this sample form.

Click here to view the sample form.           Right-click here to download the form.
   
3. Now that you have the form and know what it looks like, you can use your usual html editing tools to change the appearance to your liking, and add and delete the visible fields in order to collect the information you want. Finally, you need to modify the hidden fields on the form so that the results are mailed to you properly and the visitor can return to your website.
   
4.

The hidden fields are very important. If you don't change the field called "MailTo" which looks like this:

<input type=hidden name="MailTo" value="jim@xyz.com, mary@abc.net">
the information submitted will go to jim@xyz.com, whoever that is.

The other hidden fields are almost as important and all are described below.

Note that the form calls the program "mailform4.pl" from your cgi-bin directory. If by chance you do not have that program in your cgi-bin directory, call us, and we'll put it there.
   
5. Details follow.
   
6.
  mailform4.pl
This module takes all variables named within a  <FORM>..</FORM> HTML tag-pair and sends each variable-name and its value-content to one email address. There is one required field-name to communicate the destination email address.  A naming convention is enabled to allow the designer to select the order in which the form's fields are to be presented in the received email.  Several optional variables allow specification of the destination email's subject text and a return to another web page (such as the site's home page) after the successful processing of the form's values.   See sample form.

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MailTo hidden field
The destination email address that the received data is mailed-to:

MailTo
      (capitalization important and exact)
      (required field)
      (hidden field)

Example:
<form action="/cgi-bin/mailform4.pl">

<input type=hidden name="MailTo" value="acompanyrep@abccompany.com">

...</form>

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ReplyTo  
Email
email		 Alternate spellings
If the form's data contains an email-address of the message author (typically used for a reply). The email address field that is used to capture the web-page-sender's email address.  You could use some other name for the user to enter into an input field name for an email address. The advantage of using these spellings is that mailform4.pl will hightlight the author's return address in the received email to make is easier for the company person receiving this mail to handle and reply to the author. Note that the "sender" of this emailed form will be a machine account which cannot be reply-ed to.

ReplyTo or Email or email
     (capitalization important and exact)
     (this field is optional)

Example:
<form action="/cgi-bin/mailform4.pl>

<input type=hidden name="MailTo" value="a-rep@abccompany.com">

<input type=text name="ReplyTo" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

...</form>

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Sorting  

The form's data values will be sorted (ascending, using the form's field names).
If you want the values returned in the MailTo message in a certain order, there are two options.

The simplest is to include a hidden field with the field order specified, e.g.,
<input type="hidden" name="FieldOrder" value="First_name,Last_name,Address">
Note that the field name must be exactly FieldOrder.

A second approach is to prefix a number (a 2 digit integer) before all the input field names (this is optional)

<input type=text name="03Company" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

<input type=text name="01FirstName" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

<input type=text name="02Lastname" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

<input type=text name="04City" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

or use an alphabet letter before the input field name (this is optional)

<input type=text name="C-Company" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

<input type=text name="A-FirstName" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

<input type=text name="B-Lastname" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

<input type=text name="D-City" value=" " size=34 maxsize=200>

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GoBack hidden field
If you want a link placed on the confirmation message that the user receives at their browser, so that they can continue/return to a page of your preference, add the hidden field "GoBack".

GoBack
      (capitalization important and exact)
      (this field is optional)

Example:
<form action="/cgi-bin/mailform4.pl">

<input type=hidden name="MailTo" value="a-rep@abccompany.com">

<input type=hidden name="GoBack" value="http://www.abccompany.com/index.htm">

...</form>

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MailSubject hidden field
If you want specific text placed on the subject line when the data is sent to the MailTo addressee, add the hidden field "MailSubject".

MailSubject
     (capitalization important and exact)
    (this field is optional)

Example:
<form action="/cgi-bin/mailform4.pl>

<input type=hidden name="MailTo" value="a-rep@abccompany.com">

<input type=hidden name="MailSubject" value="Web Comment - Product Page">

...</form>

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FrontPage version FrontPage 98
To use this program for form handling from MicroSoft Front Page Editor:

1. click anywhere on the form and with the right mouse button, click "Form Properties".

2. in the panel "What to do with the form results?" select the radio button

o Send to other "Custom ISAPI, NSAPI, CGI, or ASP script"

3. click the "Options..." button

a. type in the "Action:" box: /cgi-bin/mailform4.pl

b. type in the "Method:" box: POST

c. click OK

4. back on the "Form Properties" panel select "Advanced..." button

5. on the "Advanced Form Properties" panel

a. select the "Add..." button

b. on the "Name/Value Pair" panel

i. type the form field name in the "Name:" box: MailTo

ii. type the form field value in the "Value:" box: validname@domainname.com

iii. the email address in the value box is where this form's data will be sent

c. click OK

d. back on the "Advanced Form Properties" panel, click OK

6. back on the "Form Properties" panel, click OK

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Copyright and Other Notices
A Perl script written by LS Airaghi and MT Abell based on mailform.cgi that is widely available. This variation is compatible with the standard version of mailform.cgi. An existing page using mailform.cgi should be directly convertible to use mailform4.pl. This version of the utility mailer has been enhanced to check-for and remove control characters from all input fields. It also and checks-for and limits unusually large input text.

Copyright 1998,1999,2001,2003 SpeedSpan, Inc. All rights reserved.  A limited license to use this work is granted to customers of CIX, Palaver, and SpeedSpan 3/1/1999.

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