Creating a Simple Form

Prerequisites:

• The form creator has basic knowledge of creating a new web page in Common Spot CMS
  
• The function is to simply pass information as an e-mail to a recipient
  
• Author must have basic training and access to the “Simple Form” element in the CMS (request at webmaster@uwrf.edu)

Default Layout

1. Create a new page for the form, or use an existing page.
   
2. Add an element > Miscellaneous > Simple Form.
3. Choose "Create new Simple Form" (you can use "Select Form/Custom Element" if you wish to use a previously created form; changes made will affect the form everywhere it is used)
4. Use a short name, Click "Specify Message" and type in the message that will appear after they submit the form.
5. Enter the e-mail of the person to receive the submission (if more than one, separate with a comma)
6. Add an e-mail in Sender's Email (although when you add the email field, you will check a box to use that e-mail address)
   
   
7. Click the gear and select Edit Fields
8. Add fields that need to be completed by the sender: name, email, comments, etc.
   Field names are like URLs - short, no spaces or special characters - and don't show up on the form.
   Field labels can be entire sentences and do show up on the form.
   The description appears underneath the input area (the box they check or enter text into)
   
9. All forms should require an e-mail field. Other fields also may be required. You might like to add an asterisk * to the label to indicate a required field, such as E-mail*.
   The email field name must be "Email." The label should have a hyphen in e-mail since that is the way our style guide shows it.
   
10. Submit the page
    

Custom Layout

"Simple forms" simply stack the fields and labels one on top of the other on the page. To set fields side by side and to include other instructions to the sender as paragraph text, do the following:

1. Select the form element you've been working on
   
2. Click the layout icon
   
3. Select the Custom Layout Tab
   
4. Select Custom Page layout pull down (WARNING! Returning this pull down to "default" following customization will delete all custom changes without notice)
   
5. Select Edit and a FORMATTED TEXT BLOCK will appear
6. Select the insert field icon
   
7. Place the "label" and "input field" of each field into the text block in the arrangement you prefer.
   
8. Save. The form should appear on the page with the new layout.

Displaying e-mail responses from the form onto a Web page

Author must have access to the “Datasheet View” element in the CMS (request at webmaster@uwrf.edu)
All form submissions made by Web page visitors are added to a data base in the CMS.

To View, edit, and delete the entries:

1. Create a new page
2. Add a Datasheet View
3. Name the Datasheet view
4. Select Datasheet source /custom element sheet
5. Choose the appropriate simple form data
6. Include the fields of your choice
7. Choose “edit columns”
8. “add actions column”
9. Include the delete-form-data.cfm
10. Return to the same option and choose edit-form-data.cfm
11. EXPORT DATA AS CSV FILE:
    Choose Layout
    Select export data checkbox
    Add security to the page as desired (some info may not be intended for all audience even if the content is not sensitive. Do they need to know?)