pssForm Administrator's Guide
A Product of Progressive Software Solutions

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September 1, 2001

CONTENTS

About This Program

pssForm(R) V2.51 HTML Form Handler

Copyright 2001 Progressive Software Solutions, LLC All Rights Reserved.

One Version: Licensed for a single web site to uniquely handle any number of forms.

Software Product Description: pssForm is an HTML form handler. pssForm will forward completed forms in HTML or as formatted, text-based name/value pairs making them easier to read. Each form on your web site can be handled differently with unique addressees. Support for most SMTP authentication methods is provided as well as customizable confirmation messages and MIME attachment handling.


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Supported Operating Systems


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System Requirements


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Contents of the Download Package:


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Installation



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Configuration File (pssForm.ini)


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Creating Hyperlinks to Your Forms

pssForm generates your form web pages dynamically. If there is more than one Form listed in the pssForm.ini file a Form List Page is also available.

    There are two methods by which you can direct web site visitors to your forms.
  1. Link to the Form List Page. Enter a hyperlink directly to pssForm.exe and the application will display the Form List Page where the user can select the desired form from a drop-down list. If there is only one form listed in the pssForm.ini file, a link to the executable will automatically go to the one existing form page. <A HREF="/cgi-bin/pssForm.cgi">Get the Proper Form</A>.
  2. Link to a specific form. Enter a hyperlink to pssForm executable with the FormName to retreive a specific form for the user. Use a URI encoded string referring to desired FormName as listed in the pssForm.ini file (note: this is not the Form's FileName). One easy way to do this is to navigate to the desired form, copy the URL from your browser's address bar, then paste it into the HREF= you are creating. <A HREF="/cgi-bin/pssForm.cgi?FormName=My+Registration+Form">My Registration Form</A>.

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Using Template Files

pssForm sends HTTP content to the user based on various web page templates, as specified in the configuration file. For pssForm to work, you must have at least one FormFile designated in the [FormFiles] section of pssForm.ini. If there is more than one Form# in the [FormFiles] section of pssForm.ini, pssForm will generate a web page containing a dropdown list of all the forms listed within the [FormFiles] section. This page is called the Form List page. You can designate different header and footer templates for the Form List page, the Form Pages, and the Confirmation Pages. Web designers like pssForm because it does not add any layout elements to the web pages. pssForm adds its own ACTION= and METHOD= attributes to the <FORM> tag where you have placed it. pssForm uses your <INPUT TYPE="Submit"> element or generatess its own if it doesn't find one within the <FORM> in the template.

Header templates may contain any valid HTML that you want to appear at the top of the dynamically created web page. You do NOT need to enter the <HEAD>, </HEAD>, or <BODY> tags, pssForm does this for you. The header templates are inserted immediately following the <BODY> tag.

Footer templates may contain any valid HTML that you want to appear at the bottom of the dynamically created web page. You do NOT need to enter the </BODY> or </HTML> tags, pssForm does this for you. The footer templates are inserted immediately before the </BODY> tag.

FormFile templates may contain any valid HTML in addition to the form that you want to appear on the dynamically created web page. This file MUST contain the <FORM> .... </FORM> tag pair delineating the FORM elements. Any form elements may be used, including, <INPUT>, <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON">, <INPUT TYPE="CHECKBOX">, <INPUT TYPE="FILE">, <INPUT TYPE="HIDDEN">, <INPUT TYPE="IMAGE">, <INPUT TYPE="PASSWORD">, <INPUT TYPE="RADIO">, <INPUT TYPE="RESET">, <INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT">, <INPUT TYPE="TEXT">, <SELECT>, <OPTION>, and <TEXTAREA>.

Compare the implementation of a form using a static web page and using the dynamic method of pssForm.

Sample Static Web Page containing a form: <html> <head> <title>My Registration Form</title> </head> <body> <h2 align="center">I put this at the top of all my web pages.</h2> <form action="/cgi-bin/mailto.cgi" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="TO" value="registration@MyDomain.xxx"> <input type="hidden" name="BCC" value="beancounters@MyDomain.xxx"> <input type="hidden" name="FROM" value="website@MyDomain.xxx"> <input type="hidden" name="Subject" value="My Registration Form"> First name:<INPUT type="text" name="fname"><br> Last name:<INPUT type="text" name="lname"><br> Email addr:<INPUT type="text" name="email"><br> <input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"> </form> <h2 align="center">I put this at the bottom of all my web pages.</h2> </body> </html>

When using pssForm this static page is split into three template files. This helps reduce your work because you only need to create the top and bottom of the pages once. You don't need to concern yourself with the action and method parameters of the <FORM> tag and there is no need to add a bunch of hidden <INPUT> tags to handle your form.

Sample set up using pssForm....
The Header Template: <h2 align="center">I put this at the top of all my web pages.</h2>
The FormFile Template: <form> First name:<INPUT type="text" name="fname"><br> Last name:<INPUT type="text" name="lname"><br> Email addr:<INPUT type="text" name="email"><br> </form>
The Footer Template: <h2 align="center">I put this at the bottom of all my web pages.</h2>

To complete the form handling process, pssForm will send to the user a dynamically created web page confirming the successful submission of the form data. Optionally, pssForm can also send a confirmation message via email back to the user. The confirmation process is described in the following section.
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Autoresponder and Confirmation Messages

Typically, when accepting form data from a web site visitor you need to let that user know that she has successfully sent the form. This is usually done by redirecting the user's browser to a results page. With pssForm this is done dynamically via the web browser plus you can set up an automatic response via email back to the user.

The confirmation web page is generated based the ConfirmHeader template, the ConfirmMessageFile and the ConfirmFooter template you have indicated in the pssform configuration file.

ConfirmHeader templates may contain any valid HTML that you want to appear at the top of the dynamically created web page. You do NOT need to enter the <HEAD>, </HEAD>, or <BODY> tags, pssForm does this for you. The ConfirmHeader templates are inserted immediately following the <BODY> tag.

ConfirmFooter templates may contain any valid HTML that you want to appear at the bottom of the dynamically created web page. You do NOT need to enter the </BODY> or </HTML> tags, pssForm does this for you. The ConfirmFooter templates are inserted immediately before the </BODY> tag.

The ConfirmMessageFile is a text file unique to each form as designated in the [FormFile] section of the pssForm.ini file.

    Purposes of the ConfirmMessageFile:
  1. Contain text to display as a "success" message in the user's web browser and,
  2. Contain text to be sent to the user via text-based email as an automated response.

To help you maintain a professional look on your web site you may need to include some HTML and associated text in the web results page that you do not want to be sent back to the user via email. pssForm implements this capability using a special HTML tag pair <! HIDE FROM CLIENT> .... <EOHFC>. Anything you want to display on the Confirm Message Web page but don't want in the autoresponder email can be wrapped within this special element. pssForm will remove anything contained within this element from the text-based email it sends back to the user.

The Autoresponder via email function of pssForm is implemented uniquely for each form.

    To implement an automatic email response:
  1. Designate a ConfirmMessageFile for the form in the [FormFiles] section of pssForm.ini
  2. Enter ConfirmByEmail = YES for the form in the [FormFiles] section of pssForm.ini
  3. Add an <INPUT> element in the FORM for the user to enter a destination email address. Enter the NAME attribute of this <INPUT> on the EmailParameter = line in the [FormFiles] section of the pssForm.ini file.

It is recommended as a good practice to make name and email input fields mandatory on your forms if you intend to use the autoresponder function. This is done by entering NameMandatory = YES and EmailAddressMandatory = YES lines for each form in the [FormFiles] section of pssForm.ini.

Sample Confirm Message: <! HIDE FROM CLIENT> Thank you for registering with us. While we process your application you may want to review our <A HREF="/usepolicy.htm">Accepted Use Policy</A>. < EOHFC> Your Cool Web Site Registration will be processed as soon as possible. Your password will be sent by email to the address you provided. Thank you for visiting http://MyCoolWebSite.xxx In this sample after the user submits the form data his web browser will display:
Thank you for registering with us. While we process your application you may want to review our Accepted Use Policy. 
Your Cool Web Site Registration will be processed as soon as possible.
Your password will be sent by email to the address you provided.
Thank you for visiting http://MyCoolWebSite.xxx

And the user will recieve this text message via email : 
Your Cool Web Site Registration will be processed as soon as possible.
Your password will be sent by email to the address you provided.
Thank you for visiting http://MyCoolWebSite.xxx

  • See more Autoreponder Tips and Tricks

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    Adding and Removing Forms

    pssForm can be used with all your web forms. You only need to have one copy of the executable file on your web site.

      Follow these steps to add forms to be handled by pssForm.
    1. Create the HTML containing your form using your favorite HTML editor.
      Remember that any header and footer files will be included in pages sent to the web browser by pssForm. So, you may want to include the HTML from these files for testing purposes only.
    2. Save just the form layout portion to a file (don't duplicate the header and footer files). We suggest using .tpl for a file extension.
    3. In a text editor, create the form-specific Confirm Message file as explained in the Autoresponder and Confirm Messages section of this manual. We suggest using .tpl for a file extension. Also, note that you can reuse a previously created Confirm Message file. These messages can be unique per form but don't have to be.
    4. Open your pssForm.ini file in a text editor and locate the [FormFiles] section. Add the appropriate entries as explained in the Configuration File section of this manual. The [FormFiles] section must end with [] on a seperate line. Key names are case sensitive.
    5. Copy your edited pssForm.ini, the FormFile template, and the ConfirmMessage template to the web server. Note: You may want to save a copy of the previous pssForm.ini file, just in case something is wrong with the new one.
      To remove a form from pssForm...
    1. Delete the associated Form# portion from the [FormFiles] section of the pssForm.ini file and copy the new pssForm.ini file back to your web server.
    2. Delete the Form File template, and corresponding Confirm Message template from your web server.

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    SMTP and Your Web Site

    Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is the Internet standard mail protocol. It is also one of the most abused protocols on the Internet today. pssForm helps you be a responsible web site operator by enabling the use of complete mail message headers and directing your form output through your SMTP server. Also, with pssForm your email and IP addresses don't appear in web pages - this provides additional security for your email system.

    pssForm finds your SMTP server using the entry you have made on the SMTPserver = line of pssForm.ini. The SMTPport = line allows you to use a non-standard port if your SMTP server is configured that way.

      pssForm can use almost any SMTP relay rules that are in force on your SMTP server.
    1. "It Knows" - by including a valid email address on the FromAddress = line in pssForm.ini, your SMTP server will see that the mail message is coming from a known user.
    2. POP3 Authentication - using the appropriate lines in the configuration file, pssForm can authenticate with the your POP3 server from your web site before sending the message via the SMTP server.
    3. Other SMTP commands - the pssForm.ini file provides space within the [SMTPauth]...[] section where you can enter the specific commands your SMTP server requires to authorize mail relaying.
    4. Good email practices - It is a good practice to ensure that legitimate email has complete mail message header information. Many junk mail filters use missing header fields as a discriminator to intercept mail messages. The pssForm.ini file provides entries to construct a complete mail message header when sending form data from your web site.

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    Release History

    Version 2.51 09-01-2001 Original Version

    Contacting the Author

    We'd like to hear your questions and comments! You can reach us at:

    Internet Email: support@progressivesoft.com
    WWW: http://www.progressivesoft.com/

    License Agreement

    You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software. Unless you have a different license agreement signed by Progressive Software Solutions, LLC, your use of this software indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and warranty.

    Registered Version

    No registered user, nor anyone else, may alter or modify the pssForm exe/cgi file. Nor can you give anyone else permission to modify the pssForm exe/cgi file.

    All rights not expressly granted in this license agreement are reserved entirely to Progressive Software Solutions, LLC.

    Governing Law

    This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Virginia, USA.

    Disclaimer of Warranty

    THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. Because of the various hardware and software environments into which pssForm may be put, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. Good data processing procedure dictates that any program be thoroughly tested with non-critical data before relying on it. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.

    Shareware Version

    This is not free software. You are hereby licensed to use the shareware evaluation version of pssForm for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 30 days. If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee is required. Unregistered use of pssForm after the 30 day evaluation period is in violation of copyright laws.

    Distribution of pssForm

    You are hereby licensed to make as many copies of the shareware evaluation version of this software and documentation as you wish; give exact copies of the original shareware version to anyone; and distribute the shareware version of the software and documentation in its unmodified form via electronic means. There is no charge for any of the above.

    You are specifically prohibited from charging, or requesting donations, for any such copies, however made; and from distributing the software and/or documentation with other products (commercial or otherwise) without prior written permission from Progressive Software Solutions, LLC., with one exception: Disk Vendors approved by the Association of Shareware Professionals are permitted to redistribute pssForm subject to the conditions in this license, without specific written permission.

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    A Product of Progressive Software Solutions, LLC