Question
I posted this on the end of another thread on the 5th, but don't know whether it got viewed. Again, the loss of this here assistance is mind boggling. So -
Due to the fabulous help, the website is up and the boss likes it. (It doesn't have any SEO done on it yet, but he doesn't know that yet either.) But...give them an inch, they want a mile! Now he wants me to put a questionnaire on it -
I have one that we used to mail out. It's fairly long. I looked at a site called 'form buddy' but am not sure that would do it (or how). Anyone have any experience with this type of thing? I suppose I could pdf it and they could print and mail or fax, but that seems sort of purpose defeating, although I've seen it on other sites for application type stuff. If I have to pdf it, I'm a bit unsure about that, too. TIA.
P.S. Mike - let me know what info is required for the SEO stuff and I'll see what I can get together. I kind of reached my fun peak with the site last week and have had a lot of dsl problems (as in no connection at all or a speed less than 28.8 modem) so it's been on the back burner.
Answer
I'll leave the SEO stuff to the experts.
For the form, the first thing you have to decide is how you want the results. You have three basic options:
Fill it out online, and store the results in a database or file.
Might require a more expensive hosting package.
Might involve a cgi script. Would require, at the very least, an interactive web page.
Database would have to be secure from hackers.
Other scripts would have to be created, or database admin functions learned, to print the results.
Fill it out online, and send the results to someone in an email.
Email function needs to be compatible with viewer's email client and it isn't always.
Someone would have to manually tabulate/store the results.
Make a printable form (like PDF) and have the results mailed or faxed.
Someone would have to manually tabulate/store the results.
There are free online PDF file makers.
Your decision will be affected by the things mentioned above, plus the quantity of replies you estimate. The second and third options aren't bad if you only expect a few responses each month. They would be a burden if you had a dozen responses each day.
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Thanks!! The results would be printed out at our end...the questionnaire is mainly for information required by my boss to assist with another attorney's file. It isn't something that would need to be tabulated - and everyone's answers to the questions would be 100% different.
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Fraidycat I'm busy today and tomorrow but promise we will get the site seo'd for you.
Mike
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fraidycat, with that scenario, I'd suggest a form with two options: fill out and email, or print to fax/mail later. That way you'd cover the people who want to do it now, and those who either don't like to give info online or whose email client may not work.
You would need a email address for the form to be mailed to. You can use a person's email if it's a short term thing. If it's a long-term project, employees can move on...leaving you in a fix. Best to set up a general info*domainname email.
If no one else gives you one sooner, I'll look up a form tutorial or a sample later today.
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Jayne - that sounds like a great solution, as if the atty sees the questionnaire, he may want the secretary/paralegal to fill it out and submit. Your suggestion covers both bases. We have an info* address, so that would work as well.
Mike - no problem, my dsl is still intermittent at present, they are supposed to fix it next week but "due to ALL the hurricanes in FL lately, it may take longer." Right...
Answer
A tutorial on html forms:
http://www.webcom.com/html/tutor/for...ple_list.shtml
Code for a sample page:
HTML Code:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>(Type a title for your page here)</title>
</head>
< body> bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#000080" vlink="#808080" alink="#ff0000">
<a href="pdffilename.pdf">Click here for Printable Version of this form.<a/><br>
Mail or Fax to: xxxx xxxxx xxxxx<br><br>
<FORM ACTION="mailto:youremailaddress*domain.com" METHOD="post" NAME="FormName">
<FONT FACE="Arial,Verdana,,Helvetica" COLOR="#4458B5" SIZE="3">Email form</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="RED">Note: Fields marked * must be completed</FONT><BR>
<FONT SIZE="2"><FONT COLOR="RED">*</FONT>Full Name :<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="Customer Name" SIZE="50" MAXLENGTH="50"><BR>
Company:<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="Company" SIZE="50" MAXLENGTH="50"><BR>
Address :</FONT><INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="Address" SIZE="50" MAXLENGTH="50"><BR>
Town/City :</FONT><INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="City" SIZE="50" MAXLENGTH="50"><BR>
State/County :<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="state" SIZE="30" MAXLENGTH="50"><BR>
Ziptcode :<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="Zip Code" SIZE="10" MAXLENGTH="10"><BR>
Phone :<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="Phone Number" SIZE="30" MAXLENGTH="30"><BR>
<FONT COLOR="RED">*</FONT>E-mail:<INPUT TYPE=TEXT NAME="Email Address" SIZE="30" MAXLENGTH="30"><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#4458B5">Please check the services that interest you.</FONT><br>
<INPUT TYPE=CHECKBOX NAME="web design" VALUE="Web Design">Web Site Design, Creation and/or Management<BR>
<INPUT TYPE=CHECKBOX NAME="domains" VALUE="Domain Name Registration">Domain Name Registration<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#4458B5">Type your message and/or requirements here<BR>
<TEXTAREA NAME="Comments" COLS="60" ROWS="6"></TEXTAREA><BR>
<INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT VALUE="Send Form"><INPUT TYPE=RESET VALUE="Clear Fields"><br>
</FORM>
</body>
</html>
To use the sample code:
Open Notebook.
Cut & Paste the code.
Save as somefilename.html
Double-click the file icon to see the page in IE (or your default browser).
To edit, use Notebook.
Take the space out of the BODY tag.
Be sure to change email address, page title, and form name.
Add your background and stuff to match the rest of the web pages.
An editing shortcut:
Double-click to open the file in IE.
Right-click, choose View Source. Code will open in Notebook.
Edit, then press Cntrl+S to save.
Go back to the IE screen, click F5 to see the changes.
This is something different from what you've been doing, so ask questions!
Edited to add: The sample is a very basic page. The spacing isn't great. If you want things to line up, you have to use Tables. After you're happy with your form, we can add a Table if you want.
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About the PDF part....I put a link in the sample page to open a PDF version of the form.
What you need to do is create the form in Word. Convert it to .pdf. Then upload the pdf file just like your other pages. Hyperlink directly to the pdf file in your web page. (www.domainname.com/xxxx.pdf)
Here's two free pdf programs that you download:
http://www.pdf995.com/
http://www.primopdf.com/
Here's an online pdf maker:
http://www.gohtm.com/
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This is something different from what you've been doing, so ask questions!
Oh trust me, I will! I'll start working on it when I get home from work and see what I can do. Here's the first question - Is it actually 2 questionnaires? One done in Word and converted to pdf and the other according to your html form code info?
Thanks, Fraidy
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Oh boy -
I've got "wordpad" and "notepad", but not notebook?! Neither of the aforesaid lets me save as html...
I'm stymied already.