MS FrontPage

Gathering Data with Forms

As you know by now, FrontPage can really help you get your message out to the world. And if you're like most Web authors, you've probably filled your pages with content and formatted them nicely for the viewing pleasure of your visitors. But what if you want to let your audience reciprocate and tell you a thing or two?

Maybe you've wondered how to create user registration forms so you know who's visiting your site, or perhaps you'd like to create a discussion section where viewers can see messages posted by others and submit a response.

When you want to gather information from viewers, you'll need to create a Web form: an HTML page that includes interactive fields in which a visitor can type or make a selection. You've probably filled out thousands of forms yourself to do things like subscribe to the PTA newsletter or access your Web-based email account.

This tutorial introduces you to forms and the many ways FrontPage lets you manage them. You can create your own form manually or use a FrontPage form template (a ready-made form-creating tool). You'll learn how to collect the data you're receiving in a variety of formats from email to text files, or you can even pipe the info you're gathering into a database. And you'll also learn a few form-related tricks, like how to make sure that visitors fill in certain fields and how to let them know they've successfully filled out and submitted your form.