Determine when your feedback form will expire

Sometimes form owners want to limit the form, so it will close on a certain date or after a certain number of submissions.
There are 3 attributes in the form builder which enable the form owner to control the feedback form ’s expiration:
1- Max Rows
2- close form on
3- Force single row per user

With each of these options the form owner can make the form expire under different conditions.

Max rows
Using this option the form owner may enter the maximum number of form submissions allowed to be entered in the form. After this number is entered the form will expire and will not be available for entering data.
This option is suitable for forms which require a pre defined number of submissions that should not be exceeded (like polls, for instance).



Steps to use max rows:
1- Enter the email form in the form builder
2- Go to the “form settings” on the right side
3- enter the maximum number of desired submissions in the "max rows" textbox
4- Press on “apply”
5- Press on “save”

Close form on
This option allows the form owner to determine a date on which the form will expire.
The date entered should fit the following format: mm/dd/yyyy
This option is suitable for forms which should only be active until a certain date (such as invitations to an event which should not be active once it is over).



Steps to use max rows/ close form on/ force single row per user:
1- Enter the email form in the form builder
2- Go to the “form settings” on the right side
3- fill in the form’s expiration date in the "close form on" textbox
4- Press on “apply”
5- Press on “save”

Force single row per user
Using this option the form owner can determine that each user may fill in the form only once. This is suitable for surveys and questionnaires, in which you do not want one person to fill in the form more than once.



Steps to use max rows/ close form on/ force single row per user:
1- Enter the email form in the form builder
2- Go to the “form settings” on the right side
3- turn on the "force single row per user" checkbox
4- Press on “apply”
5- Press on “save”

Export the feedback form's data

When you receive a new data entry email from your feedback form the data is also stored in a data management tool, allowing you to manage it: edit, delete, view, import and export data.
The export option is also available for expired forms allowing the form owner to use the data stored up to the form’s expiration data.

There are a few export options and they are:
Excel
XML
PDF Tabular (entries shown in a table)
PDF Continues (Each entry shown separately)
Report Tabular
Report Continues
CSV
Google Spreadsheet
Google Maps

Steps to export the data:
1- Get your data ready for export.
If you need to edit data-do it
if you need to export a slice of the data-filter it
etc.

2- fill In the “number of rows in page” (Press on the 'filter' icon in the 'data' section of the upper toolbar nad choose the number of rows in page from the listbox on the bttom - * will choose all entries). The reason for this is that the data entries shown on the first page of the report are the only ones that will be exported so you must first ensure that all the Data entries you want to export are displayed on this one page.
3- Press on the 'export' icon in the 'data' section of the upper toolbar and choose the wanted export option. press “ok” to export. An export window will pop up.

If for any reason the export pop up window doesn't open
If once trying to export your data (using one of our export options) the export pop up window does not open you will need to change your ie browser's security settings. The reason for this is that the explorer browser is set to identify and block a pop up window that tries to open a file.
steps to change this setting:

A- go to :
Internet options --->Security --->Custom level --->settings --->downloads
B - set automatic prompting for file download to enabled.
C - Save setting and close all dialog box

Protect your feedback form from spam

You created a feedback form? great. Sometimes web forms are showered
with entries (by an automatic/human entity) and your email and data management table can get filled with spam. In order to prevent this from happening you can use a feature called "spam protect".
The 'spam protect' feature prevents the spamming in this manner:
Once the form filler presses on the 'submit' button he/she will be asked to fill in characters in the captcha box. If the characters are not entered correctly the form will not be submitted. Since the charachters are presented as an image an automatic entity could not "read" them and fill in the form. Also, if someone wants to submit the form many times he will need to fill in the changing characters each time, which will discourage him from doing so.

Please note! In Safari/IE6/IE7 or in forms smaller than 220x220 pixels the spam protect prompt (in section 3) will appear in a regular pop up window.

Steps to activate the spam protect option:
1- enter your form in the form creator.
2- check the "Spam Protect" checkbox situated in the 'Settings'.

3- Save the form.

This is what the spam protect window looks like when a user tries to submit the form:

How to publish my feedback form

Once you finish creating your feedback form in the form builder you can start using it publically. embed it in your website, send others a link to it, etc. All you need to do in order to use it publicly is “publish” it.
publishing a form means externalizing it. Generating its code and using it in order for other to fill data in it.
There are 5 different publishing methods in the form builder. Choosing the right publish method depends on your needs – whether you want to embed the form to look like an integral part of your site or blog, or you want to use its url as is or as a link. Once you choose a method (by selecting the radio button value) a generated script will appear and you will only need to copy and paste it.

The 6 publishing methods are:
URL - this is the url of the form. This url can be placed in a link or sent to others so they can enter the form. O simply given as is to enter in the browser’s address bar.
IFRAME - this code is used to embed the form in blogs.
LINK - this code is used to add a link for others to enter the form through.
SCRIPT - this code is used to embed the form in a website.
MAIL – when you choose this option a your mailing system window will open, allowing you to send an email, containing a link to the form.
read more about the publish option.

Add a file upload element to your feedback form

A feedback form is a way to communicate with your users. Allowing them to attach a file could sometimes be very helpful.
The file upload element enables the form filler to attach a file to the data he enters in the feedback form.
It should be noted that in order for the file upload to work you will need to purchase a FormLogix subscription, which includes the file upload.
The option to upload files is not included in all FormLogix subscriptions since it is a special feature.

The file upload is limited to certain files and a certain size as follows:
File upload Size is limited to 1.5mb.
Following is a list of the allowed file types There are certain types of files which are not allowed to upload (due viruses and other worms):
gif, jpeg, png, jpg, tiff, pdf, xml, htm, html, txt, doc, xls, pff, rtf, zip, mp3, avi, wav, wma, rar, xlsx, docx, dwg, skp.

How do I add the 'file upload' element to my feedback form?
1- purchase a subscription, in the payment center, that includes the file upload in it (either a 'per form' subscription+file upload or a VIP subscription).
2- in the form builder: drag and drop a 'file upload' element on to the design area.

3- Save the form.

How to change styles in the Feedback Form

The form builder allows you to create a feedback form with a very flexible design.
This is due to the "drag & drop" feature with which you can place your elements wherever you like and the style attributes you can change.
Style may be changed in fonts, borders, backgrounds.

Fonts:
changing style in fonts is really easy, all you need to do is select the element and choose another style fron the upper menu. The font styles include:
font family
font size
font color
font background color
font bold/italic/underlined
find out how to change the style of the font

Borders:
changing the border in the form means that you can change the form's border, a label border, an input element's border or a container border.
it includes:
border width
border style
border color

Learn more about how to change the border style
Backgrounds:
Backgrounds may be changed in elements, labels, in containers and forms.
You may change the background color in 2 places:
1- through the upper menu – "element style" section. You need to press in the "Bg color" icon and choose a color from the listbox. If you select an element/label/container- it's background will change. If not than the form's background will change.
2- Through the "form settings"/"element settings on the right.
In the settings you can choose whatever color you wish by entering a specific color number or name (for example:" #000000" or "red").

if you wish to change the form's background you need to do it through the "form settings". if you wish to change the element/label/container's background you need to do it through the "element settings" – simply select the element/label/container and go to its settings on the right.

Redirect your feedback form to another URL in a new window

After your feedback form has been submitted a small window will appear in which you can add a message like "thank you for filling in the form"...
If you wish to have the form redirect to another URL once it is submitted then the "post submit url" is the feature for you.

The new URL always opens in the same page and dimensions as the original form (this means that the post submit takes up the same 'screen space' as the form itself).

This is fine in most cases, but in forms that are published as 'iframe' or 'script' this may sometimes pose a problem. The reason is that the 'iframe' and 'script' have a certain size, and if the post submit url content is larger than this size it will appear cut.

In order for the user to view the post submit url properly you will need to make sure it opens in a new blank page.

Steps to open the post submit URL in a new blank page:
(In this example the form will be redirected to a 'thank you' webpage you will create).
1- Create a new blank web page in your website from which you will refer to the new page. (Name this webpage, for example: gateway.html)
This page should remain blank apart from the following code which should be placed between the HTML 'Head' tags:


<script>

window.parent.location.href = 'http://www.yourdomain.com/thankyou.html';

</script>


For example: Gateway page


2- Go to 'Form Setting' in the form builder and fill the 'Post Submit URL' textbox with the url
of the gateway page - http://www.yourdomain.com/gateway.html

3- Create a thank you page on your website that will appear after the form is submitted (Name the page: thankyou.html)
The outcome of this may be summed up like this:
your form (directs to)-> gateway (directs to)-> thank you page


If you wish to redirect the form to a URL which is not of your making (for example: http://www.nbc.com) you must simply change the location URL in bullet 1 and skip bullet 3 altogether.

feedback form data management

When you create a feedback form using a form builder and collect data through it, the data is stored in a data management tool.
The data management tool allows you to view all the entries in your form, create charts, edit them, filter them, delete, export etc.
Following are all the things you can do in the management tool:

Data operations

1-Add new entry.
Sometimes you need to enter data privately (some people create forms for private use and fill them with data themselves).

2-Delete selected entries
once you select the entries in the result table (by turning on the checkbox in the left column) and press on "delete" these specific items will be removed from the result table.

3-Restore entries.
Entries that are deleted from the result table may be restored by pressing on the "restore entries" icon.

4-Export entries.
you can export several/all entries from the table to:
Excel, XML, PDF, REPORT, CSV, Google Spreadsheet, Google Maps.

5-Import Entries
Allows you to import data to the result table from an .XLS file.

6-Filter data
you can slice the data in the result table according to the existing fields. In addition you can determine how many entries will appear in 1 result page.

7-Cancel filter
you can cancel the filter terms and show all entries in the result table.

Report and Chart operations

8-Create new report
once you press on this icon you actually get the filter window, with which you can determine what data you want to appear prior to saving it as a report.

9-Edit Report
once you create a report you can edit its properties using this option.

10-Create new chart
you can create a new chart on the basis of the data in the result table (all data or sliced data). All you need to do is choose the field according to which the chart will be created, the formula (count, sum or average) and the chart style. There are many chart styles to choose from (bubble, pie, bar, area, line etc).

11-Edit chart
once you have a saved chart you can edit it by using this option.

12-Open report/chart
an option to view/work on a saved report/chart.

13-Save a report/chart
once you create a new report/chart you can save it for future use.
To save the report/chart you will be required to give it a name, a description and turn on the "share" and "create shortcut" checkboxes.

14-Properties
enables you to view and edit the report/chart properties (which were filled in the previous item – while saving)

15-Share
you can create a public report or public chart, enabling others to view the data, by using this option. In order to use this option report/chart must be saved and the "share" checkbox must be turned on in the "properties".

16-Print.
Enables you to print the data in the result table.

Tools Sub Menu (inside the result table)

17-info
view the entry in the form layout

18-Info mail
view entry in the email layout

19-Edit
enables to change the data entered in the entry.

20-Delete
enables to delete this specific entry

21-Remarks
allows you to attach a remark to this entry

22-Private forum
This option enables a form owner to reply to a specific entry and create a documented conversation with the specific user.

find out how to customize your data management result table

Read more about the data management work area

How to embed your feedback form in the website?

Creating a feedback form using a form builder is really easy, and once the form is done it is even simpler to embed it in your website.
Once your feedback form is finished and saved you will need to publish it. "Publish" is the operation which allows you to use the form publically. When use the publish option the form code will be generated for you (depending on how you would like to use the form) and you will be able to copy the code and paste it in your website.
What you need to do (in a nut shell) in order to embed your feedback form is:
1- press on the "publish" icon
2- choose the publish option which suits you most from the options on the left.
3- copy the code
4- paste it in your web page HTML code

Read more about how to embed a form

Keeping in touch with your users

A feedback form is created in order to communicate with users. In the last post i discussed one of the basic ways to respond to a user who addresses you (by an auto reply email).
In this post I would like to talk about the option to reply to a specific user. Once a user sends you a message you can of course copy his email address in to your mail application and send him a reply from there, But if this discussion grows long and emails are sent back and forth than it may be hard to track (especially if you have this type of discussion with several other users).
The form builder offers a great solution for this – a "Private Forum". This option allows you to send a user a response from within the data management result table. In addition, each response (from the user or yourself) will be stored in the discussion tree.

How do you use the "private forum"?
1- enter the data management result table.
2- go to the entry row you want to reply to and open the "tools" sub menu in this row.
3- the private forum window will open and you will be required to enter your message.
The discussion tree will appear on the left, showing all the communication between you and the user up till now.

Read a detailed post about how to use the private forum.

Add an auto reply to your feedback form

A feedback form is all about communicating with your users, receiving information from them. A very important part of this communication is your response. Sure, some users require a more in depth reply to their feedback, but all are entitled to an auto response , as if saying "we got your feedback and it is very appreciated…".
Adding an auto reply to your feedback form using a form builder is really easy.

All you need to do is:
1- Make sure you have an "email element" in your form to collect your user's address (how else will you be able to reply?)

2- Go to the element settings on the right and turn on the "send copy" checkbox and the "mandatory" checkbox.
That's it. This operation will send the basic email to the user, containing all the data he/she entered in the form (a carbon copy of the email you will receive).

If you wish to add a short text at the top of this email you can do so by using the "email user message" option in the "form settings".
If you wish to change the auto response layout all together you can use the "custom user email" option.
Read more about auto response.

Renewal of SSL certificate

we have just renewed our SSL certificate for the next 2 years, issued by COMODO High -Assurance Secure Server CA.

Web form essentials

There are a few important things to remember when creating any type of web form using a form builder:

1- form name
When you create a new form it is not mandatory to change the default name but it is highly recommended since it helps to distinguish between the forms in the future. In addition the form name appears in the emails sent to you and your users in the subject field.

2- form width and height
If you intend on embedding the form in your website/blog then this feature will be really important in order to make the form fit perfectly.

3- element caption
The element caption is basically the element name. The caption appears in many places (emails, data management result table, filter listboxes, etc) so if you do not provide it with a unique name you will not be able to tell it apart from the other elements.
when you drag a new element to the design area it already has a default name, however this name is general and will not help you identify the element in future use.

4- element tab index
The tab index is an attribute that each element has, which defines the order or fields. This order will be applied when the user tabs through the form, it will also be applied in the emails sent to you/users and in the data management result table.