Forms

Obiki forms can be used for two distinct purposes: to be inserted in html pages as components, or to simplify the creation of new pages in the configuration mode.

The forms interface helps create forms for both purposes. When you click on the forms tab, you will see a list of existing forms (if any), and a Create New Form link. Clicking on the name of an existing form allows you to edit that form.

Creating New Forms

Let us say for example that you need a form for users to submit their addresses on your Obiki site.

After clicking on the Create New Form link, a form will appear. The fields in this form are as follows:

• Form Name: The name of the form.

• Submit Button Text: This is the text that will appear on the 'Submit' button at the bottom of your form.

• Make Available to all sites: Checking this box allows for any site within the current Obiki installation to use the form. Leave this box unchecked if you prefer it only be used on the current site.

These fields are followed by two fieldsets:

• Form Fields: This is where individual fields for the form will be created, by using the Add Fields button.

• Design: Here you can choose a layout to be associated with your form; this is a design template, and should only be used if this form will be used to build new pages. If you do not specify a layout, one will automatically be generated for you.

Obiki Form Builder

Adding Form Fields

Clicking the Add Fields button adds a new row that represents the new field. Field Description is the label that will appear next to the form element. Instructions related to the field can be inserted on this line. Field Identifier will be the name under which the value will be stored in the database. Field Layout specifies the type of form field, and includes all standard variations.

The order of fields in the form can be changed easily by clicking on the grey box to the left of the Field Description box, and then dragging it to the desired location (see image below).

dragging form fields

Forms and Special Characters

Bear in mind that Obiki forms are more sensitive to the use of special characters than standard Obiki Components. Curly quotes (“ ”, as well as ‘ and ’) and other special characters can corrupt the data input into a form, causing it to display unintelligably. Straight quotes (" and ') should be used instead, and special characters should be converted to unicode or otherwise escaped.