Collect and store form data entered by site visitors

By default, form results are saved to a text file.

Note   If you use one of the form handlers (form handler: A program on a server that is executed when a site visitor submits a form. A form in FrontPage is associated with a form handler.) rather than a custom , the Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions (FrontPage Server Extensions: A set of programs and s that support authoring in FrontPage and extend the functionality of a Web server. ) must be installed on the server on which your web site is located.

Choose one of the following:

Create a form to submit information to a database

From a web site that has an existing database connection, do the following:

  1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Page or Web.
  2. In the New Page or Web task pane (task pane: A window within an Office application that provides commonly used commands. Its location and small size allow you to use these commands while still working on your files.), under New from Template, click Web Site Templates.
  3. Click Database Interface Wizard, and then click Add to current Web.
  4. Click OK.
  5. In the Database Interface Wizard dialog box, select Use an existing database connection, and then select a database connection from the drop-down list.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Select the table or view you would like to use for the database connection, and then click Next.
  8. If you want to modify a form field, do the following:  
    1. Select a value in the Edit form field type list, and then click Modify.
    2. Select a different value in the Form field input type list.

    Note   If you select Option Button as a form field input type, be sure to select a value under Number of options.

  9. Click OK, and then click Next.
  10. Select Submission Form, and then click Finish.

    Microsoft FrontPage creates:

Create a database with Microsoft FrontPage to save form results

  1. In Page view, right-click the form, and then click Form Properties on the shortcut menu.
  2. Click Send to database, and then click Options.
  3. You will be prompted to to pick a valid database connection and table in which to store the results of the form. Click OK.
  4. On the Database Results tab, click Create Database.

    FrontPage creates a Microsoft Access database.

    After the database has been created, a confirmation message displays the name of the database and its location in your web site. For example, /fpdb/Form.mdb means the database is named Form, and is located in the /fpdb folder created by FrontPage in the current web site.

  5. Click OK.

    FrontPage automatically selects the new database as the database connection to use and selects the table to store the form results in.

  6. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Note   If the extension of the current page is .htm, FrontPage prompts you to rename the file with the .asp extension in order for the file to work correctly.

Set up a form to save form results to an existing database

You can save form results to an ODBC (Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) driver: A program file used to connect to a particular database. Each database program, such as Access or dBASE, or database management system, such as SQL Server, requires a different driver.)-compliant database. When a site visitor fills out a form and submits it, Microsoft FrontPage enters the data directly into your database. If you are already working with an existing database, this way of gathering information may be the most appropriate for you.

  1. In Page view, right-click the form, and then click Form Properties on the shortcut menu.
  2. Click Send to database.
  3. Click Options.
  4. On the Database Results tab, in the Database connection to use box, select the database connection for the database you want to use.
  5. In the Table to hold form results box, select the table in which you want to place the form results data.
  6. Click the Saved Fields tab. When you click the Saved Fields tab, all of the fields in your form are listed. For each field, you must specify the database column in which you want to save the data.
  7. In the Form fields to save box, click a form field, and then click Modify.
  8. In the Save to database column box, specify the column in which you want to save form field data, and then click OK. The columns listed are from the table you specified earlier.

    Repeat steps 7 and 8 for each form field.

  9. To save additional information (such as the site visitor's browser type, remote computer name, timestamp, or user name) to your database, click the Additional Fields tab, and repeat steps 7 and 8 for each field you want to save.

Note   If the extension of the current page is .htm, FrontPage prompts you to rename the file with the .asp extension in order for the file to work correctly.

Set up a form to save form results to a file

One of the simplest ways to collect information about your site visitors is by saving the form results to a text or HTML file. By default, the file is located in _private, a hidden directory in your web site. You can change this location and file name as needed. You can select the format of the text file and specify whether to include field names in the form results. You can also specify a second file in which to save results.

  1. In Page view, right-click the form, and then click Form Properties on the shortcut menu.
  2. Click Send to. A default file name and a location for the results file are displayed.
  3. You can specify a different file to use by typing the new name and location in the File name box, or by clicking Browse to locate the file.
  4. Click Options, and then click the File Results tab.
  5. Set properties for the results file as needed.

Set up a form to send form results in an e-mail message

You can send form results (data that a site visitor enters in your form) in an e-mail message. Each time a site visitor submits a form, a message containing the results of the form is sent to the e-mail address you specify. You can also configure other options for the messages, such as the text for the Subject line and the address for the From (Reply To) line.

Note   The Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions or SharePoint Team Services from Microsoft need to have been configured in order to send form results in an e-mail message. Contact your web host or Internet Service Provider  (ISP: A business that provides access to the Internet for such things as electronic mail, chat rooms, or use of the World Wide Web. Some ISPs are multinational, offering access in many locations, while others are limited to a specific region.)(ISP).

  1. In Page view, right-click the form, and then click Form Properties on the shortcut menu.
  2. Click Send to.
  3. In the E-mail address box, type the e-mail address to which you want to send the form results.
  4. If you do not want results saved to a file in addition to being sent in e-mail, clear the File name box.
  5. Click Options, and then click the E-mail Results tab.
  6. Then do one or more of the following:

Set up a form to save form results using a custom form handler

You can use your own custom (ISAPI (ISAPI: Internet Server Application Programming Interface. A Web server application-development interface, developed by Process Software and Microsoft, that can be used in place of CGI. ), NSAPI (NSAPI: Netscape Server Application Programming Interface. A web server application development interface developed by Netscape Communications Corporation. ), or CGI (CGI: Common Gateway Interface. A standard method of extending Web server functionality by executing programs or s on a Web server in response to Web browser requests, such as in form processing. Use of a CGI can make a web page more dynamic. )) as a form handler (form handler: A program on a server that is executed when a site visitor submits a form. A form in FrontPage is associated with a form handler.).

  1. On the View menu, switch to Folders view.

    Right-click the folder containing your , and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

  2. Select Allow s to be run. If you don't want others to be able to see files in this directory, clear the Allow files to be browsed check box.
  3. Click OK.
  4. In Page view, right-click your form, and then click Form Properties on the shortcut menu.
  5. Select Send to other, and then in the drop-down box, click Custom ISAPI, NSAPI, CGI, or ASP .
  6. Click Options.
  7. In the Action box, type the URL (Uniform Resource Locator (URL): An address that specifies a protocol (such as HTTP or FTP) and a location of an object, document, World Wide Web page, or other destination on the Internet or an intranet — for example: http://www.microsoft.com/.) to the form handler.
  8. In the Method box, select the method of submitting information to the form handler:

Note