Introduction to Configuration Files

The configuration file is a text file which tells the WebCom Forms Processor what to do with the data from your form once it is submitted. Having a configuration file for a form is optional. If you do not have a configuration file for your form, the data submitted to the form will automatically be emailed to your_userid@webcom.com. If you do have a configuration file. the form data will be routed according to the instructions therein, and will not be emailed to you unless you specify so in the config file explicitly.

Configuration files must be located in a subdirectory of your home directory called "form". The name of the file must be form_name.cfg (substitute the actual name of your form for 'form_name'). The form name is defined in one of two special hidden fields which must be defined in the form itself, which tell the form processor who owns the form (what your userid is) and what the form's name is.

As an example, suppose you created a form whose name was "feedback" (the value of the form_name hidden field was "feedback"). If you wanted to create a configuration file for that form, you would need to name it feedback.cfg and place it in your form subdirectory. (Use the WebCom file manager or FTP to create the "form" subdirectory in your top-level WebCom home directory).

After reading your .cfg configuration file, the forms processor:

1. Reformats the data
2. Routes the data
3. Displays the next web page to the user (usually an acknowledgement of some sort)

all according to your specifications. The forms processor can route the data in any or all of the following ways:

• Some or all of the data can be emailed to one or more internet email addresses
• Some or all of the data can be inserted in or appended to one or more data files in your directory
• Some or all of the data can be redisplayed as the next web page displayed to the user

Each output route can be in a format defined by you. The configuration file can contain:

• parameter settings
• if/else/endif statements
• output formats
• Advanced commands.

The configuration file can also include comments which the forms processor ignores. Prefix comments with a pound sign (#). Everything on a line after a pound sign is ignored (including the pound sign itself).

For example, suppose you had a form called feedback, and you wanted the form data to be sent to an email address other than the one in your .forward file in your webcom directory. You could simply create a file called feedback.cfg in your form sub-directory, with a single line, as follows:

$email="anotheraddress@somewhere.com";

See the page on parameter settings for more information on setting Form Processor parameters.