FormMail is now available on our computer system -- i.e., it has been installed in our cgi-bin. FormMail is a general purpose forms-to-mail converter. If you have World Wide Web pages on the Vanderbilt Mathematics computer system, you can now create forms on your WWW pages. It's easy to do -- you don't have to write any accompanying cgi scripts. Include this line to begin your form:
(That will only work from forms on web pages on our computers. People outside our department can use their own copy of the program, by installing FormMail.pl in their own cgi-bin.) Then follow Matt Wright's instructions (see below) for the rest of the form. You may also find it helpful to look at some examples -- just find an application of FormMail.pl that you like, and use "view source" as usual to see how the html page is written. Matt Wright has placed a list of examples at http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/examples/formmail.shtml At the time of this writing, we have one example on our own site; it's at http://math.vanderbilt.edu/~mmmhs/interest.html Here is Matt Wright's documentation: ############################################################################## # FormMail Version 1.5 # # Copyright 1996 Matt Wright mattw@worldwidemart.com # # Created on 6/9/95 Last Modified: 2/5/96 # # Scripts Found at: http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/ # ############################################################################## # If you run into any problems while trying to configure this scripts, help # # is available. The steps you should take to get the fastest results, are: # # 1) Read this file thoroughly # # 2) Consult the Matt's Script Archive Frequently Asked Questions: # # http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/faq/ # # 3) If you are still having difficulty installing this script, send # # e-mail to: scripts-help@tahoenet.com # # Include any error messages you are receiving and as much detail # # as you can so we can spot your problem. Also include the variable# # configuration block that is located at the top of the script. # # # # Hopefully we will be able to help you solve your problems. Thank you. # ############################################################################## # COPYRIGHT NOTICE # # Copyright 1996 Matthew M. Wright All Rights Reserved. # # # # FormMail may be used and modified free of charge by anyone so long as this # # copyright notice and the comments above remain intact. By using this # # code you agree to indemnify Matthew M. Wright from any liability that # # might arise from it's use. # # # # Selling the code for this program without prior written consent is # # expressly forbidden. In other words, please ask first before you try and # # make money off of my program. # # # # Obtain permission before redistributing this software over the Internet or # # in any other medium. In all cases copyright and header must remain intact # ############################################################################## This script can be used as a universal WWW form --> E-mail gateway. There are just a few restrictions on the HTML Forms and what they have to have in them. The script works for both the POST and GET form methods. The script, FormMail.pl, needs to be placed in your server's cgi-bin and the anonymous WWW user must have the ability to read/execute the script. If you do not have access to your server's cgi-bin, yet you can execute cgi scripts, you may want to try adding a .cgi extension to the FormMail.pl, so you could move it to FormMail.cgi. Setting Up the FormMail Script: =============================== The FormMail.pl script does not have to be extensively configured to get it to work. There are only two variables in the perl file which you will need to define along with changing the top line of your script to match the location of you Perl interpreter. Necessary Variables: -------------------- $mailprog = "/usr/lib/sendmail"; This variable must define the location to your server's sendmail program. If this is incorrect, form results will not be mailed to you. @referers = ('www.worldwidemart.com','worldwidemart.com','206.31.72.203'); This array allows you to define the domains that you will allow forms to reside on and use your FormMail script. If a user tries to put a form on another server, that is not www.worldwidemart.com, they will receive an error message when someone tries to fill out their form. Your formmail program is now configured. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Form Configuration: =================== The action of your form needs to point towards this script (obviously), and the method must be POST or GET in capital letters. Version 1.5 of FormMail offers many new ways to code your form to tailor the resulting HTML page and the way the script performs. Below is a list of form fields you can use and how to implement them. Necessary Form Fields: ====================== There is only one form field that you must have in your form, for FormMail to work correctly. This is the recipient field. Field: recipient Description: This form field allows you to specify to whom you wish for your form results to be mailed. Most likely you will want to configure this option as a hidden form field with a value equal to that of your e-mail address. Syntax: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Optional Form Fields: ===================== Field: subject Description: The subject field will allow you to specify the subject that you wish to appear in the e-mail that is sent to you after this form has been filled out. If you do not have this option turned on, then the script will default to a message subject: WWW Form Submission Syntax: If you wish to choose what the subject is: To allow the user to choose a subject: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: email Description: This form field will allow the user to specify their return e-mail address. If you want to be able to return e-mail to your user, I strongly suggest that you include this form field and allow them to fill it in. This will be put into the From: field of the message you receive. Syntax: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: realname Description: The realname form field will allow the user to input their real name. This field is useful for identification purposes and will also be put into the From: line of your message header. Syntax: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: redirect Description: If you wish to redirect the user to a different URL, rather than having them see the default response to the fill-out form, you can use this hidden variable to send them to a pre-made HTML page. Syntax: To choose the URL they will end up at: To allow them to specify a URL they wish to travel to once the form is filled out: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: required Version Added: 1.3 Description: You can now require for certain fields in your form to be filled in before the user can successfully submit the form. Simply place all field names that you want to be mandatory into this field. If the required fields are not filled in, the user will be notified of what they need to fill in, and a link back to the form they just submitted will be provided. Syntax: If you want to require that they fill in the email and phone fields in your form, so that you can reach them once you have received the mail, use a syntax like: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: env_report Version Added: 1.3 Description: Allows you to have Environment variables included in the e-mail message you receive after a user has filled out your form. Useful if you wish to know what browser they were using, what domain they were coming from or any other attributes associated with environment variables. The following is a short list of valid environment variables that might be useful: REMOTE_HOST - Sends the hostname making a request. REMOTE_ADDR - Sends the IP address of the remote host making the request. REMOTE_USER - If server supports authentication and script is protected, this is the username they have authenticated as. *This is not usually set.* REMOTE_IDENT - If HTTP server supports RFC 931 identification, then this variable will be set to the remote user name retrieved from the server. *This is not usually set.* HTTP_USER_AGENT - The browser the client is using to send the request. General format: software/version library/version There are others, but these are a few of the most useful. Syntax: If you wanted to find the remote host and browser sending the request, you would put the following into your form: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: sort Version Added: 1.4 Description: This field allows you to choose the order in which you wish for your variables to appear in the e-mail that FormMail generates. You can choose to have the field sorted alphabetically or specify a set order in which you want the fields to appear in your mail message. By leaving this field out, the order will simply default to the order in which the browsers sends the information to the script (which isn't always the exact same order they appeared in the form.) When sorting by a set order of fields, you should include the phrase "order:" as the first part of your value for the sort field, and then follow that with the field names you want to be listed in the e-mail message, separated by commas. Syntax: To sort alphabetically: To sort by a set field order: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: print_config Version Added: 1.5 Description: print_config allows you to specify which of the config variables you would like to have printed in your e-mail message. By deafult, no config fields are printed to your e-mail. This is because the important form fields, like email, subject, etc... are included in the header of the message. However some users have asked for this option so they can have these fields printed in the body of the message. The config fields that you wish to have printed shoul dbe in the value attribute of your input tag separated by commas. Syntax: If you want to print the email and subject fields in the body of your message, you would place the following form tag: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: title Version Added: 1.3 Description: This form field allows you to specify the title and header that will appear on the resulting page if you do not specify a redirect URL. Syntax: If you wanted a title of 'Feedback Form Results': ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: return_link_url Version Added: 1.3 Description: This field allows you to specify a URL that will appear, as return_link_title, on the following report page. This field will not be used if you have the redirect field set, but it is useful if you allow the user to receive the report on the following page, but want to offer them a way to get back to your main page. Syntax: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: return_link_title Version Added: 1.3 Description: This is the title that will be used to link the user back to the page you specify with return_link_url. The two fields will be shown on the resulting form page as: Syntax: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: background Version Added: 1.3 Description: This form field allow you to specify a background image that will appear if you do not have the redirect field set. This image will appear as the background to the form results page. Syntax: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: bgcolor Version Added: 1.3 Description: This form field allow you to specify a bgcolor for the form results page in much the way you specify a background image. This field should not be set if the redirect field is. Syntax: For a background color of White: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: text_color Version Added: 1.3 Description: This field works in the same way as bgcolor, except that it will change the color of your text. Syntax: For a text color of Black: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: link_color Version Added: 1.3 Description: Changes the color of links on the resulting page. Works in the same way as text_color. Should not be defined if redirect is. Syntax: For a link color of Red: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: vlink_color Version Added: 1.3 Description: Changes the color of visited links on the resulting page. Works exactly the same as link_color. Should not be set if redirect is. Syntax: For a visited link color of Blue: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field: alink_color Version Added: 1.4 Description: Changes the color of active links on the resulting page. Works exactly the same as link_color. Should not be set if redirect is. Syntax: For a visited link color of Blue: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any other form fields that appear in your script will be mailed back to you and displayed on the resulting page if you do not have the redirect field set. There is no limit as to how many other form fields you can use with this form, except the limits imposed by browsers and your server. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some of the possible uses of this script are: 1) You want to have a form that will be mailed to you, but aren't sure how to write the scripting for it. 2) You are the webmaster of your site and want to allow users to use forms, but not to have their own cgi-bin directories, which can cause security risks to your system. You can set this script up and then allow all users to run off of it. 3) Want to have one script to parse all of your html forms and mail them to you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- History: Version 1.0 6/11 - This script was created. Version 1.1 8/3 - A major hole in the script which allowed users to run commands under your server's uid was disabled, thanks to Paul Phillips, who noticed the error. - The ability to redirect the user to a specified HTML file after they filled out a form was added. Version 1.2 9/23 - If the form field is one of the required or optional 'special' fields, such as redirect, recipient, subject, email, realname, etc... the script will not print these fields to either your mail message or to the user's screen when they are returned to a generic form response. It helps you so that things do not get duplicated. Version 1.3 1/21 - Much needed update finally completed - Added form fields: env_report, bgcolor, background, link_color, vlink_color, title, text_color, return_link_title, return_link_url and required. - Security hole, which allowed any user on any system to bum off of your formmail script, has been plugged up with the @referers variable. - Report style in return html and e-mail touched up a bit. Version 1.4 1/23 - Added options: sort, alink_color - Fixed a few bugs from Version 1.3, namely the fact that the link_colors weren't working well. - FormMail now supports both the GET and POST methods. Version 1.5 2/5 - Sorting of Fields in E-Mail Response Fixed. - print_config option added. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matt Wright - mattw@worldwidemart.com - http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/