csFormbuilder Usage Instructions

Logging In

Using your web browser go to the URL where csFormbuilder.cgi is located (i.e. http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-script/csFormbuilder/csFormbuilder.cgi). Enter the username and password you configured during the installation procedure. Click inside the Remember Me check box if you wish to have the login screen remember your username and password when you return at a later date. If more than one person uses your computer we advise you not to use this feature.

Form Management

This is the primary management screen, the Home links throughout the application will bring you back to this page. All the forms are created and modified using this form. Each form that is created will be listed under the Maintenance List. The Actions dropdown shown at the top of the screen is used to Create and Administer forms. In this dropdown you have two subcategories with multiple selections within. The complete list is as follows (each option is broken down below):

Form Actions

This column contains actions that can be performed on each form. The Modify action allows you to edit the Form Configuration settings (explained below). The Delete action allows you to permanently delete the form. Caution, there is no way to recover a deleted form. The Copy action allows you to use an existing form as a base for another form you would like to create. It copies an existing form to another name. You can then go into this form and edit it as you see fit.

Creating a New Form

You can create a new form from scratch or using one of the many templates that comes with csFormbuilder. To create a new form, select either the Create from Scratch or Create from Template from the Actions dropdown menu. 

If you select Create from Scratch a new form will be created using the configuration data you provide. You are taken to the Form Configuration page where you establish the Field Settings, Delivery Settings, IP Restrictions, and Email Delivery. Each of these form configuration options will be described in detail below.

If you select Create from Template you will be taken to the Form Configuration page, much like the Create from Scratch option. The primary difference between the two configurations screen is the addition of the Template selection dropdown. Select a template to choose the template you would like to use as a base for your new form.

Form Configuration

On the Form Configuration page there are four main areas that need to be configured. As indicated above, the four areas are the Field Settings, Delivery Settings, IP Restrictions, and Email Delivery. Here is a breakdown of what purpose these four areas serve:

Field Settings:
Within the Field Settings area of this management screen you configure these three data types.

Delivery Settings:
In this area you will configure how the notification and/or results of the form submissions will be communicated to the appropriate people. Listed below are the options shown in the configuration area.

Subject:
This is a conditional field. Built into this field are two option, Basic mode (default) and Advanced mode.

To:
This is a conditional field. Built into this field are two option, Basic mode (default) and Advanced mode.

Cc: and Bcc:
These two fields are rather simple. If you want to carbon copy or blind carbon copy (hidden to submitter)the submission to one or more additional email addresses then list them in this textarea, one per line.

From:
This is only required if you don't have an email address field on your form. If you added an email address field to the form then that email address will automatically be used as the From variable. Otherwise you can type whatever email address you would like to in the field provided (or leave blank).

Limits:
Using this option you can limit the number of form submissions that one user is allowed to submit per day or hour. This prevents someone from flooding your email inbox with submissions. You can restrict it to individual IPs or all IPs. Leave blank for unlimited.

IP Restrictions:
Use this option to restrict individual IPs or entire blocks of IPs from submitting your form. Enter IP addresses, one per line, that you wish to restrict from submitting the form. Partial IP addresses are permitted. For example, 192.168 would block 192.168.*.*. (all IPs starting with 192.168 would be blocked).

Email Delivery:
With Normal selected the submissions will be emailed to the address already specified. With None selected the submissions will not be emailed at all; only stored in the submission database.

After you have entered all your configuration options, click 'Submit Configuration'.

Submissions

This column on the Form Management page is used to show the number of submissions, allow you to view the log of the submissions, and to clear the submission log file. The Last Submission column simply shows the last time the form was submitted.

Configuring Fields

Once your form has been created your next step is to configure the fields and style of the form. Click the Fields/Style link to go into the configuration. The Show Style Configuration button will allow you to toggle between the style settings and field configuration. Click the Add Field dropdown to add a new field; select from the wide assortment of fields we have predefined for you. After selecting a field type you will be taken to the add/edit page to configure the field. Follow the instructions on the add/edit page for the particular type of field you are adding. Once you've saved the field configuration, you will see it listed on the the page with links to Modify, Delete, Copy, Move Up, and Move Down. The move up/down options allow you to change the order of the fields on the form. Click Save Form to save the settings. Click the Home button to go back to the main management screen.

Form Success Page/Email Results Configuration

From the main management screen, click the Results link to configure the Success Page/Email Results and what the user sees after submitting the form. You can choose between predefined default settings, redirecting the user to a specified web page of your liking (for the results page only), or choose the template option that allows you to specify the exact look and feel of the results.

You can add any submitted field to your template (either success page or email) by adding {fieldname} where 'fieldname' is the name of the field you specified in the field configuration page. A default template is provided which will have all the fields currently configured on your form. There is also a reset template link for both the success page template and email template which will rebuild those based on the current fields on your form. You can add, modify, delete, and even rearrange the fields as you see fit.

Automatic Response (Autoresponder) Configuration

You can enable an autoresponse of the submission to be emailed to the submitter of the form. To enable this feature, click the Autoreponder link from the main management screen. Then click the Enable Autoresponder button and continue to fill out the other fields in this section. You can also add file attachments to the autoresponse.


Alright, now you know how to create and configure the form. How do you put in on your website?

Use the Form

There are a few different ways to display the form on your site. On the main management screen click the Actions dropdown and select the Links Wizard™ option. This opens the Links Wizard™.

Now select the form you would like to you want to show on your website. The page will refresh with the HTML code for that form. For the JavaScript, Server Side Includes (SSI), and PHP links, simply copy/paste the code into any existing web page. Wherever the code is placed in the HTML page the form will appear. The JavaScript method can be used on any web page. To use the Server Side Include (SSI) code, it will more than likely have to be used. If you have trouble getting the SSI call to work either switch to JavaScript or contact your server administrator for assistance. The PHP code should be used on a page with a PHP extension.

NOTICE

We know that many of you have forms that you created using your favorite HTML editor. You may have even created a form from scratch or had a family member create it for you. The problem is you can't get it to work. If you have such a form and would like it imported into csFormBuilder email us. We can import your form for a nominal fee. Then you can edit the form using the powerful features that csFormBuilder offers.