sending emails to selected people through forms

[brutus]

I have a number of outside sales reps. I want to have a form where the
visitor can select their rep from a drop down box, input other information
and comments and then have that information emailed to the rep. The goal is
to keep the email addresses off the page and keep the visirot from having to
have their email program open.

Right now I send it to outlook and run rules on the email but that requires
a computer to be on and running outlook full time.

Is there another way? I have thought of having the selection of the rep
take you to a page for that rep and setting it to forward to them.

Dave

 

[Murray]

There are only two ways to process form data -

1. Use mailto:[email protected] as the action of the form
2. Use a server-side scripting method to a) harvest the form's data, b)
process it in some manner, e.g., enter it into a database, c) formulate and
send an email to one or more email recipients, and d) redirect the visitor
to some ending page

Method 1 is quite simple, and is also the least reliable. It depends both
on your visitor having an email client already installed on their computer -
this eliminates public computers, or home users without email clients
installed (more and more it seems) - and on the installed email client
responding to
the mailto call. It is not possible to use this method *and* send the
visitor to a
thank you page as well.

Method 2 is the preferred method, since it eliminates the problems of method
1, but it means that you have to grapple with server-scripting somehow (ASP,
CF, PHP, perl, etc.).

Method 1 will not work for such an application at all, but Method 2 will
work beautifully. Of course, the problem is that you need to know how to
work with the server-side scripting to do it.

 

[p c]

As Murray said Method 2 is the preferred method.

You can customize it to log the info into the db, pus send the email. If
your server supports ASP and Access, here is how to do it in concept.

1. Create an Access DB. Create one table for reps (Rep_ID, FName, LName,
Phone, email, etc.). Create another table for Visitor_Requests with
fields corresponding to the type of information you would like to
collect from visitors submitting the form, plus another field called
REP_ID, plus other fields for information you would like to track or
monitor (e.g. date assigned, date resolved, resolution).

2. Create a web page with the form you want. Include form fields
corresponding to those fields of table Visitor_Requests you will collect
from the form. For th rep form field include the Rep_ID as its value.
You can either hard code it HTML or retrieve it dynamically from the db.
This page will submit to a processing page.

2. Create the processing page. It will retrieve the info from the form,
add it to the database, send the email message to the rep, and present a
confirmation to the visitor.

The above advice ias availbe given as a freebie, a $300 value.

...PC

 

[Murray]

My check is in the mail.

--
Murray
============

As Murray said Method 2 is the preferred method.

You can customize it to log the info into the db, pus send the email. If
your server supports ASP and Access, here is how to do it in concept.

1. Create an Access DB. Create one table for reps (Rep_ID, FName, LName,
Phone, email, etc.). Create another table for Visitor_Requests with fields
corresponding to the type of information you would like to collect from
visitors submitting the form, plus another field called REP_ID, plus other
fields for information you would like to track or monitor (e.g. date
assigned, date resolved, resolution).

2. Create a web page with the form you want. Include form fields
corresponding to those fields of table Visitor_Requests you will collect
from the form. For th rep form field include the Rep_ID as its value. You
can either hard code it HTML or retrieve it dynamically from the db. This
page will submit to a processing page.

2. Create the processing page. It will retrieve the info from the form,
add it to the database, send the email message to the rep, and present a
confirmation to the visitor.

The above advice ias availbe given as a freebie, a $300 value.

..PC

 

[Annette]

You guys take CHECKS?

How sweet. How '70s.

Annette

 

[Murray]

Yes, with references.... 8)

 

[p c]

And Valid ID.

 

[Murray]

And, as with web pages, you can only have one per person.... 8)

 

[Annette]

So you want a valid ID. No problem.

Believe it or not, my kids were all the way into college before they
discovered that not *every* mommy has embossers around the house. Heck,
most mommies don't even know you can have 'em made to order once you create
the design. (I find Image Composer adequate).

So then. Would you like that ID to be from any particular state?

Annette

p.s. any maximum on that check amount?

 

[p c]

Any amount in valid currency is fine. I will accept the "embossed ID"
only this time.

...PC