How to Create a Form on a Web Page With Dreamweaver

With Dreamweaver 3, you can quickly and easily add a simple form to your Web page, to allow users to offer feedback, place orders or register with your site. To use a form, you'll need a JavaScript or CGI script to process the information. You can find sample scripts online, and many ISPs also provide scripts.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Macromedia Dreamweaver

1. Start the Dreamweaver program and locate the page the form will be located on.
2. Open the Insert menu and choose Form. A single bounded box is added to the page.
3. Insert objects into the form by opening the Insert menu and selecting Form Objects. Choose a form object, such as a box to type text in or a button to click.
4. Open the Window menu and select Properties to adjust settings for each form object.
5. Click on a form object and make any necessary changes in the Properties box.
6. Click on the edge of the form box (the dashed boundary of the main form box). In the Properties box, locate the Action box. This is where you'll indicate what you want to happen to the information gathered by the form.
7. Type the name of the JavaScript or CGI script that will be used to process the form. If the script is located on your hard disk, click on the folder icon to locate the file.

Tips & Warnings

• The Dreamweaver 3.0 program ships with a sample form and form script in the Technologies folder.
• Ask if your Internet service provider (ISP) has any pre-written form scripts on the server that you can use. Many ISPs have "submit" and guest book form scripts available.
• See "How to Find Free CGI Web Forms on the Internet," in the Related eHows, for more on finding form scripts.
• Some older browsers do not recognize forms or cannot process form scripts. Be sure to have an e-mail address available so users may contact you "the old-fashioned way."