|
GENERAL
What are the System Requirements for NetObjects Fusion MX for Windows?
- 133-MHz or faster Pentium-based PC
- Microsoft Windows 95/98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000
- Before installation: 50 MB of available hard disk space for compact installation, 100 MB for full installation; after installation: 60 MB of available hard disk space as virtual memory
- 32 MB of RAM
- 32-bit ODBC drivers for external database connectivity
- TCP/IP compliance for Internet connectivity
- Display capable of 800 x 600 pixels at 256 colors or more
- CD-ROM drive
- Mouse or compatible pointing device
- A Web browser: Internet Explorer 5.0 or better installed on the machine (available at www.microsoft.com/downloads)
- Verdana TrueType font (available with IE 5.0 or for free download at www.microsoft.com/typography/fontpack/)
NOTE: If you are using a 16-bit browser to test your site locally, you may not be able to see pages or content that is output using some of the long HTML file names often generated by NetObjects Fusion. However, these sites will appear correctly to your site visitors who use 16-bit browsers to view your site after you have published it to a remote location. Also, if you are using the Fixed Page Layout publishing option or are using Actions (DHTML), you must view your pages in a browser that supports HTML 4.0.
NetObjects Technical Support recommends these system requirements for NetObjects Fusion MX:
- 200-MHz or faster Pentium–based PC Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0
- Before installation: 50 MB of available hard disk space for compact installation, 100 MB for full installation
- After installation: 120 MB of available hard disk space as virtual memory
- 128 MB of RAM
- 32-bit ODBC drivers for external database connectivity
- TCP/IP compliance for Internet connectivity
- Display capable of 800 x 600 pixels at 256 colors or more
- CD-ROM drive
- Mouse or compatible pointing device
- A Web browser: Internet Explorer 5.0 or better installed on the machine (available at www.microsoft.com/downloads)
- Verdana TrueType font (available with IE 5.0 or for free download at www.microsoft.com/typography/fontpack/)
Do I need any special server extensions to work with NetObjects Fusion?
NetObjects Fusion requires no special server-side software to publish your site. NetObjects Fusion only uploads HTML text files and any other assets that are assigned to your site. However, some components do require that compatible software be installed on the server to which you are publishing if these components utilize other programs in order to perform certain functions.
Make sure to check the documentation for the component or contact the component vendor for any server requirements.
How can I get a printed copy of the User Guide for version MX?
To order a printed version of the User Guide for NetObjects Fusion MX, please visit our Online Store.
ACTIONS
What are actions?
Actions are the way you add DHTML and interactivity to your site. Actions consist of a trigger event, a message and a target. The trigger event is what happens or what you do in order to begin your action or chain of actions. The message is the action instructions themselves—what is going to happen when the trigger event occurs. The target is the object to which the message is sent. Sometimes the trigger event is placed on the target, but it can be anything from a mouse click or a page load, to another action completing elsewhere on the page.
All actions are created through the use of the CSS and Layers specifications in HTML 4.0 and JavaScript or Jscript. You can also create your own actions in other scripting languages if you desire. For an overview of Actions and how to apply them, see chapter 21 of the User Guide, Building Dynamic Pages.
For a list of all the Actions available in the actions menus, see our Actions Reference Guide. NOTE: This Reference Guide was originally written for NetObjects Fusion 3.0. However, the content is still valid for NetObjects Fusion MX.
Another good source of help is our Actions Newsgroup.
For tips and tricks on actions, visit the Workbench site.
Is there a list of what all the actions do?
We have compiled a list of all the actions available in the actions menus, when they can be triggered and what they do in our Actions Reference Guide.
Why don’t my actions work in Netscape 6.0?
Netscape 6.0 has discontinued support for the Layer and ILayer HTML tags to comply with W3C standards (see Netscape for details). In order for the Action set in NetObjects Fusion to work properly in the past, it required that the Action set use the Layer and ILayer HTML tags.
Why don’t my actions work in Netscape 4.05?
The 4.05 release of Netscape contains a known bug, which prevents many JavaScripts from executing locally on your machine. This means that many Actions, which use a combination of HTML 4.0 and JavaScript, will not work when the site is previewed or published locally. If the site is published to a Web server, most Actions should function normally.
Why do my actions keep repeating forever in a loop?
This is usually due to a logical error in the way the actions have been set up. Actions cannot distinguish the order in which they appear in the Actions list for an object. Actions are triggered instead by specific messages. For example, if you have more than one fly-in action and one is set to fly-in when a fly-in action is completed, the second action repeats again and again. In order to solve this type of problem, you must make sure that each action is unique in some way; either it is the only action of its kind in the page, or it sends a custom message, which another action can use as a trigger. For more information on how to set up custom messages, see chapter 21 of the User Guide, Building Dynamic Pages. Another good source of help is our Actions Newsgroup.
ASSETS
What are assets and how do they work?
Assets consist of files, links, data objects and variables that are used within your site. NetObjects Fusion tracks all these assets in the Assets view. An asset is added to your Assets view at the time that the asset is placed in a page. You can also add an asset directly to your assets list by choosing the New button in Assets view. Only assets that are listed in the Assets view, can be published to your site. Assets that are not in use, are not published.
Assets can be globally changed in the Assets view. Double-click an asset in the list to see the dialog box, where all the properties of an asset are displayed. You can set an asset that is not in use to Always Publish. By checking this property, the asset appears in Publish view and is copied or uploaded when the site is published. Assets are only saved to an /Assets directory for a site file when the site is exported as a template.
Why don’t file assets move with my file?
When a file asset is added, NetObjects Fusion stores the path to the asset, rather than the asset itself. When a site file is copied to a new machine, the assets are left in their original locations. To make sure that all the assets come with a site when it is transferred to a new location, you must export your site as a template. For more information on templates see chapter 4 of the User Guide, Working with Templates.
How can I collect all my assets into one place?
To have NetObjects Fusion collect all your file assets into one directory, you must export your site as a template. When the site is exported, all assets are copied to the /Assets directory of the template folder. All the assets for the site are now gathered in the same location. For more information on templates see chapter 4 of the User Guide, Working with Templates.
How can I delete assets?
You can delete any asset by choosing the Delete Asset option in the Edit menu. The only exception to this is link assets. Link assets are deleted when the last instance of a link is deleted, either by deleting the page the last link is on, deleting the object that last link is associated with, or choosing the Unlink option from the link dialog. Unlinking is the preferable way to remove links. File assets always remain in the list of available assets, regardless of whether or not they are currently being used. You can delete all unused assets by choosing Delete All Unused File Assets from the Assets menu. You can also delete assets that are shown as in use, although warning dialogs inform you that this can leave your pages in an inconsistent state.
Why is my asset list different from my publish list?
There are two reasons why the assets list is different than the publish list. First, the publish list does not show assets that are not in use. Since only in-use assets are published, those that are not in use do not show up in the Publish view.
Second, the assets list does not show any image that is used by a style. Since these images are managed in the style area, they are not managed in the assets list. However, since they are published to your site, they do appear in the publish list.
BROWSER COMPATIBILITY
What browsers does NetObjects Fusion support?
NetObjects Fusion supports browsers that support HTML 3.2 and up. For the major browsers, this includes Netscape Navigator 2.0x, 3.0x, and 4.0x and Internet Explorer 3.0x and up. The browser must be able to support nested tables. To view HTML created with the CSS and Layers option, the browser must support HTML 4.0 and JavaScript or Jscript.
What browsers doesn’t NetObjects Fusion support?
NetObjects Fusion doesn’t support Netscape 6.0. This is due to the fact that Netscape 6.0 doesn’t support the Layer and ILayer HTML tags as per W3C standards.
Currently, NetObjects Fusion can’t determine which browser is viewing your Web site. You need to use the Screen Door component on your Web site and treat Netscape 6.0 as Netscape 3.0 browser because it doesn’t support Actions and JavaScript.
What do I do when one browser displays my page differently than another?
Different browsers handle the interpretation of HTML slightly differently. Most problems revolve around variations in table rendering, font display, browser generated elements, or special tag support.
NetObjects Fusion MX has added CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which allow formats to flow from one design level to another, for example, from a SiteStyle to a site to a page. Different browsers will display the CSS differently. For further information on how to set up the CSS in your site for the best effects between Netscape and Internet Explorer, please look at solution objects S1984 and S2040 in the online Knowledgebase.
For misplaced or misaligned objects, the easiest way to start determining where the problem lies is to check the way the browser is interpreting the table structure. You can do this by holding down the shift key while doing a full site or single-page preview. This command tells NetObjects Fusion to generate all the Layout tables with a border equal to one. When the pages are viewed in the browser, you can see how the tables are distributed. Compare the same page between the browsers. Check to see where the tables are different. Very often, the cause is a change in font size, or a browser-generated element such as a form field, which is displayed differently.
Added HTML scripts can also cause the table structure to behave in a different fashion. Usually these are very easy to fix by simply adjusting the amount of space, depending on the design of the page. Depending on what is causing the problem, a more complex solution may be required.
For assistance, in optimizing your layout for changing browser conditions, see chapter 7 in the User Guide, Controlling Published Output.
See also in this FAQ:
- “How can I make all my form elements line up?”
- “Why aren't my form elements appearing in the browser when I preview or publish?”
- “What do I do if my page is not WYSIWYG in the browser to what I see in Page view?”
- “Why doesn't the component I placed show up in Preview?”
Why do my fonts look different in different browsers?
Each browser and each computer platform display fonts slightly differently. Netscape Navigator uses a more common point-based font display. Microsoft Internet Explorer uses a relative sizing method where fonts are Medium, Small, or Large. Internet Explorer fonts tend to have a slightly larger leading (the distance between lines of text) and kerning (the distance between characters) than the fonts in Navigator.
CSS in NetObjects Fusion, by default, uses the relative sizing method. When your site is published and viewed in Netscape, the fonts on the page will look two fonts sizes smaller than in IE. To correct this behavior, please look at solution object S2040 in the Online Knowledgebase.
Fonts are also different on different platforms. Fonts on the Macintosh platform display an apparent three point sizes smaller than the equivalent font on the Windows platform. In other words, 12 pt. Times Roman displayed on a Macintosh takes up approximately the same amount of screen real estate as 9 pt. Times Roman displayed on the Windows platform. To account for the differences in font size, you should view your pages on different machines to see how the changing font sizes affect your layout. To simulate different machines, alter the size of the display font in your browser settings. This will also give you an idea of how a custom font setting on a viewer’s machine may affect the overall design.
For assistance in optimizing your layout for changing browser conditions, see chapter 7 in the User Guide, Controlling Published Output.
How can I get my content to be flush against the top and left edges of the browser window?
All browsers, when displaying information in tables, leave a gap at the top and left edges of the browser window. Although the background image still begins at the upper left corner, the page content does not display until a little bit further down and to the right. Different browsers leave a different amount of space.
NetObjects Fusion includes HTML tags to account for these gaps. To set the values for the margins at the top and left of the browser window, choose the Site Settings option from the Tools menu and select the HTML Options button and the General tab. At the bottom of the HTML Options is the Background Image setting. The pixel settings adjust the position of the background image in NetObjects Fusion to reflect the final position of the content in relation to the image when the page is generated
NOTE: The HTML tags that NetObjects Fusion 4.0x includes are recognized by all 4.0 browsers and IE 3.0, but not Netscape 3.0x or earlier. Netscape 3.0x automatically offsets the content of a page 10 pixels in from the left and 16 pixels down from the top on the Windows platform, 8 pixels left and 8 pixels top on the Macintosh platform.
If you place objects, particularly images, such that they are exactly flush against the upper and left edges in the NetObjects Fusion page area, this can cause the browser to display other elements on the page shifted slightly down in their table cells. This is primarily noticeable when you have several images that are designed to be flush with each other. To make everything appear correctly, select all elements on the page using Ctrl+A (either in the Layout or MasterBorder area, depending on which region contains the objects) and using the arrow keys, nudge all the selected objects down one pixel and to the right one pixel. The page should now preview and publish correctly.
If you are using frames, see the FAQ “How can I make images line up across two frames so that the images appear to touch?”
COMPONENTS
What components are available with NetObjects Fusion MX?
NetObjects Fusion MX installs 11 components with the Standard Installation. These components are:
Ad Banner, Go Menu, Screen Door, DynaButtons, Ticker Tape, Site Mapper, Picture Rollover, Time Based Picture, Picture Loader, Rotating Picture, and Form Handler.
What components are available from other third-party developers?
There are many components available for download from various third-party developers.
There is a resource available on the Web site for links to Third-Party Developers.
NetObjects Fusion MX also provides a Service view offering a number of components from MyComputer that can provide more functionality to your site.
How can I do a shopping cart?
An easy way to implement a shopping cart in NetObjects Fusion MX is by using one of the third-party e-commerce components provided here.
Most shopping carts require a Buy button. The best way to set this up is using the Form Handler button and hidden fields to send the product ID number and the price to the shopping cart. You will need to look at chapter 23 in the User Guide, Designing and Implementing Forms.
How can I learn more about developing components?
NetObjects has a developer’s kit for components called the Component Developer’s Kit (CDK). This kit outlines the API and guidelines for developing components for use with NetObjects Fusion. For information on the CDK and other developer resources, visit the Developer Information section of our Web site. You can also ask questions regarding developing components in the components Developer Newsgroup.
Why doesn’t the component I placed show up in Preview?
All components are designed to work only when staged or published. The reason for this is because of Java security issues in the latest browsers. These security issues prevent browsers from executing Java applets as local files within the operating system. You must publish your site to view your components.
What should I check if the Form Handler component isn’t working?
If the Form Handler component isn’t working, first check to make sure that all the parameters have been specified in the component properties, and that these parameters are correct for the server to which you are publishing. The Form Handler component offers several options to allow you to configure the settings to match the requirements for a variety of servers. If you aren’t sure of your server’s requirements, contact your ISP or server administrator to find out.
The Form Handler component requires that the permissions for the CGI directory are set to execute, and that the directory into which the data is to be written is set for read and write. For the location on the server where the Webdata directory is to be written, you must also have permission to create a directory.
For information on how to configure the Form Handler component, see chapter 23 in the User Guide, Designing and Implementing Forms.
For more troubleshooting information see the FAQ, “What should I check if my form isn’t working?” Or visit the Workbench site.
Can the Form Handler send email?
The Form Handler component may be configured to send email. For more information see chapter 23 in the User Guide, Designing and Implementing Forms.
NOTE: When you configure the Form Handler component for email, it no longer uses a CGI script. This means that special features such as the Success and Error pages, as well as Required Fields cannot be used. Additionally, the form may not be able to correctly submit information when viewed with most versions of Internet Explorer, as well as AOL. See also “How can I make a form in NetObjects Fusion?” For more information on how to set up a form to send email, visit the Workbench site.
CROSS PLATFORM
How can I transfer files between the Windows and Macintosh platforms?
To transfer files between the Windows and Macintosh platform, files must be saved as a template, then opened as new sites or inserted into existing sites on the opposite platform. Windows MX files cannot be read by NetObjects Fusion 3.0 or 2.0x for Macintosh. To implement round-trip transfer of templates between any two machines, templates must be created in the same version of NetObjects Fusion.
Why do pages look different on the Macintosh platform?
The primary reason that pages or layouts created on the Windows platform no longer look the same when viewed or moved to the Macintosh platform is because of the difference in display font sizes. The Macintosh platform displays equivalent Windows fonts about 3 point sizes smaller. In other words, the amount of screen real-estate that 12 pt. Times Roman uses on a Macintosh, screen is about equivalent to the amount of screen real-estate that 9 pt. Times Roman uses on a Windows machine. When pages or files created on a Windows machine are viewed on a Macintosh, the text appears to “shrink,” leaving gaps between objects on the page.
To help correct this, NetObjects Fusion MX has a variety of methods to help account for font size changes. These can be used to help your design “travel” well from one platform to the other. For more information on optimizing your layout, see chapter 7 in the User Guide, Controlling Published Output.
DATA PUBLISHING
What kind of data publishing is available in NetObjects Fusion MX?
NetObjects Fusion MX provides the built-in capabilities to do two kinds of data publishing: Internal and External.
Internal data publishing means that all fields, field information, and record information is created internally within the NetObjects site file.
External data publishing means that the fields, field information, and record information are read from an external source into the NetObjects Fusion site file. External data can be in a source such as an Excel spreadsheet, Access database, or any SQL data source. Connectivity to an external data source is between the NetObjects Fusion site file and the data source at the time of development. Once the site is published, there is no connection between the final Web pages and the original data source.
Data publishing is implemented through data objects. A data object is equivalent to a data table, where all field information as well as the record information is stored. Data is displayed in pages in a list format. When a data list is created, a stacked page that displays individual record information is also created. Each row of the list corresponds and is linked to one record in the stacked page.
Dynamic Data Publishing, where information is sent to and received from a database existing on a server through a live Web connection, can be implemented through the use of components and back-end applications such as Allaire's ColdFusion and Microsoft ASP. Components for these packages are available with NetObjects Fusion MX Partner Components, which are available for download.
For more information on data publishing see chapter 25 in the User Guide, Data Publishing.
When should I use an internal data object?
Internal data objects are most useful for small collections of records and ones that will not need updating often or, by other users. Typically, an internal data object is used for 10-50 records.
When should I use an external data object?
External data objects are most useful medium to large collection of records and ones that can be updated often or by other users. External data sources are best used for 50-350 records, where the records do not need to be updated very often, or updated by Web visitors. Once the number of records is much larger than about 350, the format of datalist/stacked pages even filtered, becomes unwieldy for the site visitor, as well as for the site developer, who must maintain room on the server for as many pages as there are records. At this point, it is often more practical to move to live querying through CGI scripts (Dynamic Data Publishing).
How can I include images from my external data source?
To include images that are located in an external data source, add a field for your images as simple text; for each record enter the full path to the image (e.g. c:\my documents\images\photo.gif). A detailed explanation is available in the online Knowledgebase under solution number S1004.
How can I include links from my external data source?
To include links that are live in your data fields, you must use scripting and variables in your stacked pages. A detailed explanation is available in our online Knowledgebase under solution number S1005. Make sure to use the resolution for NetObjects Fusion 5.0 and MX.
How can I do live queries to a database?
You can do live queries to a database using third-party database integration components. There are currently components to help you integrate with a Lotus Domino Database, Microsoft Active Server Pages, or Allaire ColdFusion Server. For more detailed information on ColdFusion Components and Applications, you can visit Allaire's Web site. For more detailed information on ASP Components and Applications, visit our Newsgroups. For additional information on the Domino Fusion Connector (DFC), visit the Lotus Web site.
What do I do if no drivers are listed in the external drop-down list?
If no drivers are listed in the drop-down list for the external data source this means that the drivers are not registered in the system. The manufacturer of the data source that you are trying to access supplies drivers. Once these are installed and registered, they will appear in the drop-down list. Drivers must be 32-bit ODBC or ISAM compatible. A detailed explanation is available in our online Knowledgebase under solution number S1001.
What do I do if I get “Error Initializing DAO/Jet Engine?”
If you get “Error Initializing DAO/Jet Engine,” the proper version of DAO is probably not installed or properly registered on your machine. It is also possible that there may be a damaged or incorrect version of the file MFC42.dll. The proper DAO engine must be registered to the system or the MFC42.dll file must be replaced. This error usually shows up when another program, which registers a later version of DAO, is installed after NetObjects Fusion. A detailed explanation is available in our online Knowledgebase under solution number S1084.
NOTE: This solution contains some information, that may be specific to NetObjects Fusion 2.0x; however, the majority of the information is still valid.
ERRORS and CRASHES
What should I do if NetObjects Fusion crashes?
If you get crashes opening a file, or when attempting to go to a page or preview or publish a certain page, it is usually because that page contains incorrect or damaged information, which the program is unable to resolve. In this case, immediately use the Re-Optimize feature in the Tools menu in the Site view. This will automatically perform the recovery procedure on your site file and/or revert to a previously saved backup from before the crash.
There are a number of reasons that a file could crash. Usually the problem is related to a conflict on the system between shared resources, such as memory, disk space, or library files. In some cases under Windows 95, damaged registry entries can also cause a problem. If you experience or have experienced random crashes while running NetObjects Fusion, try reinstalling the software. If this does not seem to solve the problem, also make sure that NetObjects Fusion is the only program running under the operating system, and test to make sure that it functions correctly under these circumstances.
If the crash seems to be associated with a particular set of instructions you give the program, it is possible that there is a specific bug related to the actions you are performing. You can search our online Knowledgebase for known issues. Additionally, you can review our list of known issues.
There are also several common actions that can result in a crash if there is a problem with the site file, including:
- Crash during compaction
- Crash when opening file
- Crash when accessing a page
- Crash during preview or publish
If you get a crash on compaction of the site, you should immediately revert to your last saved backup. The compaction routine is designed to check your site file for errors. If one is found, this is an indication that some occurrence during the last session was not written correctly to the database, either because of resource conflicts or internal errors.
What do I do if I receive the “Out of Memory” error?
The “Out of Memory” error indicates that NetObjects Fusion does not have enough resources to complete the task you have asked of it. You should be prompted to quit the program and retry your action. If you do get this error you might want to try shutting down other concurrently running applications, or check to see that you have enough available memory or free disk space on your machine. Reboot your machine and relaunch NetObjects Fusion, then try your action again. If you are once again prompted with this error, or the program crashes, refer to “What Do I Do if NetObjects Fusion Crashes?”
If you get this error when you are migrating a site file forward from a previous version, this can also indicate that there is a problem in the site file itself. In that case, try running through the recovery procedure which is outlined in a text file called recover.txt, located in the NetObjects Fusion directory of your previous version, using the previous version before bringing the site forward into version MX. If the problem persists, try shutting down all concurrently running applications and reboot the machine.
What do I do if I receive the error “Damaged Objects Have Been Found and Deleted?”
There are two dialogs that contain this message:
- Damaged objects have been found in the layout and have been deleted.
- Damaged objects have been found on the page and have been deleted.
If either one of these messages is displayed when accessing a page, this indicates that NetObjects Fusion has detected that one or more objects in that page or layout were incorrectly committed to the database during the last save. When it detects this, it eliminates the incorrect data from the page. You may notice that an item on the page is now missing or not displaying correct information.
If you receive this error repeatedly, it may indicate a more serious problem with the way that the database is being committed to disk. At this point it is a good idea to run through the Re-Optimize feature in the Tools menu in Site view.
What should I do if I get the “Not Enough Disk Space” error?
This error is a generic one indicating that a write failed to disk. Typically, this indicates that there is not enough disk space on the hard drive specified. However, it can also indicate that a drive is write-protected, that there is an error on disk, or that some other program or system routine is preventing NetObjects Fusion from writing to disk. This is known to be a conflict with some virus programs. If you are running a virus protection program, try turning this off to see if you still get the error.
Also if you don’t install, remove, or change the location of the Blank Site .nft file it will cause this error as well.
What do I do if I receive a “Remote Transfer” error?
The Remote Transfer Results dialog box is shown any time an error is encountered during the transfer of files during publish. Examine the results returned in the edit area to determine where the error may be occurring.
NetObjects Fusion MX has a number of issues related to this dialog box. The most common error is when the Remote Transfer Results returns TCP/IP errors similar to the following: “The file C:\index.html could not be sent because of a TCP/IP Error (PORT failed) server response: 426 Data Connection: Connection reset by peer.”
Check the following to attempt to eliminate the errors:
- Turn on PASV mode FTP. Some servers require a PASV mode connection and refuse active connections. To turn on PASV mode, select your Location Properties in the Publish view and on your remote settings, click the Advanced tab. Check on the Connect passive (PASV) FTP mode checkbox and try republishing.
- This error can result from time-outs from the server, if the server has high traffic or is performing slowly at the time of publish. If this might be the case, republishing at a different time when the server is not as busy might give better results.
- It is also possible that this error results from the inability to find files locally that the Publish view thinks are supposed to be transferred to the server, but which are either not available or not actually in use by the site file. This can be the result of damage to the site file, and seems to be more common with site files that have been migrated from previous versions of NetObjects Fusion. You should always check the destination server directory to verify that all files were sent. If they have been sent and the site works correctly, then the reported errors were false. If not, the following procedure may help in reducing errors:
Delete all Unused File Assets from the Asset view. This command is available in the Assets menu when in Assets view. Clear all Customizations in Publish view. This option is available in the Publish menu -> Arrange Files -> Clear All Customizations. Run the site through the Re-Optimize feature.
If none of this works to eliminate the errors, you can also publish your site locally by configuring your server locations to a local directory on your hard drive or LAN. You can then use any third-party FTP client to upload the contents of that directory when the local publish is complete.
FORMS and CGI
How can I make a form in NetObjects Fusion?
There are two ways to create forms in NetObjects Fusion MX. You can either use your own CGI or JavaScript with form elements placed on the page, or you can choose to use the Form Handler component provided with NetObjects Fusion.
Form elements by themselves will not do anything until you have implemented a script that will perform an operation on the data entered. NetObjects Fusion provides one script in the form of a component, the Form Handler. The Form Handler publishes a Perl5 CGI script to Windows, UNIX, or Macintosh servers. This script is designed to write the information submitted through the form to a text file located in the specified directory on your server. The component may also be configured to email the data in the form elements. This latter option does not require the CGI script, but also does not work correctly for most versions of IE and AOL.
If you do not wish to use the Form Handler component, you may also use any CGI script or JavaScript with form elements placed on the page. There are many scripts available for free download on the Web. One such location is Matt’s Script Archive, Inc.
For more information about configuring form elements and forms in NetObjects Fusion MX see chapter 23 in the User Guide, Designing and Implementing Forms. Also, visit our Workbench site.
How can I make all my form elements line up?
There are two ways to ensure that your form elements line up:
First, if your elements are placed independently on the page, you should make sure that all elements that are to be in the same row are aligned at the top. Simply select all the objects in that row by dragging the mouse marquee around them or by Shift+Clicking on each element. When the Multi-Objects Properties palette appears, under Align -> Vertically, select the Top icon. Or you can choose the Align Elements option under the Object menu and select Top. Both methods ensure that the selected objects will reside in the same table row in the HTML. Once the elements are aligned at the top, choose the Convert Layout to Table option under the Object menu and check the radio button for Span in rows. This ensures that all elements that are aligned to be in the same table row are actually generated in the same table row.
Second, you can also create your form in a table or within a text box. With your form elements in a table, you can ensure that all elements are in positions that will not change with other changing elements. With a text box, all your form elements are placed in-line just as in a text editor. After placing your form elements in a table cell or text box, select the multiple elements. The Align tab in the Forms Handler Properties palette offers several options for alignment in relation to the text.
For more information about aligning objects and configuring table output, see chapter 6 in the User Guide, Page View Basics, and chapter 7, Controlling Published Output.
How can I make my form elements tab in order in the browser?
Form elements tab in the order in which they appear in the HTML. This means that for elements to tab across horizontally in order, the elements must be properly aligned. See “How can I make all my form elements line up?” in this section.
Why aren’t my form elements appearing in the browser when I preview or publish?
If your form elements are not appearing in the browser, or are not appearing correctly, you are probably publishing with the Fixed Page Layout option selected for this page, or the Fixed Page Layout option is selected in your Publish settings and your page is currently set to use whatever is set in Publish. Currently, most 4.0x browsers do not display forms correctly when a page is published using CSS and Layers code. If you have a forms page, make sure that the HTML output method for your forms page is set to Regular or Dynamic Page Layout. For more information about selecting HTML output methods, see chapter 7 in the User Guide, Controlling Published Output.
What should I check if my form isn’t working?
If you are using your own CGI or JavaScript, first check to make sure that you have configured the script in accordance with that script’s documentation or the author’s instructions.
Additionally, refer to chapter 23 in the User Guide to ensure that the entire configuration has been implemented in the correct location in NetObjects Fusion. If the CGI script is to run on a server and it still does not seem to be functioning, contact your server administrator or service provider.
If you are using the Form Handler component and have configured all the parameters for the component correctly as outlined in chapter 23, here are the most common errors that might occur.
Nearly all problems in getting the Form Handler to function correctly fall into the two following categories, CGI functionality on Web server and Web server directory permissions.
1. CGI functionality on Web server:
Regardless of whether you publish the Perl5 script files (Publish to UNIX) or the binary executables (Publish to Windows), two server requirements must be met regarding CGI in order for the Form Handler component to function correctly.
- The server must be able to execute CGI programs (binary executables or text scripts) from any user-defined CGI-bin directory. In particular, the server must be able to directly execute the CGI scripts (programs) placed in the assets/CGI-bin directory.
- The server must be able to execute CGI programs (scripts) that have an extension of .cgi. The default PERL extension is .pl. Some servers expect an extension of .pl5 for Perl5 scripts and an extension of .pl or .pl4 for Perl4 scripts.
If you aren’t sure how your server is configured for CGI functionality, contact your server administrator or service provider.
2. Web server directory permissions and virtual directory settings:
Web server settings required by the Form Handler component are no different from other standard scripts with the following exceptions:
- CGI scripts must execute in user-defined CGI-bin directories without any kind of CGI-wrap or proprietary CGI schemes.
- Server recognizes .cgi as an extension of CGI programs (scripts).
If you aren’t sure how the permissions have been configured for your directories, contact your server administrator or service provider.
For more detailed information, visit the Workbench site.
|
