Form Menu Options

Found under the Insert Menu, the Form submenu looks like the illustration at the right.  The following provides a brief overview of each of the forms fields that are available in Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003.

Clicking and dragging on the dotted line at the top of the menu will create a floating menu that may be easier to access and use.

• Text box  - Use text boxes to collect a small amount of information in one line, such as first and last names or e-mail addresses. To collect larger amounts of information from site visitors, use text areas.

• Option buttons - Use option buttons (also called radio buttons) when you want site visitors to select only one option from a group.

  A B C

• Text area
  Use text areas to collect one or more lines of text, such as a comment. This field scrolls to accommodate varying amounts of text. To collect a small amount of information from site visitors, use text boxes.  For example:

Give feedback about this Web site:

• Drop-down box or menu
  Use a drop-down box or menu to provide site visitors with a list of choices. This field is similar to using a group of option buttons, but takes less space on a form. Unlike option buttons, you can configure a drop-down box to allow one or multiple selections.

  Select a product:
  Product 1 Product 2 Product 3

• Check box
  Use check boxes for optional items. The site visitor can select or clear the check box. They can also select multiple items.

  Yes, I would like to receive updates

• Push button
  Use push buttons to enable site visitors to submit a filled-out form, to clear fields by resetting the form, or to run your custom scripts. You can add a graphic to a form to use in place of a submit button. After filling out a form, the site visitor clicks the graphic to submit the form, and then the data from the form, including the name of the graphic field, is sent to the form handler.  (Form Handler: A program on a server that is executed when a site visitor submits a form. A form in FrontPage is associated with a form handler.)

• Advanced button
  By inserting the Advanced button into your form, you can write a script that will make your form do more exactly what you need. The Advanced button is highly customizable — you can use fancy fonts, colors, or even tables on the button.

  Group box
  Add a group box to a form when you want to assemble a set of related controls or fields in a separate area from the rest of the form.

  

• File upload
  Give your site visitors the opportunity to send a file to your Web site. When you insert the File Upload form field, site visitors click the Browse button, locate their file, and then click Submit.

  
  
  

• Password field
  When you want a site visitor to enter a password to have access to your Web site, add a password field to your registration form. A password field is really just a one-line text box. When a site visitor types in this field, most Web browsers will display the password as asterisks, for confidentiality purposes.

  Password
  
  
  
  Note  Only the UNIX operating system allows password validation and registration through a Web browser.