There are several ways to create a form in FrontPage, by using the form
templates provided in the program, using the Form Page Wizard that is
provided in the program, or using the Insert Form from the Menu Bar.
The
form templates can be accessed by clicking on File in the Menu bar then
highlighting New, then Page or Web. You will see the task pane open on the
right. Under New from
template you will see Page Templates. By clicking on it you will open
another window which will provide you with a list of pages under the
General tab. Some of these pages are normal web pages and others are
forms. Once you click on the page you want to use, the window will close
and so will the task pane and the page you chose will be displayed on the
screen ready for your input or if you chose the Form Page Wizard,
instead of your new page appearing there will be a series of windows
until you have chosen all that you want in your form. First I am going to use the Form
Page Wizard.
The image on the left
is a flash animation, when you see "next" in the instructions below
click on the screenshot to advance to the next frame.
When you first open the Form Page Wizard you will
see the screenshot on the left, simply click "next" to begin.
This next window allows you to add new questions
and edit already existing questions in your form. Since we have
nothing on the form, clicking the Add button will advance us to the
"next" window.
From the list on the top simply select the input
you wish to place on your form. Click "next" to see that I have chosen
Contact Information. On the bottom you can enter your own text that
would instruct the viewer on what is required. Once you have entered
the desired information click the "next" button and proceed to the
next window.
When choosing contact information you are then
prompted to choose the information you desire from your viewer. There
is default choices and you can check and uncheck whatever information
you want. By clicking "next" you can see I added a few choices to the
list. Clicking "next" again will take you to the next screenshot.
You can now see the
first input section listed in the window. You can either edit that
input section or add a new section. Click "next" to see that I have
chosen to add another input section. The window opened to the list of
questions provided, click "next" to see that I scrolled down and chose
to add a paragraph to the form. Clicking "next" again shows that I
added some text to the already existing text in the bottom box. When
done entering that info click "next" again to see that you are
prompted to give that input selection a variable name. Click "next" to
see that I named the variable answer.
Clicking "next" again and you are taken back to the add/remove/modify
window again. Now you are even given the ability to move your list of
inputs up or down depending on how you want them placed in your form.
I have chosen to leave the two as then were and clicked "next" to go
to the next screen.
You are now given a list of presentation
options. Simply choose the options on how you wish your form to be
displayed on your page then click "next" to advance to the next
window.
Now you are given your output options. This is
how you choose to have your content in your form sent so that it can
be read and you name your output file. The first screenshot shows the
option to save to a web page, by choosing this you will also need to
enter a name for the results file. Click "next" to see that when you
choose the cgi option, you are not required to add a name for the
results file. This is because the cgi script will specify all of the
information the form will need. Click "next" again and you will see
that saving to a text file also requires a name for the results. The
form needs to know where the input it is gathering must be sent. When
you are finished click "next" and the Wizard tells you it has all the
necessary information and that by clicking on the finish button your
form will be created. The form that was created by the input in this
lesson can be viewed here.
If you wish to view the flash file again simply
click on the screenshot and it will go back to the first frame.
The Page Templates also offers other forms such as
Confirmation and Feedback forms. All you would need to do to use one of
these is to click File in the main menu then new, then page or web and
then choose Page Templates.
You
can also add a form to a page by clicking on Insert on the main menu then
choosing Form and then clicking on Form. A screenshot of the Form menu is
shown on the right. To read on the descriptions of each of these form
items see HTML Lesson 4
Please Note: Your form is not complete once you have
finished with the form wizard or any of the templates. First of all for
the form created by the Form Wizard above, in order for the form to work
the website you are publishing to MUST have FrontPage Server
Extensions installed. If you had chosen to use an external cgi then you
need to set it up.
By right clicking anywhere within your form and
choosing form properties you can access where the results can be stored.
The screenshot on the left here shows your options. If your web server
does not support FrontPage Server Extensions then you can enter your email
address and have the results of the form sent to your email address. If
you have chosen cgi when you opened this windows it should have pointed to
Send to other. A form is not complete on it's own, it always needs an
external application in order to complete it's task.
By clicking on the options button
on the bottom left corner of the window you will find more options you
can use for your form. If you click on the screenshot on the left you
will see each of the tabs that options provides. One of great interest
is the confirmation page tab. It does look better when you provide the
viewer a confirmation of what they have sent you. Once you have
created this page you can enter the url to it on the confirmation tab.
Also the Saved Fields tab allows you to format the date and time, etc
and let's you gather a bit of other information from the sender of the
completed form.
You
can also add a form to a page by clicking on Insert on the main menu then
choosing Form and then clicking on Form. A screenshot of the Form menu is
shown on the right. To read on the descriptions of each of these form
items see 