Q: How do I process information from a form ? 

A: Use the cgi script FormMail or yform.

FormMail and yform are both cgi scripts that allow users to build forms and have results e-mailed to one or more addresses. Yform is a modification to FormMail with added capabilites.

Overview

FormMail is a universal WWW form to E-mail gateway. There is only one required form input tag which must be specified in order for this script to work with your existing forms. Other hidden configuration fields can also be used to enhance the operation of FormMail in your script. By default, form fields are sorted as they appear in the form. 

yform is a modification of FormMail that allows control over responses to users and adding responses to a text file database. 

Forms may be created by whatever tool you know with that capability. They must have one of the following lines (or close equivalent) at the start of the form definition: 
<FORM method="POST" action="http://www.usna.edu/cgi-bin/FormMail"> 
<FORM method="POST" action="https://www.usna.edu/cgi-bin/FormMail"> 
<FORM method="POST" action="http://www.usna.edu/cgi-bin/yform"> 
<FORM method="POST" action="https://www.usna.edu/cgi-bin/yform"> 

 

 

Form Configuration

    The action of your form needs to point towards this script (obviously), and the method must be POST or GET in capital letters. Version 1.5 of FormMail offers many new ways to code your form to tailor the resulting HTML page and the way the script performs. Below is a list of form fields you can use and how to implement them. 

      

    Necessary Form Fields

    There is only one form field that you must have in your form, for FormMail or yform to work correctly. This is the recipient field. 

     
    Field:  recipient
    Description:  This form field allows you to specify to whom you wish for your form results to be mailed. Most likely you will want to configure this option as a hidden form field with a value equal to that of your e-mail address. If you are using yform and want to save results to a file and NOT send email, use the value "*NOBODY" for this field.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="recipient" value="email@your.host.com">
     

    Optional Form Fields

     
    Field:  subject
    Description:  The subject field will allow you to specify the subject that you wish to appear in the e-mail that is sent to you after this form has been filled out. If you do not have this option turned on, then the script will default to a message subject: WWW Form Submission
    Syntax:  If you wish to choose what the subject is: 
    <input type=hidden name="subject" value="Your Subject"> 

    To allow the user to choose a subject: 
    <input type=text name="subject">
    Field:  email
    Description:  This form field will allow the user to specify their return e-mail address. If you want to be able to return e-mail to your user, I strongly suggest that you include this form field and allow them to fill it in. This will be put into the From: field of the message you receive. If you want to require an email address with valid syntax, add this field name to the 'required' field.
    Syntax:  <input type=text name="email">
    Field:  realname (FormMail only) 
    Description:  The realname form field will allow the user to input their real name. This field is useful for identification purposes and will also be put into the From: line of your message header. yform uses "name" for this purpose
    Syntax:  <input type=text name="realname">
    Field:  redirect
    Description:  If you wish to redirect the user to a different URL, rather than having them see the default response to the fill-out form, you can use this hidden variable to send them to a pre-made HTML page.
    Syntax:  To choose the URL they will end up at: 
    <input type=hidden name="redirect" value="http://your.host.com/to/file.html"> 

    To allow them to specify a URL they wish to travel to once the form is filled out: 
    <input type=text name="redirect">
    Field:  required
    Description:  You can now require for certain fields in your form to be filled in before the user can successfully submit the form. Simply place all field names that you want to be mandatory into this field. If the required fields are not filled in, the user will be notified of what they need to fill in, and a link back to the form they just submitted will be provided. 

     To use a customized error page, see 'missing_fields_redirect'
    Syntax:  If you want to require that they fill in the email and phone fields in your form, so that you can reach them once you have received the mail, use a syntax like: 

     <input type=hidden name="required" value="email,phone">
    Field:  env_report
    Description:  Allows you to have Environment variables included in the e-mail message you receive after a user has filled out your form. Useful if you wish to know what browser they were using, what domain they were coming from or any other attributes associated with environment variables. The following is a short list of valid environment variables that might be useful:  
    REMOTE_HOST     - Sends the hostname making the 
                  request.
REMOTE_ADDR     - Sends the IP address of the
                  remote host making the request.
REMOTE_USER     - If server supports authentication
                  and script is protected, this is
                  the username they have
                  authenticated as. *This is not
                  usually set.*
HTTP_USER_AGENT - The browser the client is using
                  to send the request.
    There are others, but these are a few of the most useful. For more information on environment variables, see: 

     The CGI Resource Index: Documentation: Environment Variables
    Syntax:  If you wanted to find the remote host and browser sending the request, you would put the following into your form: 

     <input type=hidden name="env_report" value="REMOTE_HOST,HTTP_USER_AGENT">
    Field:  sort
    Description:  This field allows you to choose the order in which you wish for your variables to appear in the e-mail that FormMail generates. You can choose to have the field sorted alphabetically or specify a set order in which you want the fields to appear in your mail message. By leaving this field out, the order will simply default to the order in which the browsers sends the information to the script (which is usually the exact same order as they appeared in the form.) When sorting by a set order of fields, you should include the phrase "order:" as the first part of your value for the sort field, and then follow that with the field names you want to be listed in the e-mail message, separated by commas. Version 1.6 allows a little more flexibility in the listing of ordered fields, in that you can include spaces and line breaks in the field without it messing up the sort. This is helpful when you have many form fields and need to insert a line wrap.
    Syntax:  To sort alphabetically: 

     <input type=hidden name="sort" value="alphabetic"> 

     To sort by a set field order: 

     <input type=hidden name="sort" value="order:name1,name2,etc...">
    Field:  print_config
    Description:  print_config allows you to specify which of the config variables you would like to have printed in your e-mail message. By default, no config fields are printed to your e-mail. This is because the important form fields, like email, subject, etc. are included in the header of the message. However some users have asked for this option so they can have these fields printed in the body of the message. The config fields that you wish to have printed should be in the value attribute of your input tag separated by commas.
    Syntax:  If you want to print the email and subject fields in the body of your message, you would place the following form tag: 

     <input type=hidden name="print_config" value="email,subject">
    Field:  print_blank_fields
    Description:  print_blank_fields allows you to request that all form fields are printed in the return HTML, regardless of whether or not they were filled in. FormMail defaults to turning this off, so that unused form fields aren't e-mailed.
    Syntax:  If you want to print all blank fields: 
    <input type=hidden name="print_blank_fields" value="1">
    Field:  title
    Description:  This form field allows you to specify the title and header that will appear on the resulting page if you do not specify a redirect URL.
    Syntax:  If you wanted a title of 'Feedback Form Results': 

     <input type=hidden name="title" value="Feedback Form Results">
    Field:  return_link_url
    Description:  This field allows you to specify a URL that will appear, as return_link_title, on the following report page. This field will not be used if you have the redirect field set, but it is useful if you allow the user to receive the report on the following page, but want to offer them a way to get back to your main page.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="return_link_url" value="http://your.host.com/main.html">
    Field:  return_link_title
    Description:  This is the title that will be used to link the user back to the page you specify with return_link_url.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="return_link_title" value="Back to Main Page">
    Field:  missing_fields_redirect
    Description:  This form field allows you to specify a URL that users will be redirected to if there are fields listed in the required form field that are not filled in. This is so you can customize an error page instead of displaying the default.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="missing_fields_redirect" value="http://your.host.com/error.html">
    Field:  background
    Description:  This form field allow you to specify a background image that will appear if you do not have the redirect field set. This image will appear as the background to the form results page.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="background" value="http://your.host.xxx/image.gif">
    Field:  bgcolor
    Description:  This form field allow you to specify a bgcolor for the form results page in much the way you specify a background image. This field should not be set if the redirect field is.
    Syntax:  For a background color of White: 

     <input type=hidden name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF">
    Field:  text_color
    Description:  This field works in the same way as bgcolor, except that it will change the color of your text.
    Syntax:  For a text color of Black: 

     <input type=hidden name="text_color" value="#000000">
    Field:  link_color
    Description:  Changes the color of links on the resulting page. Works in the same way as text_color. Should not be defined if redirect is.
    Syntax:  For a link color of Red: 

     <input type=hidden name="link_color" value="#FF0000">
    Field:  vlink_color
    Description:  Changes the color of visited links on the resulting page. Works exactly the same as link_color. Should not be set if redirect is.
    Syntax:  For a visited link color of Blue: 

     <input type=hidden name="vlink_color" value="#0000FF">
    Field:  alink_color
    Description:  Changes the color of active links on the resulting page. Works exactly the same as link_color. Should not be set if redirect is.
    Syntax:  For a active link color of Blue: 

     <input type=hidden name="alink_color" value="#0000FF">

    Fields for yform only: 

    Field:  name (yform only) 
    Description:  The name form field will allow the user to input their name. This field is useful for identification purposes and will also be put into the From: line of your message header. FormMail uses "realname" for this purpose
    Syntax:  <input type=text name="mailtop">
    Field:  mailtop (yform only) 
    Description:  The mailtop form field is usually hidden and is used to define text that appears before the list of fields in the mail message. 
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="mailtop" value "This text will be at the top of your mail message">
    Field:  mailbottom (yform only) 
    Description:  The mailbottom form field is usually hidden and is used to define text that appears before the list of fields in the mail message. 
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="mailbottom" value "This text will be at the bottom of your mail message">
    Field:  sendcourtesy (yform only) 
    Description:  The sendcourtesy form field will allow yform to send a courtesy reply to the email address specified by your user. 
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="sendcourtesy" value="yes">
    Field:  courtext1 (yform only) 
    Description:  The courtext1 form field specifies a text string that will print first in the courtesy relpy. This is the end user's equivalent of mailtop.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="courtext1" value="Thank you for the important information">
    Field:  courfieldlist (yform only) 
    Description:  The courfieldlist form field is set to "yes" to include field values in the email sent to users.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="courfieldlist" value="yes">
    Field:  courtext2 (yform only) 
    Description:  The courtext2 form field specifies a text string that will print after any fields in the courtesy relpy. This is the end user's equivalent of mailbottom.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="courtext2" value="Please let us know if there are problems.">
    Field:  courtclose (yform only) 
    Description:  The courtclose form field specifies a text string that will print after the courtext2 value in the courtesy relpy. This is typically used with the myname, myemail, and/or mywebsite fields.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="courtclose" value="Sincerely.">
    Field:  myname (yform only) 
    Description:  The myname form field is used to include a name in the courtesy reply.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="myname" value="Computer Help Desk">
    Field:  myemail (yform only) 
    Description:  The myemail form field is used to include an email address in the courtesy reply.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="myemail" value="syshelp@nadn.navy.mil">
    Field:  mywebsite (yform only) 
    Description:  The mywebsite form field is used to include a URL in the courtesy reply.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="mywebsite" value="http://www.usna.edu">
    Field:  database (yform only) 
    Description:  The database form field specifies the filename used for saving records with users' input. The file must exist before yform will start using it. You must use the 'sort/order:' value set to write your form submissions to the database
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="database" value="formout.txt">
    Field:  delimiter (yform only) 
    Description:  The delimiter form field is used to define a caracter or set of charactere to separate fields in the database. The default is no delimiter which is not very useful.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="delimiter" value="|">
    Field:  resptext1 (yform only) 
    Description:  The resptext1 form field specifies a text string will print first in the HTML response given to the user.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="resptext1" value="We appreciate your time and response">
    Field:  respfieldlist (yform only) 
    Description:  The respfieldlist form field must be set to "yes" if you wish to include the form fields in the HTML response to the user.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="respfieldlist" value="yes">
    Field:  resptext2 (yform only) 
    Description:  The resptext2 form field specifies a text string will print after any fields in the HTML response given to the user.
    Syntax:  <input type=hidden name="resptext2" value="If there are changes, please try again.">

    Refer to the sample form file for an example of most of these fields 

     Viewable sample form.  

    Some of the possible uses of this script

    1. You want to have a form that will be mailed to you, but aren't sure how to write the CGI script for it. 
    2. You want to collect data from a form into a data file for later downloading.  
    3. Want to have one script to parse all of your html forms and mail them to you. 

    Copyrights  and Disclaimers

    ############################################################################## 
    # YFORM  
    Modified 5/15/98 Ashley Bass (abass@iname.com)  
    This is a modified version of Donald E. Killen's xFormMail.cgi script which is itself a modified version of Matthew M. Wright's FormMail.pl script. As with their work, this script is made available freely to anyone who can use it. By using this code you agree to indemnify Ashley B. Bass from any liability that might arise from its use.  
     

    # xFormMail  
    xFormMail.cgi Version 1.0  
    Modifications Copyright (c) 1996 Donald E. Killen, All Rights Reserved. This version of FormMail may be used and modified free of charge by anyone so long as this copyright notice and the one below by Matthew Wright remain intact. By using this code you agree to indemnify Donald E. Killen from any liability arising from it's use. You also agree that this code cannot be sold to any third party without prior written consent of both Don Killen and Matthew M. Wright.  
     

    # FormMail                        Version 1.6                                #  
    # Copyright 1996-1997 Matt Wright mattw@worldwidemart.com                    #  
    # Created 06/09/95                Last Modified 05/02/97                     #  
    # Matt's Script Archive, Inc.:    http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/      #  
    ##############################################################################  
    # If you run into any problems while trying to configure this scripts, help  #  
    # is available.  The steps you should take to get the fastest results, are:  #  
    #       1) Read this file thoroughly.                                   &nbs p;    #  
    #       2) Consult the Matt's Script Archive Frequently Asked Questions:     #  
    #               http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/faq/                    #  
    #       3) If you are still having difficulty installing this script, send   #  
    #          e-mail to: scripts-help@tahoenet.com                              #  
    #          Include any error messages you are receiving and as much detail   #  
    #          as you can so we can spot your problem.  Also include the variable#  
    #          configuration block that is located at the top of the script.     #  
    #                                    &nbs p;                                       #  
    # Hopefully we will be able to help you solve your problems.  Thank you.     #  
    ##############################################################################  
    # COPYRIGHT NOTICE                                   ;                         #  
    # Copyright 1995 - 1997 Matthew M. Wright  All Rights Reserved.              #  
    #                                    &nbs p;                                       #  
    # FormMail may be used and modified free of charge by anyone so long as this #  
    # copyright notice and the comments above remain intact.  By using this      #  
    # code you agree to indemnify Matthew M. Wright from any liability that      #  
    # might arise from its use.                                &n bsp;                 #  
    #                                    &nbs p;                                       #  
    # Selling the code for this program without prior written consent is         #  
    # expressly forbidden.  In other words, please ask first before you try and  #  
    # make money off of my program.                               &nbs p;              #  
    #                                    &nbs p;                                       #  
    # Obtain permission before redistributing this software over the Internet or #  
    # in any other medium.  In all cases copyright and header must remain intact #  
    ##############################################################################

     
United States Naval Academy