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Web Form Handler

The Mail Form Handler is a CGI script designed to email information entered via web-based forms hosted on SJSU web sites. It is based on the script written by Tim Stevenson.

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Using the Form Handler

Basic

  • Add the following line to the source cod of  your web page:

    <form method="post" action="http://www.sjsu.edu/cgi-bin/mail_form.pl">

  • The following fields are required and must be used inside your form
    • TO 
      contains the destination email address
    • SUBJECT 
      contains the subject of the email
    • FROM 
      contains the sender email address
    • COMMENTS 
      contains the sender's comments
    • LNAME 
      contains the sender's last name
    • FNAME 
      contains the sender's first name

Advanced

Customization using HTML form fields

  • Table Border: Default is YES. This can be changed as follows:

    <input type="hidden" name="TBORDER" value="NO" />

  • Response Page Title: Default is "Mail Form Handler Response:" This can be changed to any meaningful title:

    <input type="hidden" name="Response Page Title" value="Visitor Response Confirmation" />

  • Greeting: Default is "Thank You". This can be changes to any meaningful greeting

    <input type="hidden" name="Greeting" value="Appreciate your feedback." />

Customization using HTML pages

  • CSTART: Display additional information before the message sent

    <input type="hidden" name="CSTART" value="greeting.html">

  • CEND: Display additional information at the end of the message sent

    <input type="hidden" name="CEND" value="thanks.html">

  • CCONFIRM: Override current confirmation screen

    <input type="hidden" name="CCONFIRM" value="myconfirmation.html">

Specify a required field

  • You can specify a required field by appending a "*" at the end of the field name

    <input type="text" name="Message*" size="30">

Securing destination email address

  • STO: A secure way to hide the destination email address. Contact the Web Services Unit to request a secure hash for your email address.

    <input type="hidden" name="STO" value="WSUM">

Using HTML Mime type in email

  • You can specify the email to use HTML MIME type using EMAIL_TYPE. Here custom HTML pages CSTART and CEND are emailed in HTML format. 

    <input type="hidden" name="EMAIL_TYPE" value="html">

    Note: Some browsers may not handle MIME type HTML.