Creating Forms and Xara Web exports

[CQDX]

NOTE TO Mods/Admins -
This post probably could (should?) go in a different (new?) thread, but I thought replying here would directly benefit & help out this person (and others) in need of adequate form creation capability. Move / copy / whatever as you see fit......................

(Note - I'm a user of the tool I mention and have zero affiliation with this company besides being a happy customer)


So you want to make great forms, eh?
SKIP the widgets (they don't do enough), Use a form builder locally on YOUR computer, Avoid the "Cloud", Pay once without a needless subscription!
Let Xara focus on getting the bugs out of their software and making website design software enhancements. Form building is way more complicated then you think when you want complex forms created. Try the Simfatic.com form tool, and you will see how vast their capability is - it is quite deep!!
AND IT WORKS!!

Here's an example of one of many forms I've created:




My form example was created using: http://simfatic.com/

This tool:
1. Costs short money: $69 (USD), one time outright purchase.
2. You build the form using the software you purchased and installed on YOUR computer.
3. This is NOT "Cloud" based - it is completely local on your computer.
4. Your form gets emailed to whatever email addresses you enter.
5. Emailed form data is sent directly to your desired email addresses.
6. Email does not require a 3rd party email server - just the form on your website and the destination email addresses.
7. This tool has what appears to be an ungodly amount of options and vast capability
8. You can create all sorts of Rules for how the form is handled - from simple rules, to complex rules!
9. The form is created on your computer then ftp uploaded to your website either with the software's built in ftp capability, or you can use your own ftp tool.
10. Then you "Copy the Code" from the software tool, and enter it into a Xara "Placeholder".
11. To reiterate: the form is created on YOUR computer, uploaded to YOUR website on YOUR host, and embedded into a placeholder on YOUR website's page.
12. You can create MultiPage FORMS - - - e.g. not to be confused with multiple (same or different) forms on multiple web pages. A multi-page form presents one form and then a second form appears in place of the first form, after the first form is satisfied. And so on.
13. You can color match the form to the colors used in your Xara website.
14. Etc, etc.

There is No need to look further - this tool will do what you need - and better yet, the way YOU want to do it.

Here's a screen shot of another, slightly more complex form:

[Rob-Xar]

This tool:
6. Email does not require a 3rd party email server - just the form on your website and the destination email addresses.

So... Who sends the mail? The form may be constructed locally on your PC but it still needs a mail server to send the emails.

[CQDX]

Hi Rob,
The website host forwards the data collected by the form and emails it to you. So since you are already using (usually) the website host email, there is no 3rd party additional email server as with a Cloud service placed in the middle that relays the email.

[Rob-Xar]

How does the form know the mail servers settings though? Xara hosting doesn't even have a mail server.

[CQDX]

Sorry for delay ... took me awhile to put together all the screen shots of the entire process. Hope it helps.

The first picture shows using the Simfatic Form Tool Software. This is where you get to enter the destination address. The addresses are actually contained within a list, and you simply check on a box for each desired address to be entered within the field encircled in red.

Simfatic Form Creation - Email Setup




The next 3 pix are showing the entry of data into an online website form, the presentation of what the user entered for the user to confirm prior to hitting the Confirmed button, and a resultant Thank You message to alert the user to successful transmission of his entered form.

Website's Online Form - Data Entry, Confimation, TU



This is a screen shot of the data received at the target email address:

Received Email - Forwarded Data



What follows now is the Host side of things, covering how the data gets from the form on the Host to the Destination Email Address shown above.

Host Form - Form Uploaded to Host while using the Simfatic Software



Host Mailbox - Creation and Setup on Host



Hopefully this will help you et all understand!!

[pauland]

Xara hosting doesn't even have a mail server.

Ouch!

[Gare]

Hi and sorry I needed to relocate this valuable but O/T series of posts!

-g

[CQDX]

No need to apologize Gare ... being an Admin myself on a very large motorcycle forum, I know organization is key! I figured it ought to get moved, so included that note. Thanks for pitching in!

[Gare]

Not a problem and please be aware that to be forewarned is to be forearmed:

Xara is a lot of things to a lot of designers, but it cannot be all things, naturally. There have been a lot of web-directed requests, and me, who depends on WordPress, am only too happy to let the engineers concentrate on art-specific new features. Being an artist and all that. :)

There is only so much in a rev cycle that can be done, at least given Xara's staff and whatever priorities are handed to them.

I believe the most productive use of a back and forth on new, web-specific features, would be to see how well Xara can play with 3rd party programs.

And again, I'm happy to be wrong.

And this is me butting out now.

My Best,

Gary

[Rob-Xar]

hmmmm so you would need to set up a mail account on your server in order to send mail? For example this is the CPanel for a site I host:



I'd need to create an account for the form (or use an existing one) to submit data?

Which although I'm all up for using your own mail server, it's a great way of learning how these things work, I think it's a bit beyond the average customer we have (not all, just keep in mind Xara built for those who aren't experienced in web technologies, and leading on, mail servers etc).

We're always looking to add more widgets to our designs gallery, but they'd have to meet certain criteria in aim of our average customer - free to use where licensing permits, no own mail server needed in terms of forms...

In terms of adding form capabilities to Xara it is something we are looking into.