Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (Full Version)

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jdeno -> Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/11/2003 22:55:19)

Hi,
I have used MS Publisher to create my website. All links work except the form. I have formatted it to send data by email, but when the 'Submit' button is pressed, you immediately get 'Page unavailable' error message, and --WEBBOT-SELF-- is in the address bar.
Have checked with ISP and they (Telstra) assure me that they support FrontPage, which is necessary according to the Publisher Help.
Have been at this for hours....can anyone help please ??
Desperate Julie..



pmagas -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/11/2003 23:57:47)

Julie - would you mind to give us a link to the page or just the website address - we might be able to spot the problem once we look at the html code.

Thanks!



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 0:05:25)

Thanks Penny - that would be great; it's:

www.users.bigpond.com/archives.net

cheers
j.



wattle -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 0:07:28)

Hi Julie, when you created your page with the form on it, did you start with a Web Page or as a normal .pub?

You did well to get an answer from Telstra! [:D]



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 0:24:37)

Hi Wattle,
Started with norm pub and then saved as web page. The form(s) are on the last page so I would have used "Save as Web Page" prior to creating it.

As for Telstra - took me 3 goes !! Question I was asking was did they (ISP) support FrontPage 98; Ver 3 or later....First answer Yes; second answer No; third answer definitely Yes - so here's hoping !!!

And no, system hasn't crashed today

Thanks so much for helping
j.



pmagas -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 0:27:56)

I believe your problem is that you don't have a page for it to go to upon completion.

Where you have (in the html code):
quote:

<!--webbot bot="SaveResults" s-email-address="archives.mail@bigpond.com"
s-email-format="TEXT/PRE" b-email-label-fields="TRUE"
s-email-Subject="Order form information" s-builtin-fields="Date Time"
b-email-subject-from-field="FALSE"-->


replace it with:
quote:

<!--webbot bot="SaveResults" S-Email-Format="TEXT/PRE"
S-Email-Address="archives.mail@bigpond.com" B-Email-Label-Fields="TRUE"
B-Email-Subject-From-Field="FALSE" S-Email-Subject="Order form information"
S-Date-Format="%d %b %Y" S-Time-Format="%H:%M:%S" S-Builtin-Fields="Date Time"
U-Confirmation-Url="confirm.html" -->


Then you'll want to add a page named confirm.html - you can get sophisticated and repeat to them what they submitted or you can make it a simple static page that says something on the order of 'Thank you. We received your order. We'll get in touch with you within 24 hours.' ... or whatever you want it to say. And of course, you'll want it in the theme to match the rest of your site and with navigation buttons so they can find more stuff to buy. [:D] Of course, you could just have them go to a page already on your site, but then they'll wonder if you actually received the order.

If you want to repeat back to them what the order is, I can toss it into FrontPage and get that html for you if you'd like - just let me know.

Hope this helps!! Let me know how it turns out.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 0:39:17)

That's fantastic Penny - Unfortunately, I have to go out now and won't be back for an hour or so. Will have a go at fixing it then. Will get back to you either way - really appreciate your help.
[:)]
Cheers
j.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 7:40:32)

Hi Penny,
I've made all your suggested changes, edited with FrontPage, double checked everything but still not working.
When you click the "submit" button, you get the message "The page you are looking for cannot be displayed because the page address is incorrect" etc...
I just went for the static page saying thank you etc etc..
This is really driving me nuts !!! lol
One thing you might be able to clear up for me; I noticed that your replacement text used capitals, and the original didn't - does the 'case' ?
Thanks again for your help - I got tied up with work and couldn't get back any earlier.
Cheers
j.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 8:07:22)

Me again Penny - One thing I forgot to mention is that I've had a look at the form properties in Frontpage and they all seem ok - "Send to" is checked and the email address is correct. "E-mail results" again has the correct address, "formatted text" is selected, "Subject Line" is Order Form Information and finally "Confirmation Page" has the correct file name.......
Have no idea what time it is where you are but getting late here. I'll check back tomorrow.
Thanks again
j.



wattle -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 19:38:01)

Hi Julie, just took a quick look at your form and it looks like the entire page is tagged as a form, rather than just the actual form content. It's been about 100 years since I used a form in Publisher, but I vaguely remember that a form may not work if it includes hyperlinks, border art, etc. Does this ring any bells with you? Did the Publisher Design Checker pick up anything on this page?

Your best option may be to re do the form page again entirely in FrontPage, using FP forms - and then publish it to Bigpond. You could use the existing header and links as include pages and then build the form from scratch in the main part of the page.

Good luck with this, hope you get it sorted [:)]



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 22:29:00)

[:)] Thanks Wattle, I think you're right. Have had a quick look at the site in Frontpage and am scrapping the lot and starting again !! lol
Not that keen on the design now anyway.... Busy today so will get to it over the weekend. Hopefully I won't be back here desperate for help !
Thanks so much for taking the time you have,
Cheers
j.



pmagas -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 22:43:40)

Julie - I'm sorry I didn't get back to you all day - couldn't sit down at my desk. One of those cRaZY days, you know? Bummed that it didn't work for you. [:(] The good news is that forms in FrontPage are VERY easy! I love that aspect of it!

Sorry I didn't see the 'big picture' - I don't have experience working with Publisher to make sites - just FrontPage. [sm=icon_redface.gif] Please forgive me for leading you astray.

Best of luck on your site - be sure to come back to the forum, whether it's for help, or just to socialize.

Warm regards,



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/12/2003 23:29:05)

No problems at all Penny - from your help I found out how to edit my MS Publisher in Frontpage ! Never realised I could do that before, so thanks - always great to learn something new. Flat out myself today, but will be back.
Cheers,
j.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/16/2003 23:40:46)

Penny, Wattle, anybody?..I'm back and still having probs - I've even gone into FP, made a simple 2 line form and still get the same error message. Followed Form Wizard - same thing. Publish web, everything works except form. When you hit "submit" the address bar shows site address /--webbot-self-- This is driving me nuts (or nuttier..) I've found lots of people with same prob, but as yet haven't found answer. The site is still up, but with no pics.
Thanks for reading,
j.



wattle -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/17/2003 0:33:45)

Hi Julie, I'll have a look now. Have been working on my own website problems all weekend, will be good to take a look at someone elses LOL [:D]



wattle -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/17/2003 0:36:43)

Well, that didn't take long [;)]. I think the problem has migrated accross from Publisher. The whole page is still tagged as a form, and the table intensive formatting Publsiher loves so much is still in place. I'll play around a little and see if I can tweak it a bit.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/17/2003 0:42:56)

Thanks so much Wattle - I now know what you mean, I was playing around with the "order" page in FP and realised, by deleting stuff bit by bit, that there was heaps of tables and the whole thing was in a form. Slow learner huh? lol
I'm still a bit puzzled as to why I can't get a very simple form, made in FP to work though..prob something very simple that I just haven't got the hang of..
Looking forward to your reply - and good luck with your site.
j.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/17/2003 0:48:24)

ps: Wattle - love your "quotes", would you mind giving me your site address - always interested in what other people are doing.
j.



wattle -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/17/2003 1:09:06)

Darned if I know why your test form would not work, but lets blame Bigpond [&:]

When you say forms wizard, did you mean 'Insert Component' on a page, or a whole new forms page? I just made a quick form and tested it and it worked fine. I'll email you the test page, save it in your web (File, Save As on the attachment) and try publishing to Bigpond again.

Had a closer look at your real forms page Julie, and I hate to say it, but I think that you would be better off starting a new page from scratch. It's just so hard to work around the Publisher formatting...

If you really have stress you might like to look at using a Javascript form, or a form done straight in html - you can get the source code for these for free and you basically just copy and paste into the html of the website and twiddle as necessary.

I don't actually have any pages on the internet - look after a schools intranet - not my main job but extremely time consuming (hence the weekend work). We are working on a combined education group website at the moment so as soon as it's ready for a critique I'll post it [:)] That's what has been causing me stress today LOL.



jdeno -> RE: Website, Publisher and WEBBOT (8/17/2003 1:18:29)

Thanks Wattle, in answer to your question - I actually tried both ways. Look forward to getting your email and having a look. (jdeno@bigpomd.com).
Good luck with your project - hope my probs gave you some light relief lol
By all means - send me the address when finished.
Off now to scout the web for free codes for forms !!
Really appreciated your help.
Cheers
j.



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