Adobe 38040334 User Guide - Page 539

DREAMWEAVER CS3 532 User Guide Collecting data submitted by users About collecting data You can use web pages to gather information from users, store that information in the server's memory, and then use the information to create a dynamic response based on the user's input. The most common tools for gathering user information are HTML forms and hypertext links. HTML forms Let you gather information from users and store it in the server's memory. An HTML form can send the information either as form parameters or as URL parameters. Hypertext links Let you gather information from users and store it in the server's memory. You specify a value (or values) to be submitted when a user clicks a link-a preference, for example-by appending the value to the URL specified in the anchor tag. When a user clicks the link, the browser sends the URL and the appended value to the server. HTML form parameters Form parameters are sent to the server using an HTML form using either the POST or GET method. When using the POST method, parameters are sent in the body of the message. In contrast, the GET method appends parameters to the requested URL. You can use Dreamweaver to quickly design HTML forms that send form parameters to the server. Be aware of the method you use to transmit information from the browser to the server. Form parameters take the names of their corresponding form objects. For example, if your form contains a text field named txtLastName, then the following form parameter is sent to the server when the user clicks the Submit button: txtLastName=enteredvalue In cases where a web application expects a precise parameter value (for example, when it performs an action based on one of several options), use a radio button, check box, or list/menu form object to control the values the user can submit. This prevents users from typing information incorrectly and causing an application error. The following example depicts a pop-up menu form offering three choices: September 4, 2007