Adding Forms
To create a form, select the forms tool icon from the side toolbar. Draw the form area and select the form type. We will look at the most form type - the position-based form.
Create position-based form (Layout Region) - this creates a form in a layout region that you can resize and drag anywhere on the page. Objects, text boxes, and other items can be positioned and aligned freely.
Create a text-based form (Text Box) - this creates a form in the text box. Text you type and form objects you add appear sequentially, just as when you type. This is a good choice for forms that have a lot of text, where objects appear sequentially, or that have a simple layout, such as a row of text boxes.
Create form in a Table - this creates a table where you can line up form objects by inserting them into table cells. The entire form can only have one table.
Define Layout as a form (limits page to one form) - this creates a simple form on the page that takes up the entire layout area.
We'll look at the positioned-based form and include an example of each element that can be added to the page.
Select the Form tool from the side toolbar. I turned the bar sideways to take up less room. The form tool is marked with the *.
*
This is the Form Tools bar:
Forms button tool
Check box tool
Radio Button tool
Edit-Line tool
Multi-Line Tool
Combo-Box tool
First will look at the Forms Combo Box. The tool creates a drop down menu button. The fields for the button have to be edited in the Forms Combo Box Properties window. The example below is the open properties box window with no fields edited.
The example below shows the fields for the Combo Box being edited. There are two choices for the drop down menu, the third is in the open window being edited (no value has been set). In the Properties window you can see the two fields that were added first has names, values, and the first one has "yes" under the selected field. This means that the box menu will default to the "Single Membership" selection. Once the values have been set, click "OK" to close the values window.
This is the Forms Multi-Line Properties window. Here I have added fields for Name, Address, Town, State, Zip Code, Telephone Home, Telephone Work, and E-mail Address. You can see the length of the box in the Visible Length field and the number of lines (8) in the Visible height box.
The Multi-Line box was drawn on the page with the fields indicated. You will be able to see it in other examples below.
Now we'll look at this Multi-Line box when it has been published to a web page. You will see that the first field (Name) has my name typed in it. This was done when I viewed the page in my browser. You can also see the Forms Combo Box above it with the default "Single Membership".
This example is the single line text field - (Edit-Line tool) the field in the properties box is set to take an occupation. When viewed the box indicates the information you want added.
This is the published page, with the Forms Edit Field as it was set up.
This is the Forms Edit Field with the information asked for. You can see that occupation has been changed to "Consultant".
This is an example of a Radio Buttons on a published page with the "yes" selected.
This is the Check Box unchecked:
Forms Buttons: The Forms buttons with the text and type selected. TThere is a "Submit" and a "Reset" button. You can also see examples of all the other boxes that have been added to the page.
In order to submit the form to the server the HTML button has to be clicked and a custom CGI script has to be added to the code. The optional way of doing this is using the Form Handler Component. This is found on the NetObjects Fusion Component Toolbar. This may require configuration of your Web Server.
*
The Form Handler Component can be used to submit plain text forms.
The Form Handler Component can also submit the form by E-mail.
I have set up web sites for people that required forms but they have added their own scripts afterwards. This isn't something I have done yet so I don't have an script example to show yet.