Forms are a vital tool for the webmaster to receive information from the web surfer, such as: their name, email address, credit card, etc. A form will take input from the viewer and depending on your needs, you may store that data into a file, place an order, gather user statistics, register the person to your web forum, or maybe subscribe them to your weekly newsletter.
Text Fields
Before we teach you how to make a complete form, let's start out with the basics of forms. Input fields are going to be the meat of your form's sandwich. The <input> has a few attributes that you should be aware of.
* type - Determines what kind of input field it will be. Possible choices are text, submit, and password.
* name - Assigns a name to the given field so that you may reference it later.
* size - Sets the horizontal width of the field. The unit of measurement is in blank spaces.
* maxlength - Dictates the maximum number of characters that can be entered.
<form method="post" action="mailto:youremail@email.com">
Name: <input type="text" size="10" maxlength="40" name="name"> <br />
Password: <input type="password" size="10" maxlength="10" name="password">
<input type="submit" value="Send">
</form>
Name: <input type="text" size="10" maxlength="40" name="name"> <br />
Password: <input type="password" size="10" maxlength="10" name="password">
<input type="submit" value="Send">
</form>
HTML Radio Buttons
Radio buttons are a popular form of interaction. You may have seen them on quizzes, questionnaires, and other web sites that give the user a multiple choice question. Below are a couple attributes you should know that relate to the radio button.
* value - specifies what will be sent if the user chooses this radio button.
Only one value will be sent for a given group of radio buttons (see name for more information).
* name - defines which set of radio buttons that it is a part of. Below we have 2 groups: shade and size.
<form method="post" action="mailto:youremail@email.com">
What kind of shirt are you wearing? <br />
Shade: <input type="radio" name="shade" value="dark">Dark
<input type="radio" name="shade" value="light">Light <br />
Size:<input type="radio" name="size" value="small">Small
<input type="radio" name="size" value="medium">Medium
<input type="radio" name="size" value="large">Large <br />
<input type="submit" value="Email Myself">
</form>
What kind of shirt are you wearing? <br />
Shade: <input type="radio" name="shade" value="dark">Dark
<input type="radio" name="shade" value="light">Light <br />
Size:<input type="radio" name="size" value="small">Small
<input type="radio" name="size" value="medium">Medium
<input type="radio" name="size" value="large">Large <br />
<input type="submit" value="Email Myself">
</form>
HTML Check Boxes
Check boxes allow for multiple items to be selected for a certain group of choices. The check box's name and value attributes behave the same as a radio button.
<form method="post" action="mailto:youremail@email.com">
Select your favorite cartoon characters.
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Goofy">Goofy
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Donald">Donald
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Bugs">Bugs Bunny
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Scoob">Scooby Doo
<input type="submit" value="Email Myself">
</form>
HTML Drop Down ListsSelect your favorite cartoon characters.
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Goofy">Goofy
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Donald">Donald
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Bugs">Bugs Bunny
<input type="checkbox" name="toon" value="Scoob">Scooby Doo
<input type="submit" value="Email Myself">
</form>
Drop down menues are created with the <select> and <option> tags. <select> is the list itself and each <option> is an available choice for the user.
<form method="post" action="mailto:youremail@email.com">
College Degree?
<select name="degree">
<option>Choose One</option>
<option>Some High School</option>
<option>High School Degree</option>
<option>Some College</option>
<option>Bachelor's Degree</option>
<option>Doctorate</option>
<input type="submit" value="Email Yourself">
</select>
</form>
HTML Selection FormsCollege Degree?
<select name="degree">
<option>Choose One</option>
<option>Some High School</option>
<option>High School Degree</option>
<option>Some College</option>
<option>Bachelor's Degree</option>
<option>Doctorate</option>
<input type="submit" value="Email Yourself">
</select>
</form>
Yet another type of form, a highlighted selection list. This form will post what the user highlights. Basically just another type of way to get input from the user. The size attribute selects how many options will be shown at once before needing to scroll, and the selected option tells the browser which choice to select by default.
<form method="post" action="mailto:youremail@email.com">
Musical Taste
<select multiple name="music" size="4">
<option value="emo" selected>Emo</option>
<option value="metal/rock" >Metal/Rock</option>
<option value="hiphop" >Hip Hop</option>
<option value="ska" >Ska</option>
<option value="jazz" >Jazz</option>
<option value="country" >Country</option>
<option value="classical" >Classical</option>
<option value="alternative" >Alternative</option>
<option value="oldies" >Oldies</option>
<option value="techno" >Techno</option>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="Email Yourself">
</form>
HTML Upload FormsMusical Taste
<select multiple name="music" size="4">
<option value="emo" selected>Emo</option>
<option value="metal/rock" >Metal/Rock</option>
<option value="hiphop" >Hip Hop</option>
<option value="ska" >Ska</option>
<option value="jazz" >Jazz</option>
<option value="country" >Country</option>
<option value="classical" >Classical</option>
<option value="alternative" >Alternative</option>
<option value="oldies" >Oldies</option>
<option value="techno" >Techno</option>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="Email Yourself">
</form>
First of all, to actually make the upload form function correctly you must know a scripting language of some sort. PHP and PERL work fine, Javascript is also an option. We have an entire upload example demonstrated here, PHP File Upload. The HTML code for the upload form does nothing more than create an interface for the user to see and work with.
An upload form consists of three basic parts. The first being a hidden field. This hidden field does nothing more than limit the allowed file size of our uploaded file. The second part is the input field itself. In this field, the user has the option to type in the full local URL of the file or he/she may click the browse button to thumb through directory after directory. HTML codes this automatically when we place the type="file" attribute within the input tag.
<input type="hidden" name="MAX_FILE_SIZE" value="100" />
<input name="file" type="file" />
<input name="file" type="file" />
HTML Text Areas
Text areas serve as an input field for viewers to place their own comments onto. Forums and the like use text areas to post what you type onto their site using scripts. For this form, the text area is used as a way to write comments to somebody.
Rows and columns need to be specified as attributes to the <textarea> tag. Rows are roughly 12pixels high, the same as in word programs and the value of the columns reflects how many characters wide the text area will be. i.e. The example below shows a text area 5 rows tall and 20 characters wide. Another attribute to be aware of is the wrap. Wrap has 3 values.
* wrap=
o "off"
o "virtual"
o "physical"
Virtual means that the viewer will see the words wrapping as they type their comments, but when the page is submitted to you, the web host, the document sent will not have wrapping words.
Physical means that the text will appear both to you, the web host, and the viewer including any page breaks and additional spaces that may be inputed. The words come as they are.
Off of course, turns off word wrapping within the text area. One ongoing line.
<form method="post" action="mailto:youremail@email.com">
<textarea rows="5" cols="20" wrap="physical" name="comments">
Enter Comments Here
</textarea><input type="submit" value="Email Yourself">
</form>
<textarea rows="5" cols="20" wrap="physical" name="comments">
Enter Comments Here
</textarea><input type="submit" value="Email Yourself">
</form>
Also note that any text placed between the opening and closing textarea tags will show up inside the text area when the browser views it.
