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**Steve Wood** · 05-28-2007, 02:35 PM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

I've converted a 20 page FP2003 website to Alpha Five, though just for expirement so far (see bottom if interested). The HTML pages run fine under A5 except anything that uses FP Extensions, such as your Form example. If all you need to do is fix the few things you described here, stick with FP and make it work. Although it is farily easy to convert (just copy it to your Alpha project and publish it), your environment will change and require 1) 10X more money to operate, 2) you will have less formatting and design control, but more database control, and 3) you will have to program all of the form control that you already have 99% working in FP. FP is also significantly easier and robust than Alpha for overall web design.

Other points:

You can't automatically capture anyone's email address with any program. You have to ask for it and they have to type it in. If you have a field for email, and you make it required in FP, then you will capture it.
FP has a couple output formats for Emailing form data. What format do you want?
If you have an ordering system on your current web application that takes credit cards or similar, you will have to program that in Alpha, and that's a bear.
If you convert to Alpha, you will have to remove your application from its current location and re-host it elsewhere at a location that accepts the Alpha web app server.

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Website on Alpha http://attorneystrust.alphatogohost.com/
Website on commercial host: www.attorneystrust.com
Note - the menu hyperlinks are absolute and pointed to the commercial host, so if you go to the Alpha copy, all of the menu options take you back to the commerical host.

**Bill** · 05-29-2007, 07:09 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

Steve,
Thanks for jumping in. I concur with your opinion that I'm probably better off leaving it in FP, however, I'm not at all proficient with that software.

You mentioned different formatting options in FP. Is that something that can be applied from a toolbar or does it require html coding ability on my part?

All I'm trying to do is make the resulting order form (that is generated into an email, like the example given above [in red]) more readable and printer friendly. As you can see in that example, it lacks flow and ends up being a 2 page document when printed. I know I can elect to print just one page or reformat it before printing, but that's a pain ITA.

I would be fine with even doing away with the name of each field. If formatted correctly I don't need to be reminded that 123-45-6789 is a SSN, or that 123-456-7890 is a telephone number. Ideally, an order email would look like this:

John Doe (888) 888-8888
Prudential Life $500,000 (which brings me to another question; I set up that field to include commas but what I get is 500000)
Amy Bubbletoes 4/11/69 123-45-6789
1 oak st anywhere, texas 01234 (999) 999-9999
2 oak st anywhere MA 11111 (777) 777-7777
Cell: 555-555-5555
Client deathly afraid of needles and may cry when you stick him ;^)

Thanks Steve

**Steve Wood** · 05-29-2007, 11:50 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

I don't know how to improve the emailed data layout.

You can use the Send To Other option in the form properties to send the data via POST to an awaiting A5W page. That page could process the information and send the email in any format you want. You'd be combining FP with Alpha.

Set to Send To Other and click Options. Change the Action to the URL of the A5W page. Your A5W page will then have variables for each field in your form and you can use them just like normal local variables.

And this would be more fun than rewriting the application.

**Bill** · 05-29-2007, 04:36 PM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

Steve, I love what you're proposing, and who in their right mind wouldn't want to have A5 fun?:D

However, you missed something...

I'm already relying on water wings in the FP pool, and I don't have a clue about anything to do with WAS.

What is an a5w page url?

Is it part of a website developed in WAS, or is it something I'd put in an existing form in my database?

Thanks,
Bill

**Steve Wood** · 05-29-2007, 05:15 PM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

How does one put this delicately, you can't get there? Perhaps hire someone from this forum?

Its easy for me to propose all sorts of fancy A5W solutions because I have servers running various Alpha web applications; I can play with and expirement all I want. But to go from no-WAS to implementing something is a bit of work, and has requirements for equipment and a hosting environment. You'd have to put all that in place just to get started.

Another FP option is to use FormMail (http://www.formmail.com/). This utility helps to format email from form data. You can impliment it yourself or I see they have a "account" option where they will implement if for you.

Actually, the funny thing is, I could do exactly the same thing that FormMail does. That is, if you told me the names of your fields in your form and who (name and email) you want the email to come from, I could reformat your FP output and send in an email exactly the way you want. You'd only have to make one simple change to the FP form.

I'm not in that business, but it would be an interesting idea if you want to try.

**Bill** · 05-30-2007, 06:21 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

Steve,
There's a word for teases like you; strippers:p

I'm not sure if you're screwing with me or not with your "you can't get there?" comment, but all I really need is to format the resulting email from an online order into something more concise. The example of that, given previously in red, is exactly how they come to me at present. (I've attached a copy of the FP page, and the link to my website is paramedicalexam.com )

I would love to, one day, be able to work it so A5 harvests the info from those fields in an email order, fills in the corresponding fields in my app, and creates a new record. For now, I'll enter them in manually just to avoid the learning curve that would entail.

I was just hoping to be able to make the email less painful on the eyes, and less wasteful of paper when printing.

BTW, like the Yankees, all Oakland teams suck. Boston/New England rules!!! :D

**Steve Wood** · 05-30-2007, 10:03 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

You were being tongue-in-cheek and so I was in return, not offence meant. What I did mean is, by your admission, you have no skill in FP or WAS, so you probably cannot achieve the results you desire using those programs under your own power, so find someone who can. That's all I meant.

From what I know of FP (10 year user) you cannot tweak the email output unless you use pass the information off to another program for formatting. FP cannot be used to format that email.

You can pass that information off to Alpha in the way I described earlier (Send to Other option) and use Alpha to generate the email in any format you desire. I offered to help with that.

You also can pass that information to a CGI application which I am sure you could install right on your website. FormMail and other 3rd party "form handlers" are available all over the web.

I don't follow baseball but thank you for taking the time to notice where I live. If you are really interested in taking care of your problem either do something with my suggestions or hire someone that knows how.

**Bill** · 05-30-2007, 10:39 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

No offense meant or taken, 2 guys doing what guys do, busting each other's nuts.

I will gladly accept your help using A5 to accomplish the goal (I might learn something that I can further use down the road).

That said; what is the process of putting the URL of an A5W page into play? Should I be looking at some specific tutorial on this?

Thanks,
Bill

**Bill** · 09-25-2007, 08:39 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

Steve,
You still there?
I didn't get a reply to my last post so I lost track of this thread. I'm still interested in using your suggestion to use "send to other" to reformat my emails and taking you up on your offer to help me with that.
Thanks,
Bill

**Steve Wood** · 09-25-2007, 09:17 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

<<You still there?>> Seemingly always.

I can run an example past you here, see if that works.

Right click in the FP form, select Form Properties. Set them like I have in the graphic below, except use your own value for the Action field.

You see my A5W page is named sendemail.a5w. Here is the code for that page:

msg = "Hello " + Name + ","
email_send(email,"test message",msg)
response.redirect("mypage.htm")

The way it works is EVERY field in your FP form will be transmitted as a variable to the A5W page you set in the Action field.

I have Email and Name in my example. So, in my code, I use Email and Name to complete an email that will just say Hello Steve. The last line tells what web page will open up after the email is sent.

You'd want to put some error checking on the A5W page, but its as simple as that.

**Doug Page** · 09-25-2007, 06:48 PM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

Not to interject in the middle of your conversation, another idea might be to have Alpha take the email that is sent and reformat it when received and not touching the website at all.

Just looking from a different angle.

**Bill** · 09-25-2007, 08:44 PM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

I'm a bit lost so please forgive me if I ask dumb questions.

Do I have to have my app set-up as a WAS to try either of your (Steve or Doug's) suggestions? I don't get enough online business traffic to justify the expense of adding another host or changing over my app.

With my hosting company and my lack of familiarity with FP, I've had problems with things working properly when making changes and uploading them. So I think avoiding changes there is safer, if not saner. That said, is it possible to do as Doug suggests in a non-WAS environment?

Thanks Guys

Sidebar-Unlike busting Steve's chops (Boston vs Oakland) I envy you for where you live Doug. I love the northwest and have been on several great trips in your province. Are you perchance into fishing?

**Steve Wood** · 09-25-2007, 10:08 PM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

FP does not have many options built in to do this after you select Form Properties.

If you want the email to come with all values in comma, tab or space delimited rather than the difficult list you currently get, just go to Form Properties, Options and select Email Results and change the Email Format to one of those formats.

**Doug Page** · 09-26-2007, 02:51 AM

Re: Anyone familiar with converting a Front Page built web to WAS ???

Bill,

My idea was to receive the email and then use Alpha to parse what is received and create a more readable format for printing. You would not need to use the WAS features. You would either use your current email program to create a text file of the email and then access that with A5 or learn the email features in Alpha and then deal with it all there.

As for your comments about where I live, thank you. I have travelled many places in the world and still enjoy coming home. Not to many cities like Vancouver where you can be skiing in the morning and walking you dog along the beach in the afternoon. YES I love fishing and have done since I can remember. Even spent a few summers as a guide some years ago.

Good luck with your project.

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