ALLAYERS.COM - Linking Multiple HTML Forms

This script has it's root is daily practise. A webdesign company used a mail-to Perl script to submit request forms to. They wanted a simple solution for handling multiple forms. Using the form linker class it required verly little scripting from the calling page to realize this. It registers HTML form templates and includes them with addition of an extra hidden element for use as index.

<?
// create object
include("linker.class.php");
$formlinker = new linker();

// these have to be set!
$formlinker->mailaction="./postpage.php";
// hidden settings for submit processor
$formlinker->mailhidden="./mailhidden.html";

// the form templates have to added
$formlinker->addform("./form1.html");
$formlinker->addform("./form2.html");
// etc.
// output correct form
$formlinker->writeform();
?>

This demo shows how forms can be chained together this way and submitted in the end.

<?
class linker{
      // private
      var $forms;
      var $index;
      var $previous;
      // have te be set
      var $mailaction;
      var $mailhidden;

      // private methods

      function linker(){
      GLOBAL $HTTP_POST_VARS;

               if ($HTTP_POST_VARS)
                    $this->getpostvars($HTTP_POST_VARS);
                    else
                    $this->index = 0;
               }

      function getpostvars(&$vars){

               while (list($id,$item)=each($vars)){
                      if ($id=="currentformindex")
                           $this->index = $item;
                           else
                           $this->previous .= "<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"".$id."\" value=\"".$item."\">\n";
                      }

               }

      function getheader(){
      GLOBAL $PHP_SELF;
               if ($this->index == sizeof($this->forms)-1){
                  echo "<FORM METHOD=\"POST\" NAME=\"last\" ACTION=\"".$this->mailaction."\">\n";
                  include($this->mailhidden);
                  }else{
                     echo "<FORM METHOD=\"POST\" NAME=\"aform\" ACTION=\"".$PHP_SELF."\">\n";
                     echo "<INPUT TYPE=\"hidden\" name=\"currentformindex\" value=\"".($this->index + 1)."\">\n";
                     }
               }
      // public
      function addform($html){
               $this->forms[] = $html;
               }

      function writeform(){
               if ($this->mailaction && $this->mailhidden){
                    $this->getheader();
                    echo $this->previous;
                    include($this->forms[$this->index]);
                    echo "</FORM>";
                    }else{
                       echo "Set mailaction (script path) and mailhidden file path (script mail parameters)";
                       }
               }

      }//end class
?>

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Linking multiple forms and submitting to handler script

This demo shows how forms can be chained together this way and submitted in the end.

Form Linker Class