FormMail Manager w/ File Uploads and Previews

Attachment Form Mailer Plus 4.3.6 Description | Users Guide | F.A.Q. | Try the Demo
Supported Servers: Unix Linux Mac Windows Sun Solaris FreeBSD BSDOS	Requires: Perl cgi-bin CGI.pm V3.03+ for progress meter

1. Introduction
2. Requirements
3. Configuration
4. Installation
   1. Linux/Unix/Mac Servers
   2. Common Installation Problems on Linux/Unix/Mac Servers
   3. Windows Servers
   4. Common Installation Problems on Windows Servers
5. License and Disclaimer
6. Default Settings
   1. Aesthetics
   2. Email Settings
   3. File Settings
   4. Miscellaneous
   5. Form Field Sorting Order
   6. Admin Notification Template
   7. Customer Notification Template
   8. Website Error Pages Template
   9. Preview Page Template
   10. Thank You Page Template
   
   
7. Creating your first form
8. What you should do
9. What you should not do
10. Managing Forms
11. How to redirect
12. Viewing Form Submissions
13. Edit Form Submissions
14. How to add custom form fields and file uploads
15. How to require fields
16. Download / Export Form Submissions
17. Markers %%% - %%%
18. Support

#!/usr/bin/perl
#!/usr/bin/perl5
#!/usr/lib/perl
#!/usr/local/bin/perl

This program was shipped with a default path of: #!/usr/bin/perl

On most servers, this should be all that is required. You do not have to set any variables.

This program uses our advanced set-up routine, which will resolve paths, create directories and set permissions on data directories. If the program encounters a problem during the set-up process, you will be given specific directions on what to do.

1. Setting the Path to Perl. Open all CGI Scripts (except [script]_key.cgi) in a Plain Text Editor and make sure the first line of the CGI Script is the Path Perl for your server. Most Users can skip this step being the default Path to Perl shipped in the CGI Script is very common.
   
   NB: if you do not you a Plain Text editor such as Windows NotePad or Mac Textedit (in Plain Text Mode), your Text/HTML editor will add extraneous code to the CGI Script when you save it which will result in a server 500 Error.
   
   
2. Upload all CGI Scripts to your cgi-bin or any cgi enabled directory and CHMOD all the CGI Scripts to 755. It is imperative that you upload (transfer) all CGI Scripts to your server in ASCII mode.
   
   If you forget to CHMOD all CGI Scripts to 755, Step 3 will yield a Server 500 Error.
   
   If you do NOT upload (transfer) all CGI Scripts to your server in ASCII mode, Step 3 will yield a Server 500 Error.
   
   
3. Load your Browser, point it to the [script]_setup.cgi file and follow the on-screen instructions for installation. For example, in your browser, type :
   
   http://www.yourdomainname.com/cgi-bin/[script]_setup.cgi
   
   
4. Enter a Username and Password. This will be your Username and Password for the Administration Section. If the Setup Routine is successfully processed a link to the Administration Section will appear on the resulting page. Click the link to access the Administration Section with the Username and Password you just entered in the Setup Script.
   
   Should you encounter any Permission problems with the Setup Routine follow the instructions returned by the Script.

1. Server 500 Error. This most often occurs because Step 2 was not followed precisely. Make sure the CGI Scripts you are uploaded are CHMOD to 755, the folder the CGI Scripts reside in is also CHMOD to 755, and the CGI Scripts were transferred in ASCII Mode. Auto-Detect only detects the extensions you specify in your FTP client's Settings.
   
   
2. I can initially load the Setup Script and punch in my Username and Password, but when I submit the Form, I receive 404 Error Page or an alternate Error Page stating "Page Cannot be found".
   
   This suggests your Server is operated by a very nervous System Administrator employing strict security measures, you're using a Shared Secure Server which dynamically sets your domain name to something other than the a standard Top Level Domain (www.yourdomainname.com) or sbox is employed by your server.
   
   In any case, open [script]_key.cgi in Plain Text Editor (not a WYSIWYG Text Editor, nor a Rich HTML Editor) and enter the URL to the folder you uploaded the CGI Scripts to in the $SecureServer Variable. If you uploaded the CGI Scripts to your cgi-bin, then you'd set the following:
   
   $SecureServer = "http://www.yourdomainname.com/cgi-bin";
   
   Do NOT enter the CGI Script name, do NOT enter a trailing slash. After setting the Variable refresh the Setup Routine's Page that asks you to enter your Username and Password. Unless you refresh the initial Setup Page, the Form's URL will not be updated to reflect your Variable value.
   
   
3. I cannot find the correct path to my WebSpace or the required Data Directories and/or Password file cannot be created.
   
   You need to find that Path. Ask your host, or Download a copy of our free E-Vars CGI Script and install it on your server. CHMOD it to 755 then load it in your Web Browser which will print your Server's environment variables and other useful information. Determine your Server's Document_ROOT or Absolute Server Path to the folder your home page (index.html) resides in. You may need to append "/www" or "/httpdocs" to your Document_ROOT or Absolute Server Path to complete the path to your Writable WebSpace.
   
   Once you've determined your Absolute Server Path, open [script]_key.cgi in Plain Text Editor (not a WYSIWYG Text Editor, nor a Rich HTML Editor) and set the $DefaultData Variable. For example:
   
   $DefaultData = "/var/username/www/htdocs";
   
   Finally, on some Server's it's necessary to CHMOD the folder just above your WebSpace to 777 granting permission to the CGI Script to create the Required Directories at WebSpace Level. In the example above, the "htdocs" folder would need to have it's permissions set to 777.
   
   
4. We offer a very reasonably priced Custom Installation Service. We'll Setup the CGI Script for you and send you the Log in details which you can update at your own leisure. If we cannot successfully Setup the CGI Script we will refund both the Installation fee and the purchase price of the CGI Script. To Order Custom Installation, please fill in our Secure Installation Order Form.

1. Your Windows Server may not execute CGI scripts even if Perl is Supported. Many Server Administrators do not modify the Registry to accommodate Scripts with a .cgi extension. In this case, contact us for a copy PL Version.
   
   
2. Setting the Path to Perl. Your Server may or may not require the Path to Perl. It's highly likely you don't need it, and you can ignore this Step. However you may want to check with your Host if you can not load the Setup Script in your web Browser.
   
   NB: if you do not you a Plain Text editor such as Windows NotePad or Mac Textedit (in Plain Text Mode), your Text/HTML editor will add extraneous code to the CGI Script when you save it which will result in a server 500 Error.
   
   
3. Upload all CGI Scripts to your cgi-bin or any cgi enabled directory. It is imperative that you upload (transfer) all CGI Scripts to your server in ASCII mode.
   
   If you do NOT upload (transfer) all CGI Scripts to your server in ASCII mode, Step 3 will yield a Server 500 Error.
   
   
4. Load your Browser, point it to the [script]_setup.cgi file and follow the on-screen instructions for installation. For example, in your browser, type :
   
   http://www.yourdomainname.com/cgi-bin/[script]_setup.cgi
   
   
5. Enter a Username and Password. This will be your Username and Password for the Administration Section. If the Setup Routine is successfully processed a link to the Administration Section will appear on the resulting page. Click the link to access the Administration Section with the Username and Password you just entered in the Setup Script.
   
   Should you encounter any Permission problems during the Setup Routine, you need to contact your Host and request "Full Read/Write Permissions" be applied to at least one folder on your Server. Many Servers have at least one writable folder, often named "database". See Common Installation Problems below for more information.

1. Server 500 Errors are usually misleading on Windows Servers. It seems to be the default error page for just about every error. Make sure you typed in the correct Website Address (URL) to the CGI Scripts on your server. Make sure the CGI Scripts were transferred in ASCII Mode. Auto-Detect only detects the extensions you specify in your FTP client's Settings.
   
   
2. I can initially load the Setup Script and punch in my Username and Password, but when I submit the Form, I receive 404 Error Page or an alternate Error Page stating "Page Cannot be found".
   
   This suggests your Server is operated by a very nervous System Administrator employing strict security measures, you're using a Shared Secure Server which dynamically sets your domain name to something other than the a standard Top Level Domain (www.yourdomainname.com) or sbox is employed by your server.
   
   In any case, open [script]_key.cgi in Plain Text Editor (not a WYSIWYG Text Editor, nor a Rich HTML Editor) and enter the URL to the folder you uploaded the CGI Scripts to in the $SecureServer Variable. If you uploaded the CGI Scripts to your cgi-bin, then you'd set the following:
   
   $SecureServer = "http://www.yourdomainname.com/cgi-bin";
   
   Do NOT enter the CGI Script name, do NOT enter a trailing slash. After setting the Variable refresh the Setup Routine's Page that asks you to enter your Username and Password. Unless you refresh the initial Setup Page, the Form's URL will not be updated to reflect your Variable value.
   
   
3. I cannot find the correct path to my WebSpace or the required Data Directories and/or Password file cannot be created.
   
   You need to find that Path. Ask your host, or Download a copy of our free E-Vars CGI Script and install it on your server. You will need to rename the E-Vars CGI Script to "myserver.pl" if your Server only executes Scripts with .pl extensions. Upload it to your cgi-bin or any cgi executable folder then load it in your Web Browser which will print your Server's environment variables and other useful information. Determine your Server's Document_ROOT or Absolute Server Path to the folder your home page (index.html) resides in. You may need to append "\\www" or "\\httpdocs" to your Document_ROOT or Absolute Server Path to complete the path to your Writable WebSpace.
   
   Once you've determined your Absolute Server Path, open [script]_key.cgi in Plain Text Editor (not a WYSIWYG Text Editor, nor a Rich HTML Editor) and set the $DefaultData Variable. Be sure to separate folder names with two backslashes, not one slash. For example:
   
   $DefaultData = "C:\\html\\username\\htdocs";
   
   
4. We offer a very reasonably priced Custom Installation Service. We'll Setup the CGI Script for you and send you the Log in details which you can update at your own leisure. If we cannot successfully Setup the CGI Script we will refund both the Installation fee and the purchase price of the CGI Script. To Order Custom Installation, please fill in our Secure Installation Order Form.

View / Edit Submissions Form in the Admin Section

To edit the Sorting Order for Forms

Log in and while on the "Summary" page, click on Settings for the form you wish to edit. Scroll down to "Form Field Sorting Order" about half way down the page. Enter the form fields, one per line with the percentage signs. Any fields you forget to enter will still show up when editing form submissions, with a link to the Sorting Template so you can modify the order if required.

Here's an Example

%%%fname%%%
%%%lname%%%
%%%email%%%
%%%Address%%%
%%%City%%%
%%%State%%%

Note also that an inadvertent feature which became apparent when coding the Sorting feature, is the ability to create new fields in the Submission Edit form. Let's say for example you wanted to add your own comments to each Submission after the forms had been filled in and Submitted. You could the following to your Sorting Template:

%%%AdminCommentsTA%%%

which would create an additional field for you to add your own comments about the Submission when editing or reviewing them. Changes are recorded, stored in your database and are exportable.

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Admin Notification Template

This is the auto-response sent to Admin each time a form is filled in. Notifications are sent to recipients set in the Admin Email field. If you have Use HTML Mail set to Yes, your Admin Notification Template should also include regular HTML code to create line breaks, add your logos, etc. Note that absolute paths for image tags and hyper links must be used in HTML code.

If using Plain Text format, regular carriage returns in the Admin Notification Template are preserved in outgoing messages. All available markers can be used in this template, allowing you to virtually re-create your online form, with values entered, in outgoing email messages.

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Customer Notification Template

This is the auto-response sent to Customers each time they fill in a form. Notifications are sent to the value entered in the form field named "email" (must be lowercase) found in your form. If you have Use HTML Mail set to Yes, your Customer Notification Template should also include regular HTML code to create line breaks, add your logos, etc. Note that absolute paths for image tags and hyper links must be used in HTML code.

If using Plain Text format, regular carriage returns in the Customer Notification Template are preserved in outgoing messages. All available markers can be used in this template, allowing you to virtually re-create your online form, with values entered, in outgoing email messages.

---

Website Error Pages Template

This is your entire HTML page, from <html tag to </html> tag. Somewhere in the middle of your code, you need to place the %%%content%%% marker. This marker is replaced with the Form Script generated content. That is, the form fields and values entered by your Customers.

To edit the Website Error Page Template, log in and while on the "Summary" page, click on Settings for the form you wish to edit. Scroll down to "Website Error Page Template" near the bottom of the page. Each one of your forms is edited from the Form Settings on the Summary Page.

Enter the HTML code that makes up your entire page, and then scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the button labelled "Save all Settings" to save your changes. The Aesthetical Settings at the top of the Settings Page govern the font type used to render error messages printed by the Form Processor.

The code for a Website Error Page might look something like the following :

<html>
<head><title></title></head>
<body>
Your logo etc. here

%%%content%%%

Your copyright info etc. here
</body>
</html>


Remember to use absolute paths in your image tags and hyperlinks. Or start the paths with a slash which is the same as entering your website home address. See also, What you should do regarding form field names and their display on Error Pages.

---

Preview Page Template

This is your entire HTML page, from <html tag to </html> tag. Somewhere in the middle of your code, you need to place the %%%content%%% marker. This marker is replaced with the Form Script generated content. That is, the form fields and values entered by your Customers.

To edit the Preview Page Template, log in and while on the "Summary" page, click on Settings for the form you wish to edit. Scroll down to "Preview Page Template" near the bottom of the page. Each one of your forms is edited from theForm Settings on the Summary Page.

If you want to switch Previews off, that is you do not want to have a Previews shown to Customers filling in your forms, then in the given form's Settings, under the "Miscellaneous" tab, set "Show Preview of Form" to No, which is the default setting.

Enter the HTML code that makes up your entire page, select the "Table Background Color" and then scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the button labelled "Save all Settings" to save your changes.

The code for a Preview page might look something like the following :

<html>
<head><title></title></head>
<body>
Your logo etc. here

%%%content%%%

Your copyright info etc. here
</body>
</html>


Remember to use absolute paths in your image tags and hyperlinks. Or start the paths with a slash which is the same as entering your website home address. See also, What you should do regarding form field names and their display on Preview Pages.

---

Thank You Page Template

Website Error Pages Template

This is your entire HTML page, from <html tag to </html> tag. Somewhere in the middle of your code, you need to type in the message you want printed on the Thank You page. You can use any or all of the markers available to personalize the Thank You message.

To edit the Thank You Page Template, log in and while on the "Summary" page, click on Settings for the form you wish to edit. Scroll down to "Thank You Page Template" located at the very bottom of the page. Each one of your forms is edited from the Form Settings on the Summary Page.

Enter the HTML code that makes up your entire page, and then scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the button labelled "Save all Settings" to save your changes.

The code for a Thank You Page might look something like the following :

<html>
<head><title></title></head>
<body>
Your logo etc. here

Thank you for filling in our form %%%fname%%%

Your copyright info etc. here
</body>
</html>


Remember to use absolute paths in your image tags and hyperlinks. Or start the paths with a slash which is the same as entering your website home address.

Alternatively, you can redirect the Customer to a generic Thank You page. This can be achieved in one of two ways.

1). Enter the absolute path (starting with http://) to your Thank You page in a hidden tag in your HTML form. E.g.

<input type="Hidden" name="redirect" value="http://www.google.com">

2). In the given Form's Settings, under the "Miscellaneous" tab, in the "Redirect User to" setting, enter the absolute path to your Thank You page. E.g.

http://www.google.com

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Creating your first form

After you've entered your preferred Default Settings, click on "Create new" in the Admin Control Panel. Enter any reference name of the new form, it can be renamed later via the Form's Settings. You can Configure the Settings for this form at any time. To generate the minimum required code for this Form, click on the Form Name while on the "Summary" page. The code will appear in the Text box at the bottom of the same Page. Copy and paste that code to a regular HTML document and then load it in a browser to immediately use and test the form. You will of course need to upload that HTML document to your website when you're ready to go live so your Website visitors can also use the form.

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What you should do

There are few do's and do not's to keep in mind while using Attachment Mailer Plus. What you should do is listed here.

1). Read this User Guide in it's entirety before creating any forms. You will be glad you did and it will make for a smooth and enjoyable experience with Attachment Mailer Plus.

2). Set your Preferred Default Settings before creating any forms, in particular, the Admin Email address, Admin Name, Website Name and the Website Template. This is because it is these Settings that are copied over to each new form you create. If you plan to only create 1 or 2 forms, this is not so important, however if you plan to create more than a few forms, setting the Defaults will save you time.

3). When adding additional file upload fields, make sure the name of the field is "FILEx" where x is any unique number and FILE is in uppercase. For example if you wanted to allow up to three file uploads in a form, you could use:

<input type="File" name="FILE1">
<input type="File" name="FILE2">
<input type="File" name="FILE3">

You can use as many as you think your server can handle.

4). When adding Custom form fields to any form, use descriptive field names and underscores instead of spaces. This is because the Preview Pages, Error Pages and Admin Section list the filed names adjacent to the data entered by Customers. For example, lets say you had a required field in your form that requested the Customer's Country of Birth. We suggest you use this:

<input type="Text" name="Country_of_Birth">

This way, if the Customer forgets to enter their Country of Birth, the Error page will display:

Error you forget to enter the following fields

Country of Birth

The form processor will replace the underscores with spaces. If you had entered,

<input type="Text" name="countryborn">

the error page would display

countryborn

which may not be very helpful for the Customer. So keep the form field names short but descriptive. Being concise is the key.

5). When adding Textareas (large text box fields), append "TA" to the form field name. This is so Attachment Mailer Plus's form processor knows they are Textareas and retains the line breaks in Plain Text email, HTML email and when viewing Admin Section Submissions. This does not apply to the "comments" field. For example:

<textarea name="comments"></textarea> good

<textarea name="BioTA"></textarea> good

<textarea name="Bio"></textarea> bad

<textarea name="InstructionsTA"></textarea> good

<textarea name="Instructions"></textarea> bad

6). Send us your feedback. If you purchased Attachment Mailer Plus, you have an email address to get in touch with us directly. You made quite an investment in your Form Handler and we want to be sure you're happy with it, with it's performance and it's usability, integrity and stability. We encourage all feedback and suggestions for improvement.

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What you should not do

There are few do's and do not's to keep in mind while using Attachment Mailer Plus. What you should NOT do is listed here.

1). Do not change or alter the fname, lname and email form fields generated by Attachment Mailer Plus. They must be in lowercase and must be in your forms. If you remove them, Customer Auto-responders will be sent to Admin with "No Name" as the name of the Customer. You can remove the FILE1 field and comments fields generated. These three fields have synonyms used by Attachment Mailer Plus which are displayed on Error Pages, Preview Pages and in the %%%ALLFIELDS%%% marker.

2). Do not ignore any of the pointers given in this section and the section immediately above.

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Managing Forms

Viewing and Managing Forms forms is accomplished via the "Summary" page, which is the first page you see once you log in to the Admin Section. Functions available are listed in sortable columns. Click on the desired links in the row associated with the desired form.

---

How to redirect Forms

You can redirect the Customer to a generic Thank You page after a form has been successfully submitted. This can be achieved in one of two ways.

1). Enter the absolute path (starting with http://) to your Thank You page in a hidden tag in your HTML form. E.g.

<input type="Hidden" name="redirect" value="http://www.google.com">

2). In the given Form's Settings, under the "Miscellaneous" tab, in the "Redirect User to" setting, enter the absolute path to your Thank You page. E.g.

http://www.google.com

---

Viewing Form Submissions

Viewing Submissions made to Forms is accomplished via the "Summary" page, which is the first page you see once you log in to the Admin Section. Click on the Numbers in the Submissions column in the row associated with the desired form. This will load a complete synoptic History of Submissions for the selected form in chronological order (most recent Submission last). Click on the Date of any given Submission to view it's details. Remember, the order of fields in which these Submissions are displayed is governed by your Preferred Form Field Sorting Order.

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Edit Form Submissions

To edit a Submission made to a Form:

1). Click on "Summary" in the Admin Control Panel.

2). Click on the Numbers in the Submissions column in the row associated with the desired form.

3). Click on the Date for the desired Submission in the Synoptic History.

4). Apply desired edits.

5). Scroll to bottom of Page and press the button labelled "Save Edits".

If you check "Go back to Synopsis after saving" the Synoptic History page will be loaded after the saving the edits, otherwise the same (updated) Submission is reloaded with the edits having be recorded.

---

How to add custom form fields and file uploads

When adding additional file upload fields, make sure the name of the field is "FILEx" where x is any unique number and FILE is in uppercase. For example if you wanted to allow up to three file uploads in a form, you could use:

<input type="File" name="FILE1">
<input type="File" name="FILE2">
<input type="File" name="FILE3">

You can use as many as you think your server can handle.

---

How to require fields

If you want some of your forms fields to be required, then you specify those field names in a hidden field. Separate each field name with a comma but do not add any spaces. For example, if you had three fields you wanted required:

<input type="text" name="email">
<input type="text" name="address">
<input type="text" name="city">


....then you would specify these as required fields using the following hidden field:

<input type="hidden" name="required" value="email,address,city">

---

Download / Export Form Submissions

Exporting your submissions is achieved via the Export Wizard. Click the numbers in the Submissions column. This will load a History of Submissions for the Selected Form. At the top of the page, beneath the Admin Control Panel, you'll see a link titled "Export CSV file". Click the link to load the Export Wizard.

The Export Wizard lists the fields found in your first and last Submissions. If there are additional fields in other Submissions (for example fields you have removed from your forms since first creating them), you can enter those field names in the spaces provided. The default order of fields shown in the Export Wizard is governed by your Preferred Form Field Sorting Order for the selected form.

To Export your data:

1). Enter the column position for which the fields should appear in the results.

2). Remove any fields from the Export Wizard which you do not wish to Export.

3). Scroll to the bottom of the Export Wizard and select either "Print to Browser" in which case the results are printed to your Browser window, or "Export CSV" in which case a CSV file is created and then loaded in your browser.

If Printing to Browser, view the resulting page's source code and save the file to your hard drive. The source code has each record on a separate line.

If Exporting to CSV file and you have MS Office installed on your computer, the results are loaded in an Excel Spread Sheet inside your browser. You must then save the file. If you do not have MS Office or MS Excel installed, a download dialogue box will appear asking you to save the file to your hard drive.

If the Export Wizard points you to a 404 error page or to http://www.yourservername.com/, you need to edit the afp_key.cgi file and enter your actual domain name in the $ExportURL variable on line 34. E.g.

$ExportURL = "http://www.YOURSERVERNAME.com/psjs_datalogs/afp$FolderPass/data";

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Special Markers

The Special Markers available can be used in all Templates. The markers themselves are replaced with Customer Submitted data, allowing you personalize and customize e-mail notifications, Website Error Pages, Preview Pages and Thank You pages, including the ability to link directly to files uploaded, print just the file names and print the server paths to uploaded files.

A full list of available markers is available from with the Admin Section. Log in and click on any of the Settings links. Scroll down to the "Admin Notification Template" and click on "Full list of Markers" to pop open a new window with instructions on using the markers.

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Support

If you have difficulties setting up this program, we can install it for you. Installation can be ordered via our Secure Online order form. If we are unable to install the program because of a problem with the program, your installation fee and the purchase price of the script will be refunded in full.

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Attachment Form Mailer Plus 4.3.6 Description | Users Guide | F.A.Q. | Try the Demo
Supported Servers: Unix Linux Mac Windows Sun Solaris FreeBSD BSDOS	Requires: Perl cgi-bin CGI.pm V3.03+ for progress meter