Adobe 38043740 Developing Applications - Page 728

Creating custom forms with the cfform tag, The cfform controls

Page 728 highlights

DEVELOPING COLDFUSION 9 APPLICATIONS 723 Requesting and Presenting Information Creating custom forms with the cfform tag The cfform tag and its CFML subtags let you create dynamic forms in three formats: HTML Generates standard HTML tags wherever possible, and uses applets or Flash for more complex controls, such as grids, trees, and calendars. HTML lets you present a familiar appearance, but does not let you easily separate data and presentation, or provide some of the more complex structures, such as Flash tabbed navigators or accordions, or customized XML controls. Flash Presents a modern, visually pleasing appearance. Flash format supports several controls, such as tabbed navigators and accordions, that are not available in HTML. Flash forms are also browser-independent. In Flash format, Flash Player works in all commonly used browsers on Windows and Macintosh systems, and in Netscape and Mozilla on Linux. XML Lets you specify an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) skin that converts the XML into styled HTML output. Adobe ColdFusion provides several skins that you can use, and you can write your own custom skins and support custom controls. The cfform tag and its subtags also provide you with several methods for validating input data. For example, you can perform the validation on the browser or on the server. You can check the data type, or you can mask data input. Individual cfform tags have additional dynamic features. Several of the tags do not have HTML counterparts, and others directly support dynamically populating the control from data sources. Also, the cfform tag preservedata attribute retains user input in a form after the user submits the form, so the data reappears if the form gets redisplayed. The information here describes features of the cfform tag and focuses on using several of the cfform child tags that do not have HTML counterparts. For other features of ColdFusion forms that you create using the cfform tag, see the following: • "Validating Data" on page 743 • "Creating Forms in Flash" on page 765 • "Creating Skinnable XML Forms" on page 783 The cfform controls The following table describes the ColdFusion controls that you use in forms created using the cfform tag. You can use these tags only inside a cfform tag. Unless otherwise stated, these controls are supported in HTML, Flash, and XML skinnable forms. Control cfapplet cfcalendar cfform cfformitem cfgrid Description For more information Embeds a custom Java applet in the form. Not supported in Flash format "Embedding Java applets" on page 741. forms. Displays an interactive Flash calendar that can be included in an HTML The cfcalendar tag in the CFML Reference or Flash format form. ignored in XML skinable forms. The calendar lets a user select a date for submission as a form variable. Creates a container control for organizing and formatting multiple form "Creating Forms in Flash" on page 765, controls. Used in the cfform tag body of Flash and XML skinable forms. "Creating Skinnable XML Forms" on Ignored in HTML forms. page 783 Inserts a horizontal line, a vertical line, or formatted or unformatted text "Creating Forms in Flash" on page 765, in a Flash form. Used in the cfform or cfformgroup tag body for Flash "Creating Skinnable XML Forms" on and XML forms. Ignored in HTML forms. page 783 Creates a Java applet or Flash data grid that you can populate from a query or by defining the contents of individual cells. You can also use grids to insert, update, and delete records from a data source. "Creating data grids with the cfgrid tag" on page 732 Last updated 1/20/2012

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134
  • 135
  • 136
  • 137
  • 138
  • 139
  • 140
  • 141
  • 142
  • 143
  • 144
  • 145
  • 146
  • 147
  • 148
  • 149
  • 150
  • 151
  • 152
  • 153
  • 154
  • 155
  • 156
  • 157
  • 158
  • 159
  • 160
  • 161
  • 162
  • 163
  • 164
  • 165
  • 166
  • 167
  • 168
  • 169
  • 170
  • 171
  • 172
  • 173
  • 174
  • 175
  • 176
  • 177
  • 178
  • 179
  • 180
  • 181
  • 182
  • 183
  • 184
  • 185
  • 186
  • 187
  • 188
  • 189
  • 190
  • 191
  • 192
  • 193
  • 194
  • 195
  • 196
  • 197
  • 198
  • 199
  • 200
  • 201
  • 202
  • 203
  • 204
  • 205
  • 206
  • 207
  • 208
  • 209
  • 210
  • 211
  • 212
  • 213
  • 214
  • 215
  • 216
  • 217
  • 218
  • 219
  • 220
  • 221
  • 222
  • 223
  • 224
  • 225
  • 226
  • 227
  • 228
  • 229
  • 230
  • 231
  • 232
  • 233
  • 234
  • 235
  • 236
  • 237
  • 238
  • 239
  • 240
  • 241
  • 242
  • 243
  • 244
  • 245
  • 246
  • 247
  • 248
  • 249
  • 250
  • 251
  • 252
  • 253
  • 254
  • 255
  • 256
  • 257
  • 258
  • 259
  • 260
  • 261
  • 262
  • 263
  • 264
  • 265
  • 266
  • 267
  • 268
  • 269
  • 270
  • 271
  • 272
  • 273
  • 274
  • 275
  • 276
  • 277
  • 278
  • 279
  • 280
  • 281
  • 282
  • 283
  • 284
  • 285
  • 286
  • 287
  • 288
  • 289
  • 290
  • 291
  • 292
  • 293
  • 294
  • 295
  • 296
  • 297
  • 298
  • 299
  • 300
  • 301
  • 302
  • 303
  • 304
  • 305
  • 306
  • 307
  • 308
  • 309
  • 310
  • 311
  • 312
  • 313
  • 314
  • 315
  • 316
  • 317
  • 318
  • 319
  • 320
  • 321
  • 322
  • 323
  • 324
  • 325
  • 326
  • 327
  • 328
  • 329
  • 330
  • 331
  • 332
  • 333
  • 334
  • 335
  • 336
  • 337
  • 338
  • 339
  • 340
  • 341
  • 342
  • 343
  • 344
  • 345
  • 346
  • 347
  • 348
  • 349
  • 350
  • 351
  • 352
  • 353
  • 354
  • 355
  • 356
  • 357
  • 358
  • 359
  • 360
  • 361
  • 362
  • 363
  • 364
  • 365
  • 366
  • 367
  • 368
  • 369
  • 370
  • 371
  • 372
  • 373
  • 374
  • 375
  • 376
  • 377
  • 378
  • 379
  • 380
  • 381
  • 382
  • 383
  • 384
  • 385
  • 386
  • 387
  • 388
  • 389
  • 390
  • 391
  • 392
  • 393
  • 394
  • 395
  • 396
  • 397
  • 398
  • 399
  • 400
  • 401
  • 402
  • 403
  • 404
  • 405
  • 406
  • 407
  • 408
  • 409
  • 410
  • 411
  • 412
  • 413
  • 414
  • 415
  • 416
  • 417
  • 418
  • 419
  • 420
  • 421
  • 422
  • 423
  • 424
  • 425
  • 426
  • 427
  • 428
  • 429
  • 430
  • 431
  • 432
  • 433
  • 434
  • 435
  • 436
  • 437
  • 438
  • 439
  • 440
  • 441
  • 442
  • 443
  • 444
  • 445
  • 446
  • 447
  • 448
  • 449
  • 450
  • 451
  • 452
  • 453
  • 454
  • 455
  • 456
  • 457
  • 458
  • 459
  • 460
  • 461
  • 462
  • 463
  • 464
  • 465
  • 466
  • 467
  • 468
  • 469
  • 470
  • 471
  • 472
  • 473
  • 474
  • 475
  • 476
  • 477
  • 478
  • 479
  • 480
  • 481
  • 482
  • 483
  • 484
  • 485
  • 486
  • 487
  • 488
  • 489
  • 490
  • 491
  • 492
  • 493
  • 494
  • 495
  • 496
  • 497
  • 498
  • 499
  • 500
  • 501
  • 502
  • 503
  • 504
  • 505
  • 506
  • 507
  • 508
  • 509
  • 510
  • 511
  • 512
  • 513
  • 514
  • 515
  • 516
  • 517
  • 518
  • 519
  • 520
  • 521
  • 522
  • 523
  • 524
  • 525
  • 526
  • 527
  • 528
  • 529
  • 530
  • 531
  • 532
  • 533
  • 534
  • 535
  • 536
  • 537
  • 538
  • 539
  • 540
  • 541
  • 542
  • 543
  • 544
  • 545
  • 546
  • 547
  • 548
  • 549
  • 550
  • 551
  • 552
  • 553
  • 554
  • 555
  • 556
  • 557
  • 558
  • 559
  • 560
  • 561
  • 562
  • 563
  • 564
  • 565
  • 566
  • 567
  • 568
  • 569
  • 570
  • 571
  • 572
  • 573
  • 574
  • 575
  • 576
  • 577
  • 578
  • 579
  • 580
  • 581
  • 582
  • 583
  • 584
  • 585
  • 586
  • 587
  • 588
  • 589
  • 590
  • 591
  • 592
  • 593
  • 594
  • 595
  • 596
  • 597
  • 598
  • 599
  • 600
  • 601
  • 602
  • 603
  • 604
  • 605
  • 606
  • 607
  • 608
  • 609
  • 610
  • 611
  • 612
  • 613
  • 614
  • 615
  • 616
  • 617
  • 618
  • 619
  • 620
  • 621
  • 622
  • 623
  • 624
  • 625
  • 626
  • 627
  • 628
  • 629
  • 630
  • 631
  • 632
  • 633
  • 634
  • 635
  • 636
  • 637
  • 638
  • 639
  • 640
  • 641
  • 642
  • 643
  • 644
  • 645
  • 646
  • 647
  • 648
  • 649
  • 650
  • 651
  • 652
  • 653
  • 654
  • 655
  • 656
  • 657
  • 658
  • 659
  • 660
  • 661
  • 662
  • 663
  • 664
  • 665
  • 666
  • 667
  • 668
  • 669
  • 670
  • 671
  • 672
  • 673
  • 674
  • 675
  • 676
  • 677
  • 678
  • 679
  • 680
  • 681
  • 682
  • 683
  • 684
  • 685
  • 686
  • 687
  • 688
  • 689
  • 690
  • 691
  • 692
  • 693
  • 694
  • 695
  • 696
  • 697
  • 698
  • 699
  • 700
  • 701
  • 702
  • 703
  • 704
  • 705
  • 706
  • 707
  • 708
  • 709
  • 710
  • 711
  • 712
  • 713
  • 714
  • 715
  • 716
  • 717
  • 718
  • 719
  • 720
  • 721
  • 722
  • 723
  • 724
  • 725
  • 726
  • 727
  • 728
  • 729
  • 730
  • 731
  • 732
  • 733
  • 734
  • 735
  • 736
  • 737
  • 738
  • 739
  • 740
  • 741
  • 742
  • 743
  • 744
  • 745
  • 746
  • 747
  • 748
  • 749
  • 750
  • 751
  • 752
  • 753
  • 754
  • 755
  • 756
  • 757
  • 758
  • 759
  • 760
  • 761
  • 762
  • 763
  • 764
  • 765
  • 766
  • 767
  • 768
  • 769
  • 770
  • 771
  • 772
  • 773
  • 774
  • 775
  • 776
  • 777
  • 778
  • 779
  • 780
  • 781
  • 782
  • 783
  • 784
  • 785
  • 786
  • 787
  • 788
  • 789
  • 790
  • 791
  • 792
  • 793
  • 794
  • 795
  • 796
  • 797
  • 798
  • 799
  • 800
  • 801
  • 802
  • 803
  • 804
  • 805
  • 806
  • 807
  • 808
  • 809
  • 810
  • 811
  • 812
  • 813
  • 814
  • 815
  • 816
  • 817
  • 818
  • 819
  • 820
  • 821
  • 822
  • 823
  • 824
  • 825
  • 826
  • 827
  • 828
  • 829
  • 830
  • 831
  • 832
  • 833
  • 834
  • 835
  • 836
  • 837
  • 838
  • 839
  • 840
  • 841
  • 842
  • 843
  • 844
  • 845
  • 846
  • 847
  • 848
  • 849
  • 850
  • 851
  • 852
  • 853
  • 854
  • 855
  • 856
  • 857
  • 858
  • 859
  • 860
  • 861
  • 862
  • 863
  • 864
  • 865
  • 866
  • 867
  • 868
  • 869
  • 870
  • 871
  • 872
  • 873
  • 874
  • 875
  • 876
  • 877
  • 878
  • 879
  • 880
  • 881
  • 882
  • 883
  • 884
  • 885
  • 886
  • 887
  • 888
  • 889
  • 890
  • 891
  • 892
  • 893
  • 894
  • 895
  • 896
  • 897
  • 898
  • 899
  • 900
  • 901
  • 902
  • 903
  • 904
  • 905
  • 906
  • 907
  • 908
  • 909
  • 910
  • 911
  • 912
  • 913
  • 914
  • 915
  • 916
  • 917
  • 918
  • 919
  • 920
  • 921
  • 922
  • 923
  • 924
  • 925
  • 926
  • 927
  • 928
  • 929
  • 930
  • 931
  • 932
  • 933
  • 934
  • 935
  • 936
  • 937
  • 938
  • 939
  • 940
  • 941
  • 942
  • 943
  • 944
  • 945
  • 946
  • 947
  • 948
  • 949
  • 950
  • 951
  • 952
  • 953
  • 954
  • 955
  • 956
  • 957
  • 958
  • 959
  • 960
  • 961
  • 962
  • 963
  • 964
  • 965
  • 966
  • 967
  • 968
  • 969
  • 970
  • 971
  • 972
  • 973
  • 974
  • 975
  • 976
  • 977
  • 978
  • 979
  • 980
  • 981
  • 982
  • 983
  • 984
  • 985
  • 986
  • 987
  • 988
  • 989
  • 990
  • 991
  • 992
  • 993
  • 994
  • 995
  • 996
  • 997
  • 998
  • 999
  • 1,000
  • 1,001
  • 1,002
  • 1,003
  • 1,004
  • 1,005
  • 1,006
  • 1,007
  • 1,008
  • 1,009
  • 1,010
  • 1,011
  • 1,012
  • 1,013
  • 1,014
  • 1,015
  • 1,016
  • 1,017
  • 1,018
  • 1,019
  • 1,020
  • 1,021
  • 1,022
  • 1,023
  • 1,024
  • 1,025
  • 1,026
  • 1,027
  • 1,028
  • 1,029
  • 1,030
  • 1,031
  • 1,032
  • 1,033
  • 1,034
  • 1,035
  • 1,036
  • 1,037
  • 1,038
  • 1,039
  • 1,040
  • 1,041
  • 1,042
  • 1,043
  • 1,044
  • 1,045
  • 1,046
  • 1,047
  • 1,048
  • 1,049
  • 1,050
  • 1,051
  • 1,052
  • 1,053
  • 1,054
  • 1,055
  • 1,056
  • 1,057
  • 1,058
  • 1,059
  • 1,060
  • 1,061
  • 1,062
  • 1,063
  • 1,064
  • 1,065
  • 1,066
  • 1,067
  • 1,068
  • 1,069
  • 1,070
  • 1,071
  • 1,072
  • 1,073
  • 1,074
  • 1,075
  • 1,076
  • 1,077
  • 1,078
  • 1,079
  • 1,080
  • 1,081
  • 1,082
  • 1,083
  • 1,084
  • 1,085
  • 1,086
  • 1,087
  • 1,088
  • 1,089
  • 1,090
  • 1,091
  • 1,092
  • 1,093
  • 1,094
  • 1,095
  • 1,096
  • 1,097
  • 1,098
  • 1,099
  • 1,100
  • 1,101
  • 1,102
  • 1,103
  • 1,104
  • 1,105
  • 1,106
  • 1,107
  • 1,108
  • 1,109
  • 1,110
  • 1,111
  • 1,112
  • 1,113
  • 1,114
  • 1,115
  • 1,116
  • 1,117
  • 1,118
  • 1,119
  • 1,120
  • 1,121
  • 1,122
  • 1,123
  • 1,124
  • 1,125
  • 1,126
  • 1,127
  • 1,128
  • 1,129
  • 1,130
  • 1,131
  • 1,132
  • 1,133
  • 1,134
  • 1,135
  • 1,136
  • 1,137
  • 1,138
  • 1,139
  • 1,140
  • 1,141
  • 1,142
  • 1,143
  • 1,144
  • 1,145
  • 1,146
  • 1,147
  • 1,148
  • 1,149
  • 1,150
  • 1,151
  • 1,152
  • 1,153
  • 1,154
  • 1,155
  • 1,156
  • 1,157
  • 1,158
  • 1,159
  • 1,160
  • 1,161
  • 1,162
  • 1,163
  • 1,164
  • 1,165
  • 1,166
  • 1,167
  • 1,168
  • 1,169
  • 1,170
  • 1,171
  • 1,172
  • 1,173
  • 1,174
  • 1,175
  • 1,176
  • 1,177
  • 1,178
  • 1,179
  • 1,180
  • 1,181
  • 1,182
  • 1,183
  • 1,184
  • 1,185
  • 1,186
  • 1,187
  • 1,188
  • 1,189
  • 1,190
  • 1,191
  • 1,192
  • 1,193
  • 1,194
  • 1,195
  • 1,196
  • 1,197
  • 1,198
  • 1,199
  • 1,200
  • 1,201
  • 1,202
  • 1,203
  • 1,204
  • 1,205
  • 1,206
  • 1,207
  • 1,208
  • 1,209
  • 1,210
  • 1,211
  • 1,212
  • 1,213
  • 1,214
  • 1,215
  • 1,216
  • 1,217
  • 1,218
  • 1,219
  • 1,220
  • 1,221
  • 1,222
  • 1,223
  • 1,224
  • 1,225
  • 1,226
  • 1,227
  • 1,228
  • 1,229
  • 1,230
  • 1,231
  • 1,232
  • 1,233
  • 1,234
  • 1,235
  • 1,236
  • 1,237
  • 1,238
  • 1,239
  • 1,240
  • 1,241
  • 1,242
  • 1,243
  • 1,244
  • 1,245
  • 1,246
  • 1,247
  • 1,248
  • 1,249
  • 1,250
  • 1,251
  • 1,252
  • 1,253
  • 1,254
  • 1,255
  • 1,256
  • 1,257
  • 1,258
  • 1,259
  • 1,260
  • 1,261
  • 1,262
  • 1,263
  • 1,264
  • 1,265
  • 1,266
  • 1,267
  • 1,268
  • 1,269
  • 1,270
  • 1,271
  • 1,272
  • 1,273
  • 1,274
  • 1,275
  • 1,276
  • 1,277
  • 1,278
  • 1,279
  • 1,280
  • 1,281
  • 1,282
  • 1,283
  • 1,284
  • 1,285
  • 1,286
  • 1,287
  • 1,288
  • 1,289
  • 1,290
  • 1,291
  • 1,292
  • 1,293
  • 1,294
  • 1,295
  • 1,296
  • 1,297
  • 1,298
  • 1,299
  • 1,300
  • 1,301
  • 1,302
  • 1,303
  • 1,304
  • 1,305
  • 1,306
  • 1,307
  • 1,308
  • 1,309
  • 1,310
  • 1,311
  • 1,312
  • 1,313
  • 1,314
  • 1,315
  • 1,316
  • 1,317
  • 1,318
  • 1,319
  • 1,320
  • 1,321
  • 1,322
  • 1,323
  • 1,324
  • 1,325
  • 1,326
  • 1,327
  • 1,328
  • 1,329
  • 1,330
  • 1,331
  • 1,332
  • 1,333
  • 1,334
  • 1,335
  • 1,336
  • 1,337
  • 1,338
  • 1,339
  • 1,340
  • 1,341
  • 1,342
  • 1,343
  • 1,344
  • 1,345
  • 1,346
  • 1,347
  • 1,348
  • 1,349
  • 1,350

723
DEVELOPING
COLDFUSION 9 APPLICATIONS
Requesting and Presenting Information
Las
t
upda
te
d 1/20/2012
Creating custom forms with the cfform tag
The cfform tag and its CFML subtags let you create dynamic forms in three formats:
HTML
Generates standard HTML tags wherever possible, and uses applets or Flash for more complex controls, such
as grids, trees, and calendars. HTML lets you present a familiar appearance, but does not let you easily separate data
and presentation, or provide some of the more complex structures, such as Flash tabbed navigators or accordions, or
customized XML controls.
Flash
Presents a modern, visually pleasing appearance. Flash format supports several controls, such as tabbed
navigators and accordions, that are not available in HTML. Flash forms are also browser-independent. In Flash format,
Flash Player works in all commonly used browsers on Windows and Macintosh systems, and in Netscape and Mozilla
on Linux.
XML
Lets you specify an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) skin that converts the XML into
styled HTML output. Adobe ColdFusion provides several skins that you can use, and you can write your own custom
skins and support custom controls.
The
cfform
tag and its subtags also provide you with several methods for validating input data. For example, you can
perform the validation on the browser or on the server. You can check the data type, or you can mask data input.
Individual
cfform
tags have additional dynamic features. Several of the tags do not have HTML counterparts, and
others directly support dynamically populating the control from data sources. Also, the
cfform
tag
preservedata
attribute retains user input in a form after the user submits the form, so the data reappears if the form gets redisplayed.
The information here describes features of the
cfform
tag and focuses on using several of the
cfform
child tags that
do not have HTML counterparts. For other features of ColdFusion forms that you create using the
cfform
tag, see the
following:
Validating Data
” on page
743
Creating Forms in Flash
” on page
765
Creating Skinnable XML Forms
” on page
783
The cfform controls
The following table describes the ColdFusion controls that you use in forms created using the
cfform
tag. You can use
these tags only inside a
cfform
tag. Unless otherwise stated, these controls are supported in HTML, Flash, and XML
skinnable forms.
Control
Description
For more information
cfapplet
Embeds a custom Java applet in the form. Not supported in Flash format
forms.
Embedding Java applets
” on page
741.
cfcalendar
Displays an interactive Flash calendar that can be included in an HTML
or Flash format form. ignored in XML skinable forms. The calendar lets a
user select a date for submission as a form variable.
The cfcalendar tag in the
CFML Reference
cfform
Creates a container control for organizing and formatting multiple form
controls. Used in the
cfform
tag body of Flash and XML skinable forms.
Ignored in HTML forms.
Creating Forms in Flash
” on page
765,
Creating Skinnable XML Forms
” on
page
783
cfformitem
Inserts a horizontal line, a vertical line, or formatted or unformatted text
in a Flash form. Used in the
cfform
or
cfformgroup
tag body for Flash
and XML forms. Ignored in HTML forms.
Creating Forms in Flash
” on page
765,
Creating Skinnable XML Forms
” on
page
783
cfgrid
Creates a Java applet or Flash data grid that you can populate from a
query or by defining the contents of individual cells. You can also use
grids to insert, update, and delete records from a data source.
Creating data grids with the cfgrid tag
” on
page
732