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Please Explain the Various Form Types, Plus No Validation!

Thread began 9/10/2010 9:32 pm by Jim376112 | Last modified 9/30/2010 3:38 pm by Jason Byrnes | 2270 views | 13 replies |

Jim376112

Please Explain the Various Form Types, Plus No Validation!

Hello,

I am just starting use of CSS Form Builder and am having problems understanding the Types of fields that may be placed on a form. Is there documentation for the various field Types? If not, can you explain the following:

Checkbox Group:
- I added this to a form but nothing appears other than the label. Plus, what are the min & max fields for?
CVV:
- I added this to a form but I don't get any validation on the contents upon Submit.
List:
- How is the list content defined?
Menu:
- How is the menu content defined?
Password:
- I thought I understood how to set this up but I get no validation upon Submit.
Radio Group:
- I added this to a form but nothing appears other than the label. Plus, what are the Invalid & Empty fields for?
Text Area:
- I added this to a form but I get no validation.
Hidden:
- I didn't try this Type - when is this used and what is the RegEx field used for?

Thanks!

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anonymous

Hi Jim,

I may be able to help you with some of this until the WebAssist team returns after the weekend.

First, starting with the validations. Are you positive you have uploaded all of the additional folders to your site? Not only the CSS Form Builder folder, but also the SpryAssets and WA_ValidationToolkit folders all need to be uploaded to your server.

Regards,

Brian

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Jim376112

Hi Brian,

It looks like I had just shut down for the night when you responded - thanks very much for responding!

WRT validation problems, I pushed the whole site over to the testing server and the page validation still failed, but while designing the form I had a "script has stopped running on this page" error while *running the Builder Wizard* which was strange. So, I started over and built another test page and now *most* of the validation is working. The "Answer" validation is consistently failing - I put a string of random characters in the field and this is never flagged as an error.

If you know why this is happening that would be great but I am also in need of help in understanding the various control types. In addition to the questions I originally posted, here are two more:

- Checkbox - What does Validation Required mean? What does Validation mean since a checkbox is either checked or not and both are legitimate states?

- Password - If I check Validation Confirm Prior Password then 1) I can't define the other parameters (# total chars, # digits, ...) and 2) when I "Apply" I get the error that is in the attached image.

Can you help me with these questions about the from control "Types" (any documentation somewhere?) and/or the "Question" validation failure?

Thanks again for offering to help over the weekend.

Jim

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Jason ByrnesWebAssist

For the javascript errors you are getting, try deleting the Dreamweaver cache file from the users configuration folder:
common_installation_issues.pdf

For the different form element types, these are the basic form elements types available through Dreamweaver:

1) Checkbox Group:
A group of checkboxes all with the same name.

Validation available: Enforce range. this means that you would like to force the values of the checkboxes to be between a certain range, the min max boxes allow you to define that range.

2) CVV = Credfit Card Verification. This is used on a checkout page where you want to validate the Credit Card Verification code.

3) List: List items are added after the form is created. In design view, click the list, then in the properties inspector, click the list values button to begon defining the list contents.

4) Menu: same as list

5) A confirmed password will only check that the value is equal to the original password. The number of digits and characters will only be checked on the original password. for the confirm prior password validation to work, you must also have another password field on the page.

6) Checkbox Validation Required. This is used if you want to make sure that the checkbox is checked. take for example if you wanted to ensure the user has read your site usage terms.

7: Hidden form element can be used in a number of situations, to pass a value from a database or other information the user should be able to see or modify.

It can also be used to create form security through the regular expression In the contact form design, a hidden element is added and uses regular expression to make sure that it is empty, this is used to prevent robots to fill in the form and send spam.


To troubleshoot why the security question is not working, please send a copy of your page.

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Jim376112

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the info - that answered several questions but I've made another pass and have some follow ons:

- In the Editor, I'm confused about the Line "construct". In my test I select a Contact (Simple) form (Cool) and add a 2nd Text Field to Line 1, Set 1. As I understand, all Fields in a Set share the same Validation. Then, I add a 2nd Set *under Line 1* and select Text for the default Field that is added. All three of these Fields are set X-Small and they are *all under Line 1*. There is plenty of space to put all three on the same line but the Preview (and Form itself) show the Field of the 2nd Set *underneath* the two fields of the 1st Set. That is, it's on a 2nd Line. Since there is room, why is this not on the 1st Line? (See attached image.)

Also, I have a few more specific questions about the Fields. All of the following are for a Contact (Simple) form (Cool) form:

- Checkbox Group & Checkbox - In a new Set I 1st added a Field as a Checkbox Group with Validation of 2 to 3. Then I added four more Fields, all of which were Checkboxes with Validation. I had several problems:
* All four Checkbox labels were grouped together off to the left along with the Groupbox label. How do I get each Label next/above each Checkbox?
* I had no validation at all. The other Simple Contact fields (Name, email, ...) had successful Validation but with all four Checkboxes unchecked, I had no error message. Did I not construct this group correctly?
* Also, on a single Checkbox, what does Validation do since, again either state of checked or not is valid?

- CVV - This does validate for a maximum of four characters but it allows "aaaa" rather than forcing digits (which is what a CVV must be).

- Menu & List - Both have Validation with "Not Blank" and "Invalid value". What are these selections for? In the case of "Not Blank", I don't see how the Field could not have a Value and since any value selected comes from the list, how can there be an Invalid value?

- Radio Group - I had the same problem with labels here as I described with the Checkbox above but even more importantly, I don't see how to create the individual Radio Buttons (vs. Checkboxes).

Finally, I am a bit confused about Fieldsets, Groups and Elements. As an example, I'd like to use the Contact (Simple) form but I'd like a (Country) Menu Field after Email and before Comment. I see that I can select Group 1 and Add a new Group 2, select Lists and pick a Category of Country. But, that puts the Country Menu after Comment. On the other hand, I can Edit Group 1 and add a new Element in between Email and Comment and set its Type to Menu but there is no way to set a Category of Country so I get an empty list. Am I missing something; do I have the wrong approach?

Thank you.

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Jason ByrnesWebAssist

The line concept in form builder can be a bit difficult.

I guess, think in terms of tables and nested tables.

each line is a table row.

the sets are a nested table inside the line table, each set is a new table row.

for all three to be on the same physical line, they must be in the same set.

Sets do not share the same validation, they share the same validation *error message*


For the checkbox group, if you set the size to One Column, they should each be on a separate line, and the labels should line up correctly. Since CSS form builder uses CSS for positioning the elements, it is possible that you have CSS on you page that is conflicting.

If you are having a different experience with the positioning of elements, I really need to see the issue in the browser to troubleshoot it.


When using a menu or list, the Required validation is used if you have a blank value at the top:
Make a selection

and what to ensure a selection is made.

The Invalid Value option allows you to offer a selection in the list, but refuse the form to submit if that option is selected.

The option to have a single radio button is left out because you should use a checkbox instead in that scenario, A single radio button makes no sense.

A radio button is really intended to be tied into a group.

The job of a radio button is to offer multiple options, but only allow one to be checked.

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Jim376112

Thanks for the response Jason but some of my questions were missed. All of the following are from a brand new .php page | Insert CSS Form | Select <New from Blank>and <Cool> | Edit (form type) | Add Fieldset | select Group | Edit (with Category = Login & Email and password):

- Checkbox Group and Checkboxes, as you can see in the attached image, I added a Checkbox Group with Single Column selected as you specified and than a Validation of "2 to 3". Then I added three Checkboxes, all with Validation checked and Standard for Size (which is the only available choice). The attached image shows that the checkbox labels are still all together on the left side. I've attached the Test.php code that the Wizard generated.

In addition, I do not understand "Validation". I guessed that the Checkbox Validation meant that (in my case) at least 2 but no more than 3 checkboxes must be checked. But after unchecking all checkboxes in the form when it came up and Submitting, I get no error message so I suppose my interpretation of what this does is wrong. What is the Validation for a Checkbox Group and what does "Validation" (with no additional settings available) for a Checkbox mean? In particular, any one Checkbox can either be checked or not checked and either state is a "valid" state so what does "Validation" mean when associated with a particular Checkbox as the editor offers?

- CVV - This does validate for a maximum of four characters but it allows "aaaa" rather than forcing all digits (which is what a CVV must be).

- Radio Group - My use of the word "individual" in my prior questions was misleading (I realize that a single Radio button is meaningless). I was asking how, in the editor, I specify that I want Radio buttons as opposed to Checkboxes. In the Editor's "Field Type" dropdown list we have Checkbox Group and Checkbox as two choices. However, we only have Radio Group - there is no Radio button selection. I understand the purpose of Radio buttons, but I see no way to specify that I want some.

- Finally, I am a bit confused about Fieldsets, Groups and Elements. As an example, I'd like to use the Contact (Simple) form but I'd like a (Country) Menu Field after Email and before Comment. I see that I can select Group 1 and Add a new Group 2, select Lists and pick a Category of Country. But, that puts the Country Menu after Comment. On the other hand, I can Edit Group 1 and add a new Element in between Email and Comment and set its Type to Menu but there is no way to set a Category of Country so I get an empty list. Am I missing something; do I have the wrong approach?

Thank you.

Attached Files
Test.php.txt
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Jason ByrnesWebAssist

when asking so many questions at once, it is easy for some to fall through the cracks. It is a good practice to number your questions to help us ensure we don't miss any.

1) After selecting the one column option, did you click the apply button for the preview to be regenerated?

as for the question on minimum and maximum. This is enforcing the value of the checked checkboxes.

lets say you have for checkboxes:
check one: value=1
check two: value=2
check three: value=3
check four: value=4


setting the minimum to 2 and the maximum to four will cause validation to fail of 1 is selected, but pass if two or four is selected.

2) some foreign credit cards use cvv values that can contain letters.

3) the radio button option is not present because there is no good scenario for adding one radio button. If you only need one, you should be using a checkbox. A radio button should not be used outside of a group.

4) I think what you are missing when adding a new group, is that the have preset element definitions. what you are trying to accomplish is to customize the contact:comments group types.

For this you will need to select the group, click edit, add a new line after the email line. Select the added field, set it to select list, then click the edit button to populate the list with values.

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Jim376112

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the prompt reply and that's a good suggestion about numbering! I'll do that in the future.

1) CHECKBOXES - Well my instinct was that there was something fundamentally missing in my understanding of Checkboxes and Radio buttons and I finally discovered my problem. I did not realize that multiple checkboxes were defined using the Checkbox Group! I thought that the process was to Add a Checkbox Group and then add multiple additional fields of Type Checkbox. What I discovered is that after selecting a Type of Checkbox Group I should then push the Edit button and add the multiple Checkboxes through that interface! (In my defense, as a hard core Windows API programmer, in Windows I add a Group control and then I add multiple Checkbox controls - In the Win API the Group control only provides a "box" to visually group the other controls "together"; it adds no other functionality.) In any case, now that I am defining the controls correctly, that fixed my "all labels are clustered together to the left" problem. This misunderstanding also answered the question I kept asking about how to get Radio buttons onto the form that you kept interpreting as a desire to just place a single Radio button (which is meaningless!). However, I am still having a problem with Checkbox Validation. In my example of four (now correctly defined) Checkboxes with values of 1, 2, 3 and 4 and a Validation of Min=2 and Max=4, the Validation doesn't work per my understanding of your response. It seems that the form passes Validation as long as a) two boxes are checked and b) at least one of the checked boxes is in the range of 2 through 4 inclusive. However, your response said "but pass if two or four is selected". You don't mention 3 at all. I'm confused by what you mean by these digits. Do these digits refer to a) the number of checkboxes checked or b) the checkboxes with that value? That is, does "but pass if two or four is selected" mean that either a) two or four checkboxes are selected or b) the checkboxes with values of 2 or 4 are selected? (Does the use of the terms "min" & "max" not mean the usual "and all values in between"? )

2) Thanks - I did not know that there were CVV values that use letters.

3) RADIO BUTTONS - As described above I now understand how to get Radio buttons onto the form. Please explain the meaning of a) Required b) Empty Value = c) Required Value =.

4) Lastly, here's what I'm trying to understand. If I add a new Fieldset, the Group that comes with it can be set to a Category of List with Type = Country and the Field that is auto created in the default Set in that Group is generated as a list with "a hundred" countries. But, if I'm working with a Field in some other Set I can again set it to List but there's no way to get the List loaded with "a hundred" countries. I see I can push Edit and manually load the list but that's not real feasible with a long list like Countries. Is there some way to get such a List loaded for a Field I've added into an existing set of Fields. For example, if I have an existing Form, how can I add a Country List to it?

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Jason ByrnesWebAssist

1) My apologies, I misspoke, it minimum and maximum selections does not work on the values being passed, rather the minimum or maximum number of boxes that are checked.

with the minimum and maximum values set to 2 and 4, this will mean the user must check at least 2 boxes, but not more than 4 for the form to submit.

3) a. Required = A radio button must be selected

b. Empty Value = A radio button value that you do not want to pass validation

c. Required value = A value that must be selected to pass validation

4) The Country list type is associated with the Lists Group. the pre-populated list can only be added as a grouup.

You will need to manually populate the list values if you add the list when editing a group.

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