Adding your first form
POST forms and API forms
There are two ways to submit your form data:
- 1. POST forms work by setting the "action" attribute of your form tag to point to Form Tools' process.php file (found in the Form Tools root folder). This submits the content to Form Tools, which then redirects to whatever URL you want. This method is the simplest way to submit the data, but it's also quite limiting (see below).
- 2. API forms work by using PHP to gather and send the form data. The API comes pre-installed with all bundled Form Tools installations (i.e. the zip and tar files found on the download page). This method is extremely powerful and generally favoured for multi-page forms, or forms that require server-side validation.
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. The following table outlines some of the key differences to help you determine which method is better for you.
| Requirement | process.php | API |
|---|---|---|
| General simplicity | Simple | Hard |
| Requires PHP knowledge | x | |
| Submit form for storage | x | x |
| Accepts form submissions sent from other websites than the one where Form Tools is installed | x | |
| Submit form in sections (e.g. page by page) | x | |
| Upload files through form | x | x |
| Client-side validation (javascript) | x | x |
| Server-side validation (PHP) | x | |
| CATPCHAs | x | x |
| Compatible with third-party payment gateways like PayPal | x |