Master Form PHP V3

User Manual

General		Control Panel		Form Features
Overview Quick Start Lost Password Updates		The Home Page Create Table Setup Get Setup Info Edit Setup Delete Setup Download Table Data		Confirmation/Thank-you Page Email Placeholders Multi-page Forms Form Tips

Overview

Index

General
The Form
The Confirmation/Thank-you Page
What Happens With Form Submission
How Master Form .PHP Knows What to Do

General

Forms submit directly to a confirmation/thank-you page, thereby never revealing the location of the Master Form .PHP form processing software.

Forms may be one-page or multi-page.

Words, phrases, IP addresses, and email addresses may be banned. Certain fields can be required and/or checked for email address formatting.

With each form submission, one or more formatted emails can be sent, custom content and custom formatted, HTML or plain text, with or without attachments. Files can be uploaded, storing them on the server and/or attaching them to email. Any files on the server an accessible via http://... URL can also be attached.

The content of each form submission (that is error free and not banned) is stored in a MySQL database table. MySQL database tables and columns are automatically created. Column names reflect the form field names wherein the data was submitted. More than one form may store submissions in the same table or a separate table can be set up for each form.

The content of individual MySQL database tables can be downloaded in CSV format via the Master Form .PHP control panel.

The Form

The form submits directly to the confirmation/thank-you page. (Because the form submits directly to the confirmation/thank-you page, the location of the Master Form .PHP form processing software remains hidden from spammer spiders.)

The URL in the form tag's action value is the URL of the web page with the form. After the form has loaded, the action value is changed with JavaScript to the URL of the confirmation/thank-you page.

It is pretty effective auto-submission protection.

Spammers' spiders see the form's action as the URL of the page with the form. (Which appears legitimate, as many forms do in fact submit to the same page.) Spammers' auto-submission software can forever submit to that URL and never get one spam submission through.

The Confirmation/Thank-you Page

The form submits directly to the confirmation/thank-you page. The page contains PHP code to let Master Form .PHP do its magic.

Error messages resulting from the form submission may be printed on the confirmation/thank-you page. The error messages may be formatted with a CSS style.

The confirmation message may be suppressed when the form submission has errors.

The value of any submitted form fields may be published on the confirmation/thank-you page.

What Happens With Form Submission

When a form is submitted, required fields, banned words, and other checks are made. If the submission is error-free, Master Form .PHP stores the submitted form information in a MySQL database table.

(The data in the MySQL database table can be downloaded as a CSV file at any time. Use the Master Form .PHP control panel menu item "Download Table Data.")

If applicable, one or more custom emails are sent, which may contain the content of any or all submitted form fields.

If applicable, uploaded files are stored on the server and/or sent as email attachments.

If applicable, the confirmation/thank-you page is personalized or customized with the content of submitted form fields.

How Master Form .PHP Knows What to Do

As freshly-installed software, Master Form .PHP stores submitted form information in a default MySQL database table. The default table is automatically set up when the software is installed.

The default setup does not send any email, does not process upload files, and has no other effect on the operation of the form.

The default setup may be sufficient for your use. If not, follow these steps:

Create a table setup with the Master Form .PHP control panel menu item "Create Table Setup."

Specify any file upload fields, required/email fields, banned words/phrases, and email destinations that you want.

Master Form .PHP will automatically create a MySQL database table corresponding to your new table setup.
Insert a special hidden field into the web page form so Master Form .PHP knows which table setup to use. The copy and paste code for the hidden field is found in the Master Form .PHP control panel menu item "Get Setup Info."

The hidden field looks something like this. (The value= number may be different.)
```
<input 
   type="hidden" 
   name="MySQL_table_key" 
   value="2">
```

Create as many table setups as you need. There is no Master Form .PHP imposed limit.

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