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How do I create my first form?

Written by Bob Janes

Install ChronoForms then go to Admin | Components | Chrono Forms | Forms Management

If you click New you will see a row of tabs that allow you to configure your own form from scratch. This can be tricky to start with so we suggest that you download the Read more...

Can I edit my form later?

Written by Administrator

Yes, by going to the same menu as above and click the Edit icon.

If you change field names, or add or delete fields, you will need to backup, regenerate and restore your data.  Please see Forms are not getting saved into the data table for further information.

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What is a 'form name'?

Written by Administrator

Your form name is a UNIQUE identifier for each form which must be set in the ChronoForms Form Manager.

NB when ChronoForms creates the form html it adds a 'ChronoContact_' prefix. You will need to use this long name if you want to reference the form name in your JavaScript.

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What is 'Form HTML'?

Written by Administrator

<input name="firstname" type="text">
This will be send as a result

<input type="text">
This wont be send as a result

<input name="firstname" type="text">
If you add this then only one 'firstname' value will be sent

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Can I use CSS classes in the HTML code?

Written by Administrator
Yes, you can, all css coding and references should work normally.

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Where do I put my CSS classes?

Written by Administrator

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Can I use PHP statements inside my HTML code?

Written by Administrator

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How do I display a 'Thank you' page?

Written by Bob Janes

There are two main ways to show a 'Thank you' page after a form is submitted.

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How do I send the email to several addresses?

Written by Administrator

By default the e-mail is sent to the address in the Email Address(es) field on the General tab. You can add more than one address to the field in a comma separated list e.g. user1@example.com, user2@example.com

If the name of an input field is entered in the Email field field lower down then the e-mail will also be sent to this address. This field can also contain an comma separated list of e-mail addresses (or the name of an array of addresses).

If both fields are used the e-mail will be sent to all the addresses, if either are blank, then the other will be used. 

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Can I change my email subject?

Written by Administrator

Yes, do this by changing the Email Subject field of the form in the ChronoForms Form Manager 'General' tab.

You can also use a form field to set the email Subject but putting the field name in the 'Subject field'. The value of this field will then be used as the email Subject.

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Can I run PHP code when the form is submitted?

Written by Administrator

Yes you can, you just need to put your code in the On Submit code field in the Form Code tab.

This feature was first added to allow users to add the form results to a database. We've since added this feature to ChronoForms but the On Submit code field is still useful to process form results.

There are two On Submit code fields, they both work in the same way but the first is executed before the email is sent and the second after the email is sent (but before data is saved to the database).

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Can I change the form action URL?

Written by Administrator

To change the form action URL put the new URL into the Submit URL field on the Form URLs tab.

You might want to do this if you want the form data to be sent to some other webservice (e.g. to PayPal, your payment processor, etc.) . . . 

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What will the results email look like?

Written by Administrator


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How do I customize my results email?

Written by Administrator


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My textarea has strange code in it

Written by GreyHead

Textarea are different to input fields and need both opening and closing tags <textarea name='field_name'></textarea>. You cannot use <textarea . . . />.

Anything between the two tags will be taken as a default value for the textarea e.g. <textarea . . .>Please enter some text here.</textarea> Note also that there is no 'value' attribute for a textarea. 

 

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How do I get a license?

Written by GreyHead

Thank you for thinking about a license, when you buy it you help keep ChronoForms going and allow us to add new features.

To buy your license please click here. The license is just $25 and allows you to use ChronoForms on up to five sites without showing the ChronoEngines link at the bottom of your forms.

If you are a developer and want to use ChronoForms on more than five sites please Contact Us.

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How can I support ChronoForms?

Written by GreyHead

Thanks for the offer! There are several ways you can support ChronoForms and we'll be grateful whatever you choose to do.

• Vote for ChronoForms at Joomla.org

• Write a review of ChronoForms at Joomla.org

• Buy a license

• Make suggestions for improvements in the 'Suggestions & Hacks' forum

• Help support new users in the forums (that leaves Max more time for coding).

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How do I upload files?

Written by GreyHead

File uploads are supported by later versions of ChronoForms, if you don't see a 'File Uploads' tab in the Forms Manager then please upgrade.

In the File Uploads tab:

• Set Enable uploads to Yes;
  
• Add the field names and allowable extensions in the format fieldname:ext1|ext2|ext3,fieldname2:exta|extb|extc . . . (note that '*=all' opens some security problems and has been disabled)
• Put values in both the Max and Min fields (do not leave blank)
  

In the General tab put enctype='multipart/form-data' in the Form Tag attachment field.

Make sure that your Form HTML has one or more 'file' inputs and that the name(s) are identical to the names you entered in the File Uploads tab.

Note: Your files will be uploaded to the {yoursite}components\com_chronocontact\upload folder which is created when ChronoForms is installed.

What is the 'mambot'?

Written by Bob Janes

Joomla mambots are small plugins that scan Joomla content pages before they are published and are used, for example, to add images.

The ChronoForms mambot can be used to add a form to a content page. Make sure the mambot is installed and published, create your form as usual, then insert {chronocontact}my_form_name{/chronocontact} in the content page where you want the form to appear.

How can I add a form to a content page?

Written by Bob Janes

The ChronoForms mambot can be used to add a form to a Joomla content page.

Download the ChronoForms mambot from the download page here, make sure it is installed and published on your site, create your form as usual, then insert {chronocontact}my_form_name{/chronocontact} in the content page where you want the form to appear.

Notes:

1. You can only use the ChronoForms mambot to add forms to Joomla content pages (those created from the Administrator content menu); it will not work with pages created by other components.
2. You cannot directly use the ChronoForms mambot to add forms to Joomla modules (the boxes that contain menus, newsflashes, etc.) but this may be possible using the Joomla Content Item Module extension.