Retrieve Your Databases with a Click
Master Form V4 from /mfv4 can email
files on your server to any email address you specify.
Files can be inserted into the body of the email and/or
delivered as attachments.
The method is as secure as your FTP and other server access
information. That's because Master Form V4 requires an
email template file before it will email anything. And the
template must be on your server.
Master Form V4-created database files are specifically
addressed in this article. But the method will email files
created by other programs just as easily and as hassle-free.
Let's assume you have a CSV file in subdirectory "data"
(subdirectory to where Master Form V4 is installed). Let's
further assume the file is named "feedback.csv".
First build the email template. Then create a form to use
the template.
The Email Template
The feedback.csv file can be delivered in the email body.
And it can be an attachment to the email.
Probably an attachment would work best, in this case. The
attachment, once received, can simply be double-clicked to
view. Alternatively, the file can be dragged into a
spreadsheet or database program that can import CSV files.
This example presents both retrieval methods. File
feedback.csv will be embedded in the body of the email and
also attached.
Here is the template:
From: webmaster@example.com
To: webmaster@example.com
Subject: Your file :-)
[[ATTACH data/feedback.csv]]
That's all there is to it.
Change the webmaster@example.com email addresses to
whatever is appropriate for you.
If you want only an attachment, remove the
placeholder. And vice versa.
More than one file may be attached by providing more than
one [[ATTACH...]] placeholder, one placeholder per file.
Similarly, multiple files can be inserted into the email
body with multiple placeholders.
(The Master Form V4 manual has information about the
placeholders, including how to specify file locations.)
Upload the email template to your server someplace where
Master Form V4 can find it. For our examples, we'll assume
the template file name is "filesend.txt" and that it's
located in a subdirectory named "templates".
The Form
Here is the form, in a bare web page, to use when having
the database emailed to you:
<html>
<body>
<form
action="http://example.com/cgi-bin/mf/MasterFormV4.cgi"
method="POST">
<input
type="hidden"
name="redirect"
value="http://example.com">
<input
type="hidden"
name="emailtemplate"
value="templates/filesend.txt">
<input
value="Retrieve file feedback.csv"
type="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
That's the simplicity of it.
The form's action needs to be the URL to your installation
of Master Form V4.
The hidden name="redirect" field value needs to be changed
to the URL of the page you want to see after the form is
submitted.
Save the form to your hard drive, maybe on your desktop.
Wherever you want the latest version of the database sent
to yourself, open the file in your web-browser and click
the button.
Master Form V4 takes care of the rest.
Will Bontrager
©2005 Bontrager Connection, LLC
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