Blacksburg Electronic Village: Help

Community Connections

Scripts

Hit Counter Instructions:

Instructions on making using a hit counter are available at the following URL:

Hit Counter Instructions (http://www.bev.net/help/connections/counter.php)

Form Instructions

Forms processing is available for Arts and Community Connections customers. Using the instructions that follow, you will be able to create an email response form for your web page. Please visit the URL below to see what your form will look like when you are finished!

Sample Form (http://www.bev.net/help/connections/forms/sample_form.php)

Helpful Hint:

You may also want to refer to the following URL as you are using the instructions below, simply for a better look at the HTML code:

Sample HTML (http://www.bev.net/help/connections/forms/easy.php)
For Detailed Form Instructions, visit http://www.bev.net/help/connections/scripts_more.php.

Before you begin:

This is not the complete version of the HTML code; you will need to include standard page tags, such as <HTML>,<HEAD>, and <BODY>, for your form to work properly.

The first line of the HTML code in your form will be the same for all Arts and Community Connections customers, since everyone will be using a script that exists on a computer at BEV.

Simply copy the following line of HTML code into your document and begin with step one for the remaining code:

Now you are ready to begin customizing your form!

Step One: Where does the submitted information go?

There are certain elements that the person submitting the form won't see. To begin with, the user will not see where the submitted information goes. Typically, the information will be sent to the owner of the form. Use the following code to tell the computer where to send the information submitted by the user:

The phrase "to" tells which e-mail address(es) to use when e-mailing the information that the user submitted in the form.

Simply replace the phrase "you@yourdomain.com" with your email address. If there are multiple members of your organization that should also receive this information, you should enter their e-mails after yours, separating them with a comma.

Important Note:
You must send BEV any email addresses you would like the submitted form information to go to. For example, if you would like for the submitted form to go to three different email addresses, such as you@yourdomain.com, addy2@anydomain.com, and addy3@anydomain.com, then you would need to send these three email addresses to the BEV in order for your form to work. This is necessary in order to counter possible exploits by spammers.

Step Two: What will the title of your e-mail message be?

The computer will send the e-mail to the address that you have indicated using the code above. You may want the e-mail messages to have a specific title so that you can sort them out more easily. Use the code below to assign a title to the e-mail:

Substitute "Your Title Here" with the title of your e-mail.

Step Three: What does the user see after he or she submits the form?

You may want to show your appreciation to the user after he or she has submitted the form. You may use a web page of your own to do so. (It doesn't have to be fancy.) Simply design the web page with a few words of thanks and save it to your folder on the CIVIC or ARTS server. Using the code below, you may tell the computer to take the user to this "Thank you page" after having submitted the form. Keep in mind that this step is optional.

In this case, if you gave the name "thanks.html" to your thank-you page, you would simply replace the phrase "your_filebox_name" with the name of your folder on the ARTS or CIVIC servers. Be sure that the URL goes to the appropriate server (i.e., http://civic.bev.net/ or http://arts.bev.net/).

Step Four: How do I collect user input?

This step is simple. You will need to add form elements or "form fields" to your form. There are many different types of form elements, including text boxes, comment boxes, radio buttons, check boxes, and pull-down menus. For more information on these form elements, their codes, and functions, please refer to the Resources Page (http://www.bev.net/help/resources/links.php). You may also want to view the Extended Instructions Page (http://www.bev.net/help/connections/scripts_more.php).

Copy the following HTML code to place as many response boxes as you need onto your form:

The following code may be used to create a small box, which might be used for entering the user's name, e-mail address, or other information.

Your Name: <BR>
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="Name" SIZE="55">

This allows your user to enter text into a small field. The field may be larger or smaller if you wish; simply change the unit "55" to the number you desire. You may replace "Name" according to how you will categorize this information. For the e-mail field, you might type "E-mail address" so that when the information is e-mailed to you, it will read: E-mail address: suzy_user@anydomain.com

Use the following tag to create a larger, scrolling box that the user can enter comments into:

<p> Please state below any suggestions that may help us improve our program:<textarea name="suggestions" rows="3" cols="65"></textarea></p>

In this code, you will first choose a set of directions or a question that must be answered in the box. Replace the phrase Please state below..., etc. with your own phrase or question. You will probably choose a title for the information, as you did with the e-mail message box. You may wish to give a different title to each box, according to the response you have requested from the user. Simply replace "suggestions" with the name you have chosen, according to each box. You may also adjust the number of columns and rows, which are listed here as "65", and "3", respectively.

Step Five: Where will users see your form?

Now you are ready to put the completed form onto your website. This will be done just as all other pages are placed on your website. Simply use an FTP client (such as Fetch) to connect to your folder on the ARTS or CIVIC servers. Then place the file containing your new form into your folder. Don't forget to create a link to the form on the appropriate page. For instance, you may put your new form named "feedback.html" into your folder, entitled "john_user" on the CIVIC server. You may choose to place a link to the form on your home page that leads your new form. In this case, you would make a link that would look something like the following:

The code should look like this:

Use our new <a href="feedback.html"> feedback form </a> to send us your comments about this program!

Your link would look something like this:

Use our new feedback form to send us your comments about this program!

Step Six: How will users submit the information?

Using the code below, you will add two buttons to your for your form that will allow users to either submit their response(s), or clear the form.

Simply copy and paste the following two lines of code into your HTML document:

Your buttons will look like these:

Wrapping up: Other information

Important! Please remember to include the tags <FORM> and </FORM> or your form will not work. (You may copy and paste this tag.) Have you remembered to include all other standard page tags? Compare your HTML with that of the example HTML document to be sure (use the link below).

Sample HTML (http://www.bev.net/help/connections/forms/easy.php)

Your form is complete!

Go to your website and try out your form! If you are interested in expanding your form even more, please visit the following URL to see an extended set of instructions:

Detailed Instructions (http://www.bev.net/help/connections/scripts_more.php)

If you feel as though you need a little more help with HTML, there are many helpful sites on the web that might help you. Please go to the resources page to view these links:

Resources Page (http://www.bev.net/help/resources/links.php)