|
A. Processing a form with a script is the preferred
option if it's open to you, but there is also a simple way
too. Just use mailto:yourclient@clientsaddress.co.uk in the
action attribute of the form tag, very much like an email
link.
Here's an example.
I added an attribute to the form tag to aid the legibility
of the resulting email:
enctype="text/plain"
The downside of using the simple email method is that you
get a nasty pop-up box warning you that the message you're
sending is not secure. It doesn't look very professional.
The user is also not taken to a 'Thank you' page, a convention
to reasure them that they've sent the form.
If you want to control the subject line of the email add
this to the end of the email address in the action attribute.
Otherwise it will end up as *Form posted from Internet Explorer*
or something. This is useful if your client wants to filter
all the messages into a folder as they are received.
e.g.
action="mailto:training@xtinalamb.co.uk?subject=Mailing
list"
Also, make sure you give appropriate values to your form objects
- e.g. the checkboxes in my example have values which correspond
with the labels on the page (add etc.) and it will make sense
when you read the email.
Try asking your client's host if they supply a free formmail
script. Often they will post this information on their support
site as it's a Frequently Asked Question. You may be able
to link to it, or they might send you a script file to upload
into the site. The benefits being that you can usually link
to a page to say thanks for filling in the form, users can
fill it in without using a set-up email client, you don't
get the nasty pop-up or scrambled text and you may be able
to tie the information in to a database.
back to top |
