CGI Forms Frustrated beyond belief
Hi!
Prepare to laugh (at me)!
I'm using MS Publisher 2003 to set up my website. It was going along fine until I decided to punish myself and try to create a mail to form with cgi. My host is RCN, all their info's here http://users.rcn.com/janet13/ftp.rcn.com_files/Page2121.htm
http://users.rcn.com/janet13/ftp.rcn.com_files/Page1701.htm .
A copy of my form is here http://users.rcn.com/janet13/ftp.rcn.com_files/Page1540.htm.
I created a cgi-bin directory in my web directory and I have my script figured out - but what I don't get is how to get this to work in Publisher. My problem is that I've confused myself so badly, I'm not even sure what to try anymore. All I need is a form that will let customers send me comments and have them emailed to me via the form and it can't have ads on it.
I'm confused about where to save the stuff. Like...you know the ".pl" file..is that the actual script??
I can't believe I can't figure this out...well ok, I can believe it.
THANK YOU!
Suzanne posted this at 00:12 — 25th September 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
ooooh, Mrs. Jerry, Publisher is *not* a web application, it's a print application. You should NOT use it to make a website! Where is your site?
MrsJerry posted this at 01:49 — 25th September 2004.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Sep 2004
I just updated the urls and put a link to my form - it's just the form, nothing else as yet. Hmmm...should I give up on publisher and use something else? My site will have many different products, pictures, etc. I'll have PayPal buttons for purchasing with a shopping cart etc.
Thank you!
Suzanne posted this at 05:25 — 25th September 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
Oh yes, yes, please, even Notepad and some basic HTML learning is better than Publisher. Plus you'll find it far less frustrating.
I'm afraid you're starting in the deep end -- installing CGI scripts without a basic knowledge of how the web works (and indeed how Perl works) is going to be really problematic. The .pl file is the actual script, yes, and should be in the cgi-bin -- it also needs to be chmoded.
If you're doing this for a business I'd recommend you get someone to set everything up for you to start with, or consider using a content management system that will remove the need for you to know anything about this (and pay to have it installed on your server).
There is so much to convey, I'm a bit at a loss about where to start.
MrsJerry posted this at 08:37 — 25th September 2004.
They have: 3 posts
Joined: Sep 2004
Thank you Suzanne. I appreciate your taking the time to help me. I would love to learn it all but I guess I'm starting out way too big.
Thanks again.
Suzanne posted this at 17:25 — 25th September 2004.
She has: 5,507 posts
Joined: Feb 2000
If you take it one step at a time, I know you can do it! That's never the problem. The issue always becomes whether it makes sense for you to learn it all, or for you to put attention to your own business instead.
It gets more difficult to help in a forum situation when you use non-standard software to create things as it puts in a lot of extra code that makes it harder to see where the problem lies. If you work out a budget that can go to web time, making sure to incorporate how much of your own time you're spending on learning, you can find the right match in a web developer for your needs and learn at a more reasonable pace how to take over the development. You may also find that you don't want to take over the development, too.
Depending on the size of your site and the functionality you want it to have, there are a lot of content management systems on the market that may meet your needs "out of the box" so to speak, that would allow you to be working with the design directly, but would eliminate the need for hair-pulling on your part.
sofy60 posted this at 05:39 — 27th September 2004.
They have: 16 posts
Joined: Jan 2004
use frontpage its a breeze
Roo posted this at 06:22 — 27th September 2004.
She has: 840 posts
Joined: Apr 1999
Please tell me you are kidding.
andy206uk posted this at 10:27 — 27th September 2004.
He has: 1,758 posts
Joined: Jul 2002
He's right... Frontpage is easy to use for beginners. I myself started off with Publisher, the moved to Frontpage, then Dreamweaver now I code mostly in TextPad.
It's a learning curve and FrontPage is a brilliant way to get started as long as you arent too concerned about good HTML, standards etc. It's taken me a while to get where I am and I doubt I would have stuck with webdesign had I started handcoding from day1.
Andy
Abhishek Reddy posted this at 10:51 — 27th September 2004.
He has: 3,348 posts
Joined: Jul 2001
I started with Notepad. Someone made me use Frontpage for a while to prove a point about WYSIWYG. All I can say is his point collapsed, like an overweight elephant on a broken unicycle, in most grand style. I swore never to touch that lump of trash again.
Otoh, whatever floats your boat... if Frontpage keeps you going, then so be it. Just be sure to remember that you'll eventually have to move on, and do so when you're feeling even slightly confident. The more time you spend on Frontpage, the less your rewards will be in the long term.
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