Quick question about Contact Forms

[Fun Seeker]

Hi everyone,

I have a simple contact form that includes only three input fields: name, email address, and comments. All three are required.

As it stands, inquires arrive with "Contact Form" as the subject, but I would like the subject to show the sender's e-mail address or name.

This is how the form is current set up. How can I substitute "Contact Form" with either the name or email address?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Mark

<input type="hidden" name="subject" value="Contact Form">

<li>
<label>Complete Name <span class="required">*</span></label>
<input type="text" name="field1" class="field-divided" placeholder="First">
<input type="text" name="field2" class="field-divided" placeholder="Last">
</li>
<li>
<label>Email <span class="required">*</span></label>
<input type="email" name="field3" class="field-long">
</li>

[osgood_]

Hi everyone,

I have a simple contact form that includes only three input fields: name, email address, and comments. All three are required.

As it stands, inquires arrive with "Contact Form" as the subject, but I would like the subject to show the sender's e-mail address or name.

That would be done in the script you are using, presumably php. Can you paste what you currently have here as it would be part of the mail() function. 

[Nancy OShea]

Herein lies the problem: The PHP Mail() function is sending mail from YOUR SERVER, not from the sender's email.  So when you hit the email REPLY button, you're actually sending mail back to the server where it orginated.  Be aware of that.

I recommend using a secure form-to-email processing script.  PHPMailer is the one most recommended by hosting providers.  Below is a simple contact form.

https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/blob/master/examples/simple_contact_form.phps

[Ben M]

Something else to consider if you want more control over your forms, but don't want to get involved with the code, you could look into hosted solutions like Typeform ( https://www.typeform.com/ ) or something tied to a CRM to store those names into like Hubspot ( https://www.hubspot.com/ ).

[Fun Seeker]

Hi Nancy, Ben, and Osgood,

Thanks so much for your help.

Osgood, I reached out to my ISP and they provided me the necessary information. It didn't take too long to make the corrections. Thanks.

Nancy, you were correct. The messages are now coming from the sender's email, not the server. Thanks.

Nancy and Ben, the ISP referred me to this site, https://www.tectite.com/. I don't know how it compares with the scripts you've mentioned, but it seems to be working just fine. Perhaps with a more complex form, there would be advantages selecting another.

Thanks, and kind regards,

Mark

P.S. I see the EU is giving Adobe a hard time with their proposed acquisition of Figma. If the merger is denied, maybe it will spur Adobe to further develop Dreamweaver. That would be wonderful.

[Nancy OShea]

P.S. I see the EU is giving Adobe a hard time with their proposed acquisition of Figma. If the merger is denied, maybe it will spur Adobe to further develop Dreamweaver. That would be wonderful.

By @Fun Seeker

========

This sounds like 'Unicorn Theory.'

1. Figma is located in San Francisco, 1-1/2 hours north of Adobe's headquarters in San Jose, California.  The Federal SEC decides on U.S. based business mergers & acquisitions.  I'm not sure if the EU has any say in it. 

2. Unlikely, don't get your hopes up.  Figma has nothing to do with Dreamweaver.  AFAIK, Figma will replace XD as Adobe's new UI/UX design app.  Dreamweaver & XD have stopped new development. 

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/22/23769586/adobe-xd-discontinued-shutting-down-figma-design-app

[Fun Seeker]

Hi Nancy,

I read that EU regulators were not looking favorably on the deal, and that's why I assumed it was EU-based. They might block the deal. Thanks for clearing that up.

As far as Dreamweaver goes, I'll keep dreaming!

Kind regards,

Mark

[osgood_]

P.S. I see the EU is giving Adobe a hard time with their proposed acquisition of Figma. If the merger is denied, maybe it will spur Adobe to further develop Dreamweaver. That would be wonderful.

By @Fun Seeker

========

I'm not sure if the EU has any say in it. 

By @Nancy OShea

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23961096/adobe-figma-acquisition-antitrust-eu-statement-of-objec... 

I doubt sense will prevail over money. Money talks.

[Ben M]

Hi Nancy, Ben, and Osgood,

Thanks so much for your help.

Osgood, I reached out to my ISP and they provided me the necessary information. It didn't take too long to make the corrections. Thanks.

Nancy, you were correct. The messages are now coming from the sender's email, not the server. Thanks.

Nancy and Ben, the ISP referred me to this site, https://www.tectite.com/. I don't know how it compares with the scripts you've mentioned, but it seems to be working just fine. Perhaps with a more complex form, there would be advantages selecting another.

Thanks, and kind regards,

Mark

P.S. I see the EU is giving Adobe a hard time with their proposed acquisition of Figma. If the merger is denied, maybe it will spur Adobe to further develop Dreamweaver. That would be wonderful.

By @Fun Seeker

The script they sent you to is another one where you will have to edit the code like you are doing today. The alternatives I provided allow you to build your forms in a visual editor and then they give you embed code to place on your website so you don't have to go into the code itself to accomplish what you want. They have limited free versions which may work for you, or they also offer more complex paid plans that offer more functionality then you would get without diving into advanced coding on your own forms.

[Fun Seeker]

Thanks Ben,

I'll keep them in mind for future use, but for this particular project, they would be overkill. I don't expect to receive too many inquires, so I'll continue with the current script. But it's nice to know a more robust option exists.

Kind regards,

Mark

[osgood_]

Hi Nancy, Ben, and Osgood,

Thanks so much for your help.

Osgood, I reached out to my ISP and they provided me the necessary information. It didn't take too long to make the corrections. Thanks.

Nancy, you were correct. The messages are now coming from the sender's email, not the server. Thanks.

By @Fun Seeker

To be honest, I'm not sure why you wanted to replace the 'subject' with the senders 'email' initially. It seems not too much work to actually open the email, sent from the server the website is hosted on, and read the email from who sent it, along with any other useful information supplied in the form by the sender.

Hopefully you have something sorted out now, whatever script you have chosen to use.

[Fun Seeker]

Hi Osgood,

After altering the code, I came to the same conclusion. Initially, I thought changing the "subject" would work best; I was looking for an easier way to identify spam. Because the messages were coming from the server, not the sender, they all shared the same addresss, making that difficult/impossible. But now that messages are coming from the sender's email, not the server, there's no need to concern myself with the "subject."

Thanks again for your help.

Mark