Change to Dreamweaver ;o)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Notabene [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Friday, July 20, 2001 1:51 PM
> To: Perl Beginners
> Subject: Repost Form data for user validation / change -- how?
>
>
> (I orginally posted this in CGI Beginners, but received no
> response. Perhaps
> it more rightly belongs here, in the Land of Perl gurus?)
>
> I would appreciate some help or pointers for the following
> CGI / Perl /
> MS-FrontPage 2000 form validation problem:
>
> I am writing an autoresponder which generates two e-mails:
> one to me, and a
> confirmation back to the sender. I have a form on an
> MS-FrontPage web page
> which collects initial user input. I want to send the input
> via CGI to a
> Perl script for validation. If the data are NG, cycle it back
> to the user
> who will be allowed to edit and resubmit it; if the data are
> OK, send it off
> for processing.
>
> The data are fairly simple: name, user's e-mail address,
> topic area, subject
> line, and message body.
>
> Being a newbie, I've stepped into this fairly carefully,
> teaching myself
> Perl and CGI step by step, gradually adding functionality to
> the script so
> that now the form sends the data to the Perl script, the
> script generates
> the required two e-mails, and the e-mails are sent off as
> intended. My test
> setup works well, and so far, I'm a happy camper.
>
> Now, I'm adding the validation portion of the process -- I've been a
> programmer for far too long to know that I never trust user
> input until
> checked. I've created an imperfect copy of my web page which
> I use to echo
> back to the user the original values if the data fails
> validation. I'll
> cycle this until I'm happy with what they've submitted before
> allowing their
> e-mail to proceed or give up on 'em and post a really rude
> message to their
> browser (suggestions in that area are appreciated, BTW <g>).
>
> I've discovered how to echo back to the user their entered
> 'name', 'e-mail
> address', 'topic area', and 'subject' data. What I have
> trouble with is the
> 'message body' data. I'm using a <TextArea> HTML tag in the
> form and it
> doesn't seem to be happy accepting variables as does the
> <Input> tag, of
> course. I can't do a value="$message_body", for example, within the
> <TextArea> tag. (Or, if I *can*, it doesn't seem to work for
> me...harumph!)
>
> So, my first question is: how do I display, or echo back, the
> user's e-mail
> message body so that they have the opportunity to edit it
> before sending it,
> in this context?
>
> Secondly, does anyone know of the 'proper' way to have a CGI
> / Perl lashup
> talk back to a FrontPage form to allow for Perl-based, extensive data
> validation (as opposed to the anemic 'validation' abilities
> that FrontPage
> forms have)?
>
> Thirdly, and slightly off-topic for this list, -- remember my
> "...imperfect
> copy of my web page" -- how do I include FrontPage's
> background themes and
> navigation features for my copy of the form page. I'd like
> the validation
> 'response' page to look just like the original calling page
> and to have the
> user return to a calling page on the site, if possible.
>
> And finally, am I actually headed in the right direction with
> all of this?
> Yup, I know, "TMTOWTDI" -- that's what makes it fun, of
> course, but I'm in
> the learning stage, so I need to know at least one or two
> decent ways to do
> it, first, before I try variations on a theme.
>
> I'm looking for methods, procedures, code samples, snippets,
> or whatever, to
> guide me through this process -- simple English-based
> explanations wouldn't
> hurt, either. <g>
>
> Thank you, all.
>
>
> John--
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
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