Master Form V4 as a Web Page Mailer
With it's versatility and sophistication, Master Form V4
can easily be used as a web
page mailer — the "email this web page to yourself or a
friend" idea.
If you'd like to provide the opportunity to email entire
web pages, Master Form V4 is the software to use.
Mailing entire web pages, with the layout of the original,
is ideal for article, special sale, and dense information
types of web pages, especially if ads are to accompany the
web page or the web page content is subject to change.
To implement, a simple form field for an email address is
sufficient. A submit button may be required if there is more
than one form on the web page. Some text to prompt the user
or explain what to do may be prudent.
The form does not need to clutter up the web page at all.
Here is a form that may be used (has certain assumptions):
You'll notice two hidden fields in the above example, one
with the redirect URL, where the browser will be sent after
submitting the form, and one with the location of the email
template (more about that below).
The user doesn't see the hidden fields.
But the text input field is visible (which, in the above
example, has an "email here" prompt), as is the submit
button (with "Send Web Page" text).
No more is required of the form. And, as mentioned earlier,
the text prompt and submit button might yet be eliminated.
When the form is submitted, Master Form V4 retrieves the
email template, inserts or attaches the web page, sends
the email, and then redirects the browser to the web page
at the redirect URL.
You'll notice that the above example form does not provide
a place for the user to type a personal message.
Although a personal message text box can be provided,
allowing a note to be sent with the web page is not a good
idea from a security point of view. A form allowing a note
to by typed, and then an email address be specified for the
note to be sent to, can be a spammer magnet. Master Form V4
does have anti-hijack protection, but not automatic
submission protection.
(If you wish to provide a place for a note, Master Recommend
Pro V4 can be used. This
software does have special code to prevent automatic form
submission, but it won't send an entire web page. Instead,
it can send URLs of web pages.)
To resume, when the example form is submitted, Master Form V4
retrieves email template emailpage01.txt and generates an
email containing the web page, then sends the email to the
address provided on the form.
This 6-line template would suffice:
The first 4 lines represent the email header. Two lines to
specify HTML email, one to specify the destination of the
email (containing a placeholder for the email address
provided on the form), and one to specify the email subject.
The 5th line is blank, separating the header from the email
body content.
Line 6 is the only email body content, a placeholder that
causes Master Form V4 to retrieve the web page at the URL
specified and to insert it into the email in lieu of the
placeholder.
One thing about the web page being inserted into the email
is that URLs (links, SRC's, HREF's, and so forth) in the
web page must all be absolute http://... URLs. Relative URLs
will break.
That is an important item to check. If your web page has any
relative URLs, that item will break — be it image, external
style sheet, clickable link, form action, or whatever. Just
make sure all URLs are absolute and you'll be good to go.
The form, the email template, and the web page to be
inserted into the email are the requirements for using
Master Form V4 as a web page mailer.
Get Master Form V4 here.
Will Bontrager
©Copyright 2006 Bontrager Connection, LLC Bontrager Connection, LLC
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