Creating Reusable Assets and Forms - New Perspectives on Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, Comprehensive - page 362

• Radio button and radio group. A group of selection objects that work together in a
form. The user can select only one radio button from a radio group. Unlike a check-
box, which can be toggled on and off independently, a selected radio button can be
deselected only when the user selects another radio button within the radio group.
• List/Menu. A list of preset input choices in a form. List presents a list of possible input
choices in a designated area, providing a scroll bar, if necessary, that enables users to
navigate through the list. The user can select multiple items in a list. Menu presents the
user with the input choices in a drop-down menu. The user can select only one item
from a menu.
• Jump menu. A special menu that contains a list of active links to other pages, graph-
ics, or any type of fi le that can be opened in a browser. When a user selects an item
from the jump menu, the new page or document opens. Unlike other form objects, the
jump menu can be used within or outside a form because it includes form tags and a
Submit button.
• Image fi eld. A graphic used as a Submit or Reset button in a form. You can also use
graphics as buttons that perform other tasks by adding behaviors.
• File fi eld. A fi le upload fi eld in the form that enables the user to upload a fi le from the
client computer to the server. The fi le fi eld contains a Browse button and a text box.
The user can select the fi le using the Browse button or, in some browsers, the user can
type the fi le path into the text box. You must use the POST method to send fi les from
the browser to the server, and your Web server must be set up to handle this type of
fi le upload.
• Button. A button in the form that performs the behavior you specify. The button can
be designated as a Submit button or a Reset button, or it can have no designation. A
Submit button sends the form data to the location you designated for processing. A
Reset button clears any content that the user added to or modifi ed in the form so that
the user can start over. You can also add behaviors to the button, enabling it to perform
other functions.
You'll use text fi elds, checkboxes, radio buttons, a list, a Submit button, and a Reset
button in the contact form.
You set the attributes for a form object in the Property inspector when that object is
selected in the form. Each type of object has a unique set of attributes. However, every
object has a name attribute. It is important to name every form object because the script-
ing language uses this name to identify the form object. If you do not name an object,
Dreamweaver names it for you, using the object type and a number as its name. It is
better to use a descriptive name for form objects because the name will be paired with its
corresponding data when sent to the processing destination. When you view the data col-
lected from forms, the name identifi es the information beside it. You'll name the text fi eld
where users input their last name “LastName” so that when you view the data you see
LastName beside the data captured in the last name fi eld. Without this descriptive name,
you might have trouble distinguishing the user's fi rst name from the user's last name.
Creating the Form Structure
You want to add form objects to a form in logical groupings. For example, all similar or
related information should be placed together so users can enter that data, such as all
their personal information, at the same time. You should also include a label with brief
instructions or a description of the information being requested for each object so users
know what to do.