CFormMail provides Web site creators with a means to have information submitted by visitors in forms sent to an e-mail recipient and/or added to a data file. It is based on FormMail by Matt Wright, and on other modifications of FormMail, notably BFormMail by Brian Sietz (see copyright notices below).
CFormMail is especially useful because, by default, it saves its data file in CSV (Comma Separated Variable) format. This file format can be easily read by popular software such as Microsoft Excel; if your system is suitably configured, you can even open the file, from the Web, as an Excel document, in your Web browser window. The person filling out the form can use commas and other punctuation without any negative results.
CFormMail also provides the option to send a courtesy e-mail message when a form is submitted.
<form action="http://uscj.org/cgi-bin/uscj/CFormMail.pl" method="POST">Don't forget the closing </form> tag in the appropriate place.
CFormMail offers many 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.
Either the recipient or datafile fields (or both) must be present in your form for CFormMail to work correctly. 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. Syntax: <input type=hidden name="recipient" value="email@your.host.com">
Field: datafile Description: If you wish to append the form fields to a flat file database, just specify the filename as the value of this field. The value should specify the path and file to hold the data. When using the append to database feature, the initial blank datafile must be created on the server prior to using the script. The script does not automatically create it; it only appends to it. In addition, the data file and the directory containing it must have world write permissions (Unix 662) to allow the server (which typically runs with no special privs) to append to the file. (On a Windows server, such as USCJ.org, this probably does not require any extra commands.)
When specifying the data file, use a virtual path. For example, if your data file is at http://uscj.org/region/temple/mydata.csv, use "/region/temple/mydata.csv" (note leading slash). (This must be configured by the server administrator, and has been for USCJ. Otherwise, when specifying the datafile, it can be either a full Unix path (e.g. "/home/users/smith/public_html/cgi-bin/data/datafile.dat") or a relative path (e.g. "./data/datafile.dat"). It is important to note that if you specify a relative path, it is usually the path relative from the CGI-BIN directory. You CANNOT specify a URL such as "http://www.myserver.com/cgi-bin/data.dat".) Syntax: <input type=hidden name="datafile" value="/region/temple/mydata.csv">WARNING! Results may be unpredictable, and data may not be sent/saved while the program appears to function normally, in the following circumstances: (1) Hidden configuration fields in the HTML file are missing or incorrect; (2) More than one person submits the same form at the same time (when saving to data file); or (3) A file system error (e.g., out of disk space) occurs when writing to the data file or, on Windows systems, creating the mail message. Testing any form referring to this script before directing visitors to it will prevent some of these problems.
Optional Form Fields: ===================== Field: cc Description: This form field will allow you to send a copy of the users form data to another address instead of putting multiple addresses in the recipient field. This will be added to the e-mail as a Cc: field. Syntax: <input type=hidden name="cc" value="webmaster@infosheet.com"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: bcc Description: This form field will allow you to send a blind copy of the users form data to another address instead of putting multiple addresses in the recipient field. This will be added to the e-mail as a Bcc: field. Syntax: <input type=hidden name="bcc" value="webmaster@infosheet.com"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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. 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 a 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: http://www.cgi-resources.com/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, name3,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. The two fields will be shown on the resulting form page as: <ul> <li><a href="return_link_url">return_link_title</a> </ul> 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.com/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 visited link color of Blue: <input type=hidden name="alink_color" value="#0000FF"> Field: courtesy_reply Description: This field initiates an automated courtesy reply to the user to thank them for filling out your form! Syntax: <input type=hidden name="courtesy_reply" value="yes"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: courtesy_reply_texta Description: The first line of your courtesy reply text Syntax: <input type=hidden name="courtesy_reply_texta" value="Thank you for taking the time..."> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: courtesy_reply_textb Description: The second line of your courtesy reply text Syntax: <input type=hidden name="courtesy_reply_textb" value="Call us if you need anything..."> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: courtesy_who_we_are Description: Tell the visitor who you are in the courtesy reply footer Syntax: <input type=hidden name="courtesy_who_we_are" value="The Byte Shop"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: courtesy_our_url Description: If you want to put your url in the footer of the reply Syntax: <input type=hidden name="courtesy_our_url" value="http://www.infosheet.com"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: courtesy_our_email Description: If you want to put your mailto in the footer of the reply Syntax: <input type=hidden name="courtesy_our_email" value="bsietz@infosheet.com"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: db_fields Description: Specify exactly which fields are appended to the database. Any field not specified in db_fields will not be appended to the database. Syntax: <input type=hidden name="db_fields" value = "realname,email,homephone"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: db_delimiter Description: The separator character between fields in the database. The default is a comma, which will produce a Comma-separated variable (CSV) file. Leave this field out for CSV files. Syntax: <input type=hidden name="db_delimiter" value = "|"> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any other form fields that appear in your script will be mailed back to you and displayed on the resulting page if you do not have the redirect field set. There is no limit as to how many other form fields you can use with this form, except the limits imposed by browsers and your server. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The field "append_db" in BFormMail was renamed "datafile".
The recipient address is now not only shown, but also shown as a hyperlink, in the HTML page returned to the visitor.
############################################################################## # 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. # # 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. # # # # Hopefully we will be able to help you solve your problems. Thank you. # ############################################################################## # COPYRIGHT NOTICE # # Copyright 1995 - 1997 Matthew M. Wright All Rights Reserved. # # # # 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. # # # # 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. # # # # Obtain permission before redistributing this software over the Internet or # # in any other medium. In all cases copyright and header must remain intact # ############################################################################## History: Version 1.0 06/11/95 - This script was created. Version 1.1 08/03/95 - A major hole in the script which allowed users to run commands under your server's uid was disabled, thanks to Paul Phillips, who noticed the error. - The ability to redirect the user to a specified HTML file after they filled out a form was added. Version 1.2 09/23/95 - If the form field is one of the required or optional 'special' fields, such as redirect, recipient, subject, email, realname, etc... the script will not print these fields to either your mail message or to the user's screen when they are returned to a generic form response. It helps you so that things do not get duplicated. Version 1.3 01/21/96 - Much needed update finally completed - Added form fields: env_report, bgcolor, background, link_color, vlink_color, title, text_color, return_link_title, return_link_url and required. - Security hole, which allowed any user on any system to bum off of your FormMail script, has been plugged up with the @referers variable. - Report style in return html and e-mail touched up a bit. Version 1.4 01/23/96 - Added options: sort, alink_color - Fixed a few bugs from Version 1.3, namely the fact that the link_colors weren't working well. - FormMail now supports both the GET and POST methods. Version 1.5 02/05/96 - Sorting of Fields in E-Mail Response Fixed. - print_config option added. Version 1.6 05/02/97 - Sorting of fields by default was fixed to now sort in the order the fields are passed to FormMail from the web browser, which is usually the same order as they appear in the HTML form. - The sort order: directive, env_report and print_config parsing routines were made to better compensate for line breaks and extra spaces in input for ease of use. - Redirect error causing the redirect option to incorrectly work with https (secure servers) was fixed. - Input of a '0' in a regular form field now recognized as input and sent back to user. - Output of non-filled in form fields suppressed. - E-mail addresses checked for correct syntax if designated a required field. - Fields only printed if they contain a value or if the print_blank_fields option is set to 1. - missing_fields_redirect added so you can route users who don't completely fill out the form to a pre-made HTML page. - Parts of code optimized, especially in respect to the way config variables are handled. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Wright - mattw@worldwidemart.com - http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/ ############################################################################## # BFormMail Version 1.3b # # # # Copyright 1997 Brian Sietz bsietz@infosheet.com # # The InfoSheet Place http://www.infosheet.com # # Created 8/14/97 # # # # Modifications Copyright (c) 1997,1998 Brian S. Sietz, 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 Brian Sietz 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 Brian Sietz # # and Matthew M. Wright. # # # # BFormMail is a universal WWW form to E-mail gateway based on Matt Wright's # # FormMail Version 1.6. # # # ############################################################################## # 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/ # ############################################################################## # COPYRIGHT NOTICE # # Copyright 1995 - 1997 Matthew M. Wright All Rights Reserved. # # # # 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. # # # # 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. # # # # Obtain permission before redistributing this software over the Internet or # # in any other medium. In all cases copyright and header must remain intact # # # ############################################################################## ############################################################################## # # # BFormMail # # # # Took Matt's original 1.6 script and made some mods... # # # # Mods made were mostly from features in yForm # # which was Matt's original FormMail 1.5 with changes by: # # Donald E. Killen 10/2/96 and # # Ashley Bass 1/29/97 # # # # This readme file contains a brief history of the modifications to # # FormMail v1.6, followed by more detailed descriptions of the added # # fields describing their purpose and example. # # # # Following the descriptions of the modifications is Matt Wright's # # original unmodified readme file containing basic installation # # instructions. Please do not contact Matt Wright regarding questions # # or problems if you are using any of the modified features of his # # script. # # # # History: # # # # Added 6/29/97: # # - Added table output to HTML (orig by Don Killen in yForm) # # - Added printing of realname & email in HTML output (orig Ashley Bass)# # - Added misc form fields: # # cc - if present, a Cc: is added to the e-mail when sent # # bcc - if present, a Bcc: is added to the e-mail when sent # # - Added courtesy reply (based on code from yForm) # # Changed field names; a bit longer, but easier to understand: # # courtesy_reply - if present and email also present, reply sent # # courtesy_reply_texta, First line of courtesy reply text # # courtesy_reply_textb, Second line of courtesy reply text # # courtesy_who_we_are, Name or company underneath the "Regards" # # courtesy_our_url, URL to print after "Regards" # # courtesy_our_email, e-mail to print after "Regards" # # - Added database option (based on code from yForm) # # append_db, if present, value is the data file to append to # # db_delimiter, delimiter between fields # # - Removed FormMail display in HTML output (except error output) # # Nobody should care about who wrote the script, if they really # # want to know, they should send e-mail to the webmaster... # # # # Added 8/14/97: # # - Added support for e-mail to fax services # # - Added db_fields config field to control which fields are appended # # to the database. # # - All form fields appended to database are stripped of newlines so # # that all outputted fields will be on a single record # # # # Added 2/2/98: # # - Modified form-to-fax to support another fax service provider. # # Fax service provider is now a variable passed from the HTML file. # # Current fax service providers are: # # faxaway - http://www.faxaway.com # # faxsav - http://www.faxsav.com # # See below for more information. # # # # Added 7/16/98: # # - Added check for valid e-mail address, if specified for cc: & bcc: # # # # Added 12/9/98: # # - Fixed bug in print_blank_fields # # ##############################################################################