Chapter 20

Quick and Easy Forms

• Examining the Form Page Wizard
  • Introducing the Form Page Wizard
• Naming a Form Page
• Adding Questions
• Choosing How to Display Your Questions
• Storing Your Responses
• Finishing the Form
• Creating a Guest Book
• Asking a Range Question
• Asking a Paragraph Question
• Completing the Guest Book
• Creating an Online Order Form
• Asking a Contact Information Question
• Asking an Ordering Information Question
• Asking a Boolean Question
• Completing the Form
• Creating Charlie's Astrological Data Page
• Asking for Personal Information
• Asking a Date Question
• Asking a Time Question
• Asking a String Question
• Completing the Form
• Creating a Site Registration Page
• Asking an Account Information Question
• Asking a Number Question
• Completing the Form
• Creating a Software Registration Page
• Asking a Product Information Question
• Asking a One of Several Options Question
• Asking an Any of Several Options Question
• Completing the Page
• Workshop Wrap-Up
  • Next Steps
  • Q&A

Everyone has filled out countless forms-order forms, registration forms, personal information forms, surveys, and so on. Even when you enter a message or article in a discussion, you are using a form. Essentially, whenever information is exchanged, it is done through a form.

Designing a form can be tedious, especially if you want to ask many questions. Laying out the form and aligning the fields is a task in itself. It could take you hours to complete the form.

Have no fear. In FrontPage, creating forms is a breeze. The Form Page Wizard does most of the work for you. It takes care of the layout and enables you to present questions in several different categories. You think of a question, pick the category that best handles how you want to present it, assign a few variables, and away you go. You can design your form in a matter of minutes.

Examining the Form Page Wizard

The Form Page Wizard is a gem. You use it to design just about any type of form you can think of. If you know the type of form you want to design and the questions or responses you need, the rest is absolutely simple.

When you create a form with the Form Page Wizard, you begin on a new page. After you complete the form, you can add additional content to it or copy its contents to the clipboard to paste into another page. To create a form with the Form Page Wizard, follow these steps:

1. From the FrontPage Explorer, create or open a web in which to save your pages. Choose Tools | Show FrontPage Editor or use the Show FrontPage Editor button to open the FrontPage Editor.
2. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File | New (Ctrl+N). The New Page dialog box appears.
3. Highlight Form Page Wizard and choose OK or press Enter. The introductory screen of the Form Page Wizard appears.

Introducing the Form Page Wizard

The first screen of the Form Page Wizard, shown in Figure 20.1, is an introductory screen. It explains what the Form Page Wizard does. You navigate forward and backward through the wizard by using the navigation buttons at the bottom of each dialog box.

Figure 20.1 : The introductory screen of the Form Page Wizard.

Click the Cancel button to leave the Form Page Wizard without creating the page. Click the Back button to review the questions or choices that you made in previous screens. Click the Finish button to generate the page with the content you have chosen up to that point. Click the Next button to proceed to the next step.

Naming a Form Page

On the second screen of the Form Page Wizard, shown in Figure 20.2, you enter a URL for the page and a page title. After you enter the name, you proceed to add questions to the form.

Figure 20.2 : Enter a page URL and a page title.

Adding Questions

The third screen of the Form Page Wizard, shown in Figure 20.3, appears next. You use this screen to add, modify, remove, or rearrange the order of questions. The steps to create each type of question are described in more detail in the tasks in this chapter. In brief, these are the basic procedures you use to add a question to a form:

Figure 20.3 : You can add, modify, remove, or rearrange questions.

1. Click the Add button shown in Figure 20.3. The screen shown in Figure 20.4 appears.
   Figure 20.4 : Choose the type of question you want to ask, and enter a question in this screen.

2. Choose a question type and enter a prompt or question. The types of questions you can add are described in Table 20.1.
3. Configure the options for the form fields to the question on the appropriate screen.
4. To enter another question, repeat steps 1 through 3.
5. Click Next to continue with the Form Page Wizard after you have added all your questions to the list. You proceed to the "Choosing How to Display Your Questions" task, described later in this chapter.

Modifying Questions

You also modify questions from the screen shown in Figure 20.3. To modify a question, do the following:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, highlight the question that you want to modify.
2. Click the Modify button. The question's option screen appears, and you can modify the question.

Removing Questions

You can remove questions from your form design with the screen shown in Figure 20.3. To remove a question from the list, perform the following steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, highlight the question that you want to remove.
2. Click the Remove button. The question is removed from the list.

Reordering Questions

You can use the Move Up and Move Down buttons in the screen shown in Figure 20.3 to rearrange the order of your questions as follows:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, highlight the question that you want to move.
2. Click the Move Up or Move Down button to change its location in the list.

Choosing How to Display Your Questions

After you complete your question list, select how you want to present it, using the screen shown in Figure 20.5.

Figure 20.5 : Choose how you want to present your questions.

To present your questions, follow these steps:

1. Select a format for displaying your questions. Choose one of the following options:
   as normal paragraphs
   as a numbered list
   as a bulleted list
   as a definition list
2. Choose whether or not you want a table of contents included on your form. If your form is lengthy, choose yes. Links to the questions are listed at the top of the page. When the user clicks the link, the page jumps to the appropriate question.

3. Choose how you want your form fields displayed. By default, the form fields are displayed in table cells, which makes layout of your form much easier and more flexible. To display the form fields as formatted paragraphs, uncheck the "use tables to align form fields" checkbox.
4. Click Next to proceed to the next screen.

Storing Your Responses

The screen shown in Figure 20.6 asks how you want to retrieve the information from the form.

Figure 20.6 : Choose the output option.

To specify how you want to retrieve the information, follow these steps:

1. Choose how you want to handle the input from the form. You can store the responses in one of three ways:
   • save results to a web page. When you choose this option, the results from the form are stored on your site in Web page format, using an .htm extension.
   • save results to a text file. When you choose this option, the results of the form are stored on your site in text format, using a .txt extension.
   • use custom CGI script. When you choose this option, the results of the form are passed to a custom CGI script for further processing.
2. Enter the base name of the results file. This is the name of the Web page, text file, or CGI script where you store the responses of the form. Don't include the extension in your entry here. The full name of the results file is displayed below the data entry field.
3. Click Next to continue with your form.

Finishing the Form

The screen shown in Figure 20.7 is the final screen in the Form Page Wizard. Here, you simply click Finish to create your form. Your page appears in the FrontPage Editor window. At this point, you can save it to your web, or you can copy it to the Clipboard and paste it into another page in your web.

Figure 20.7 : The Form Page Wizard.

Creating a Guest Book

Now that you know the basics about how to create a form, try some of your own. This first example creates a simple guest book page by adding two questions with the Form Page Wizard. The first question asks the user to rate your Web site by choosing one response in a scale. Then, the user adds comments in a paragraph field on the page. Figure 20.8 shows a complete example of this guest book.

Figure 20.8 : This simple guest book page uses range and paragraph questions.

After creating the page, I moved the form fields into tables, changed the page properties, and changed the font to Arial. I also added an Include bot after the heading that reads "Here's What Our Visitors Have to Say."

To create a simple guest book page, follow these steps:

1. From the FrontPage Explorer, create or open a web in which to save your page. Choose Tools | Show FrontPage Editor or use the Show FrontPage Editor button to open the FrontPage Editor.
2. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File | New (Ctrl+N). The New Page dialog box appears.
3. Choose Form Page Wizard and click OK. The Form Page Wizard introductory screen appears.
4. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.2 appears.
5. In the Page URL field, enter guestbk.htm.
6. In the Page Title field, enter Guest Book.
7. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.3 appears. You are now ready to add your questions to the page.

Asking a Range Question

You want to know what visitors think of your site. One easy way to obtain this answer is to ask a range question. You can tell at a glance how you're doing. Figure 20.9 shows three questions and the form fields generated by a range question.

Figure 20.9 : Range questions show a scale of 1 to 5, bad to good, or strongly disagree to strongly agree. You can use radio buttons or drop-down menus.

To add a range question to the guest book page, perform the following steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Range.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Here, you enter the question you want to ask of the user. Enter How do you rate this site?.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. How should the user provide an answer? The guest book page shown in Figure 20.8 uses the second option (Bad, poor, average, fair, good). Refer to Example 2 in Figure 20.9 for a similar question. The other options from which you can choose include the following:
   • On a scale of 1 to 5. The user chooses from one of five choices, labeled with numbers 1 to 5, as shown in Example 1 of Figure 20.9.
   • From "disagree strongly" to "agree strongly." The user chooses from one of five choices, labeled from disagree strongly to agree strongly, as shown in Example 3 of Figure 20.9.
6. Choose from the following presentation options:
   • Mid-range choice is default. The example in this chapter uses this option, making average the default choice in the group of radio buttons on the form, as in Example 3 of Figure 20.9.
   • Use drop-down menu instead of radio buttons. If you choose this option, the list is displayed in a drop-down menu list, as in Example 3 of Figure 20.9.
7. Enter the name of a variable to hold this answer. Here, you assign a brief and descriptive variable name for this question. This variable name is sent to the form handler with the value selected by the user, as a name/value pair. There is no default name, and this field must be completed before leaving the screen. Enter Rating.
8. Click Next to add another question or proceed with the form.

Asking a Paragraph Question

The guest book also includes an area where the user can add comments about your site. Generally, you hope that users enter something more than a single line of text. To encourage such cases, use a paragraph question when you need a multiline response. Figure 20.10 shows an example of a paragraph question on a page.

Figure 20.10 : Use a paragraph question when several lines of text are required for a response.

To complete a paragraph question, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Paragraph.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Add your comments here:.
4. Click Next to configure the form field for this question.
5. Enter the name of the variable to hold the answer. Enter Comments.
6. Click Next to proceed with the form.

Completing the Guest Book

After you complete your list of questions, you see the screen shown in Figure 20.5. To complete the guest book, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Next button. The screen shown in Figure 20.5 appears.
2. How should the list of questions be presented? Choose "as normal paragraphs."
3. Would you like a Table of Contents for this page? Because the form is brief, choose No.
4. The "use tables to align form fields" checkbox is checked by default. You can leave this selection as is.
5. Click Next to continue. The screen shown in Figure 20.6 appears.
6. How do you want to handle the input generated by users when they submit a form? You want the users' comments to be included on a Web page on your site. Choose "save results to a web page."
7. Enter the base name of the results file. Here, you enter the name of the Web page that stores the users' responses. The results should be sent to a different page. The appropriate file extension is added to this name automatically. Enter guestlog.
8. Click Next to proceed to the final wizard screen.
9. Click Finish to create your form. The form appears in the FrontPage Editor window.

Creating an Online Order Form

If you want to sell your products online, you can easily create an online ordering form. The example shown in Figure 20.11 features contact information, ordering information, and Boolean questions. After creating the page, I moved the form fields into tables, changed the page properties, and changed the font to Arial.

Figure 20.11 : Contact information, ordering information, and Boolean questions are used in this online order form.

To create the online order form shown in Figure 20.11, follow these steps:

1. From the FrontPage Explorer, create or open a web in which to save your page. Choose Tools | Show FrontPage Editor or use the Show FrontPage Editor button to open the FrontPage Editor.
2. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File | New (Ctrl+N). The New Page dialog box appears.
3. Choose Form Page Wizard and click OK. The Form Page Wizard introductory screen appears.
4. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.2 appears.
5. In the Page URL field, enter order.htm.
6. In the Page Title field, enter On-Line Order Form.
7. Click Next to add a question to the form.

Asking a Contact Information Question

Use a contact information question when you need to know how to contact the person filling out your form. Information request forms often ask for contact information. Figure 20.12 shows examples of the fields available for contact information.

Figure 20.12 : You can request different types of contact information.

To complete a contact information question, do the following:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Contact Information.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Please enter your billing address and other contact information in the spaces provided..
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Choose the items to collect from the user:
   • Full. The user enters his name in a single field, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.12.
   • First, last. The user enters his name in two separate fields, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.12. Select this option to create your online ordering form.
   • First, last, middle. The user enters his first name, last name, and middle initial in three separate fields, as in Example 3 of Figure 20.12.
6. Check or uncheck the boxes to include the contact information that you want to obtain. For your ordering form, choose Postal Address, Work Phone, Home Phone, FAX, and E-Mail Address. The other options from which to choose include Title, Organization, and Web Address (URL). See Figure 20.12 for examples.

7. Enter the base name for this group of variables. Leave this at the default name of Contact.
8. Click Next to add another question.

Asking an Ordering Information Question

Use an ordering information question when you want users to order products online. You can create order forms easily. Figure 20.13 shows examples of the fields for this type of question.

Figure 20.13 : Use ordering information in an online order form.

To complete an ordering information question, choose the data of items that you want to collect from the user.

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Ordering Information.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter What products would you like to order?
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. If you want to include an order form on your page, complete the following items:
   • List of products and quantities. Check this option to include an order form on the page.
   • Maximum number. This is the number of lines in the order form. Leave this value set at the default of five lines.
6. Check Billing Information to ask for the method of payment, and choose the type of field for billing information:
   • Credit card. Choose this option. The name of the cardholder and the card's number and expiration date are entered in text fields, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.13.
   • Purchase order. If you choose the Purchase Order option, the user enters a purchase order number and account name in text boxes, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.13.
7. Check the Shipping Address checkbox to include shipping information fields on the order form.
8. Enter the base name for this group of variables. Leave this at the default name of Ordering.
9. Click Next to add another question.

Asking a Boolean Question

Use a Boolean question when you want to ask a question that requires an either/or response. Figure 20.14 shows some examples.

Figure 20.14 : Boolean questions can be answered with checkboxes or radio buttons.

To complete a Boolean question, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Boolean.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Would you like overnight
   delivery? (Additional charges apply).
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Select the type of response area that you want to include in the form.
   • Checkbox. The user checks or unchecks a checkbox to enter the response (see Example 1 of Figure 20.14).
   • Yes/no radio buttons. Choose this option to provide Yes and No radio buttons (see Example 2 of Figure 20.14).
   • True/false radio buttons. The user chooses between a Yes and a No radio button (see Example 3 of Figure 20.14).
6. Enter a variable name for holding this answer. There is no default name. Enter Overnight.
7. Click Next to proceed with the form.

Completing the Form

After you complete your list of questions, you see the screen shown in Figure 20.5. To complete the online ordering form, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click Next. The screen shown in Figure 20.5 appears.
2. How should the list of questions be presented? Choose "as normal paragraphs."
3. Would you like a Table of Contents for this page? Because the form is brief, choose No.
4. Leave the "use tables to align form fields" option checked.
5. Click Next to continue. The screen shown in Figure 20.6 appears.
6. How do you want to handle the input generated by users when they submit a form? You want the data from this form to be compatible with a database or spreadsheet program. Choose "save results to a text file."
7. Enter the base name of the results file. Enter Ordering.
8. Click Next to proceed to the final wizard screen.
9. Click Finish to create your form. The form appears in the FrontPage Editor window.

After you complete the form, review the form fields to customize them further, as discussed in Chapter 21. You also need to verify the settings of the form handler, using the procedures outlined in Chapter 22, "Runtime Bots-The Heartbeat of FrontPage Forms."

Creating Charlie's Astrological Data Page

Charlie's Astrological Data page, shown in Figure 20.15, uses personal information, date, time, and string questions to complete the form. It's designed to direct the user to another form on or from the confirmation page when he submits his chart data. From the second form (not shown), the user selects the type of chart he wants to have done and completes the billing information. This reduces the amount of form fields on one page and makes it easier to complete.

Figure 20.15 : Charlie's Astrological Data Page uses personal information, date, time, and string questions.

To create Charlie's Astrological Data page, follow these steps:

1. From the FrontPage Explorer, create or open a web in which to save your page. Choose Tools | Show FrontPage Editor or use the Show FrontPage Editor button to open the FrontPage Editor.
2. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File | New (Ctrl+N). The New Page dialog box appears.
3. Choose Form Page Wizard and click OK. The Form Page Wizard introductory screen appears.
4. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.2 appears.
5. In the Page URL field, enter astro.htm.
6. In the Page Title field, enter Charlie's Astrological Data Page.
7. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.3 appears. You are now ready to add your questions to the page.

Asking for Personal Information

You can ask for personal information in your forms, including age, sex, height, weight, ID number, and hair and eye color. Figure 20.16 shows examples of the fields.

Figure 20.16 : You can request several types of personal information.

To complete a personal information question, perform the following steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Personal Information.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Enter your personal information here:.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Choose the data items to collect from the user. Verify that the Name option is checked. If you do not want to request a name in this section of the form, uncheck the option. The options are
   • Full. The user enters his name in a single text field, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.16. Select this option for your page.
   • First, last. The user enters his first and last names in individual fields, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.16.
   • First, last, middle. The user enters his first name, last name, and middle initial in individual fields, as in Example 3 of Figure 20.16.
6. Uncheck the Age checkbox for this page. Although a date of birth is entered in this form, it uses a different format. For reference, the following selections are available for reporting age:
   • Years old. The user enters his age in years, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.16.
   • Date of birth. The user enters his date of birth, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.16.
7. Check or uncheck the additional types of information that you want to request. For this page, choose only Sex. The other options are Height, Weight, ID number, Hair color, and Eye color. Examples are shown in Example 1 of Figure 20.16.
8. Enter the base name for this group of variables. Leave this field at the default name of Personal.
9. Click Next to add another question.

Asking a Date Question

A date question asks the user for a date-a calendar date, not the romantic kind. The user can enter a date response in one of three ways. Figure 20.17 shows some examples.

Figure 20.17 : Users can enter dates in three ways.

To complete a date question, do the following:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Date.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Enter the date of your birth:.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. How should the user provide an answer?
6. Enter the name of a variable to hold this answer. There is no default name. Enter DOB.
7. Click Next to add another question.

Asking a Time Question

A time question asks the user for a specific time. Figure 20.18 shows some examples.

Figure 20.18 : You can enter the time in 12-hour, 24-hour, or free format.

To complete a time question, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Time.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Enter the time of your birth in 24-hour format..
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. How should the user provide the answer? Your options follow:
   • hh:mm:ss-am/pm. The user enters the response in 12-hour format, followed by AM or PM, as shown in Example 1 of Figure 20.18.
   • hh:mm:ss-24-hour clock. The user enters the response in 24-hour format, as shown in Example 2 of Figure 20.18. Choose this option for Charlie's page.
   • Free format. The user enters the response at his or her choosing, as shown in Example 3 of Figure 20.18.
6. Enter the name of a variable to hold this answer. There is no default name. Enter TOB.
7. Click Next to add another question or proceed with the form.

Asking a String Question

Ask for a string response when you need a single line of text input from the user. A typical question might be What is the name of your pet?. Figure 20.19 shows an example.

Figure 20.19 : Use a string question when a single-line text response is sufficient.

To complete a string question, do the following:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose String.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Enter the city, state or
   province, and country of your birth. If you know the longitude
   and latitude of your birthplace, enter the coordinates instead..
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. The default length of the text field is 50 characters, which you keep for this form. To specify a different length, check the Set Maximum Length checkbox and enter a new maximum number.
6. Enter the name of a variable to hold this answer. There is no default value. Enter POB.
7. Click Next to add another question or proceed with the form.

Completing the Form

After you complete your list of questions, you see the screen shown in Figure 20.5. To complete the online ordering form, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click Next. The screen shown in Figure 20.5 appears.
2. How should the list of questions be presented? Choose "as normal paragraphs."
3. Would you like a Table of Contents for this page? Because the form is brief, choose No.
4. Leave the "use tables to align form fields" option checked.
5. Click Next to continue. The screen shown in Figure 20.6 appears.
6. How do you want to handle the input generated by users when they submit a form? Choose "save results to a text file."
7. Enter the base name of the results file. Enter astrolog.
8. Click Next to proceed to the final wizard screen.
9. Click Finish to create your form. The form appears in the FrontPage Editor window.

Creating a Site Registration Page

You typically use registration pages to register for an event or to gain access to a protected web site. The latter is the case for this page. It contains a form in which a user enters his or her name, password, and beta site ID to gain access to a protected beta web site. It uses an account question and a number question.

For the example shown in Figure 20.20, I made some minor modifications to the layout of the form. I added two rows to the table that contains the account question. The number question and form buttons go in the same table. A graphic appears in place of the page title.

Figure 20.20 : The site registration page features account information and number questions.

To create the site registration page shown in Figure 20.20, follow these steps:

1. From the FrontPage Explorer, create or open a web in which to save your page. Choose Tools | Show FrontPage Editor or use the Show FrontPage Editor button to open the FrontPage Editor.
2. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File | New (Ctrl+N). The New Page dialog box appears.
3. Choose Form Page Wizard and click OK. The Form Page Wizard introductory screen appears.
4. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.2 appears.
5. In the Page URL field, enter sitereg.htm.
6. In the Page Title field, enter Beta Site Registration Page.
7. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.3 appears. You are now ready to add your questions to the page.

Asking an Account Information Question

Use an account information question to obtain a username and password. Account information questions are often used on registration forms, such as those used to gain access to a protected web. Figure 20.21 shows examples of the options available for account information.

Figure 20.21 : Account information questions ask for a user's name and password.

To complete an account information question, perform the following steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Account Information.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Please provide your name and password in the fields below:.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Select how to include username information on your form. If you do not want to include a username, uncheck the username option. Your options follow:
   • As single field. The user types his full name, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.21.
   • As first and last name fields (for WebBot Registration component). Choose this option for your registration page. You always make this choice when you use the Registration bot to create a registration form for a protected web. Refer to Example 2 of Figure 20.21.
6. Choose how you want to receive password information. If you do not want to include password information, uncheck the Password option.
   • Require confirmation (must type in twice). Choose this option. The user confirms his password in a separate field, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.21.
   • Don't require confirmation. If you do not require confirmation, the user enters his password once, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.21.
7. Enter the base name for this group of variables. Leave this variable at the default name of Account.
8. Click Next to add another question.

Asking a Number Question

Use a number question when you need numerical input from the user. Figure 20.22 shows some examples.

Figure 20.22 : You can specify the length of a numerical response. You can also specify a currency symbol.

To complete a number question, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Number.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Please provide your Beta Site ID number:.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. The default length of the numerical response is five characters. To set it for 10 characters (the maximum) for your form, check the "Set maximum length" checkbox and set the value to 10.
6. Check the "Set currency prefix" box if you want to allow additional space for a currency symbol. Enter the currency symbol in the designated field. Leave this option unchecked for your form.
7. Enter the name of a variable to hold this answer. There is no default name. Enter BetaID.
8. Click Next to proceed with the form.

Completing the Form

After you complete your list of questions, you see the screen shown in Figure 20.5. To complete the registration page, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click Next. The screen shown in Figure 20.5 appears.
2. How should the list of questions be presented? Choose "as normal paragraphs."
3. Would you like a Table of Contents for this page? Because the form is brief, choose No.
4. Leave the "use tables to align form fields" option checked.
5. Click Next to continue. The screen shown in Figure 20.6 appears.
6. How do you want to handle the input generated by users when they submit a form? Choose "save results to a text file."
7. Enter the base name of the results file. Enter sitelog.
8. Click Next to proceed to the final wizard screen.
9. Click Finish to create your form. The form appears in the FrontPage Editor window.

Creating a Software Registration Page

The software registration page, shown in Figure 20.23, enables a user to register a software product online. This form utilizes product information, one of several options, and any of several options questions.

Figure 20.23 : Product information, one of several options, and any of several options questions appear in this software registration form.

To create the software registration page shown in Figure 20.23, follow these steps:

1. From the FrontPage Explorer, create or open a web in which to save your page. Choose Tools | Show FrontPage Editor or use the Show FrontPage Editor button to open the FrontPage Editor.
2. From the FrontPage Editor, choose File | New (Ctrl+N). The New Page dialog box appears.
3. Choose Form Page Wizard and click OK. The Form Page Wizard introductory screen appears.
4. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.2 appears.
5. In the Page URL field, enter softreg.htm.
6. In the Page Title field, enter Software Registration Page.
7. Click Next to continue to the next screen. The screen shown in Figure 20.3 appears. You are now ready to add your questions to the page.

Asking a Product Information Question

Use a product information question to obtain warranty or registration information on a product. A form for this type of question might be a software registration form or a warranty service request. Figure 20.24 shows the options available.

Figure 20.24 : Use product information questions to register software or request warranty service information.

To complete a product information question, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Product Information.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter What software product are you registering?.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Choose how you want to receive the product name:
   • Select from menu. Users can select from a list of products in a drop-down menu, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.24.
   • Type it in. Users type the name of the product, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.24. Choose this option for your form.
6. Check or uncheck the information you want to request on the product. Choose "Platform and version (for software products)" and "Serial number." Leave "Model" and "Product code" unchecked.
7. Enter the base name for this group of variables. Leave this at the default name of Product.
8. Click Next to add another question.

Asking a One of Several Options Question

Ask a one of several options question when you want the user to choose one response from a list of choices. An example of a question in this category is What is your favorite color?. Figure 20.25 shows examples of the options for this question.

Figure 20.25 : A one of several options question enables you to obtain responses through drop-down menus, a series of radio buttons, or a scrollable menu list.

To complete a one of several options question, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose One of several options.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter Where did you purchase this product?.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Enter the labels for the options, one on each line. Enter the following items:
   Internet
   Mail Order
   Department Store
   Software Specialty Store
   Direct from Manufacturer
   Other or gift
6. Select how you want to display the list:
   • Drop-down menu. The list is displayed in a drop-down menu, as in Example 1 of Figure 20.25. Select this option for your form.
   • Radio buttons. The list is displayed in a series of radio buttons, as in Example 2 of Figure 20.25.
   • List. The list is displayed in a scrollable menu list, as in Example 3 of Figure 20.25.
7. Enter the name of a variable to hold this answer. There is no default variable name for this question. Enter Purchase.
8. Click Next to add another question.

Asking an Any of Several Options Question

Ask an any of several options question when you want to provide one or more choices from a list of several. Figure 20.26 shows an example of the output that you receive.

Figure 20.26 : An any of several options question enables the user to make multiple choices. You can display the checkboxes in a single column or in multiple columns as shown here.

To complete an any of several options question, do the following:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click the Add button.
2. Select the type of input to collect for this question. Choose Any of several options.
3. Edit the prompt for this question. Enter What hardware components do you have in your system?.
4. Click Next to configure the form fields for this question.
5. Enter the labels for the choices that you want to include in the scrolling text box on the form. Keep these fairly short if you want to display them in multiple columns. Enter the following values:
   Floppy - 3-1/2
   Floppy - 5-1/4
   CD-ROM
   Sound Card
   Modem
   Video Capture
   Joystick
   Printer
   Other
6. Check the "Use multiple columns to present the options" checkbox. If you do not check the box, the choices are arranged in a single column.
7. Enter the base name for this group of variables. The default name is Option. Enter Hardware.
8. Click Next to add another question or proceed with the form.

Completing the Page

After you complete your list of questions, you see the screen shown in Figure 20.5. To complete the software registration page, follow these steps:

1. From the screen shown in Figure 20.3, click Next. The screen shown in Figure 20.5 appears.
2. How should the list of questions be presented? Choose "as normal paragraphs."
3. Would you like a Table of Contents for this page? Because the form is brief, choose No.
4. Leave the "use tables to align form fields" option checked.
5. Click Next to continue. The screen shown in Figure 20.6 appears.
6. How do you want to handle the input generated by users when they submit a form? Choose "save results to a text file."
7. Enter the base name of the results file. Enter orderlog.
8. Click Next to proceed to the final wizard screen.
9. Click Finish to create your form. The form appears in the FrontPage Editor window.

Workshop Wrap-Up

You can design forms quickly and easily with the Form Page Wizard. Start with a list of questions, and decide how you want to display them. The wizard does the rest.

In this chapter, you learned how to design several customized, interactive forms, using the FrontPage Form Page Wizard to ask a variety of questions. Based on your selections, the wizard tailors your form so that you can gather information from visitors to your site.

Next Steps

The next two chapters help you edit your form fields and assign form handlers to them. To learn more about the fields in your form, see Chapter 21, "Fields-The Building Blocks of Forms." To learn how to assign a form handler to your form, see Chapter 22, "Runtime Bots-The Heartbeat of FrontPage Forms."

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