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Frequently Asked Questions

Using the CGI Form-Mailer

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Last Updated: September 16, 2011 8:03 PM

To use the CGI form-mailer, create a Web form in HTML that links to the gdform.cgi script, located in the cgi directory of your hosting account.

Linux 4GH® accounts do not have access to the CGI form-mailer. These accounts must use webformmailer.php or gdform.php. See Using PHP Form Mailers for more information.

NOTE: This article applies to Linux Deluxe and Unlimited Shared Hosting accounts only.

The cgi directory of your hosting account is reserved for cgi scripts. Do not upload the HTML file that contains your Web form to the cgi directory.

Remember to specify the email address you want to use with the form-mailer in your account manager. For more information, see Specifying an Email Address for the CGI Form-Mailer.

To Use the CGI Form-Mailer

  1. Create your Web form and assign unique names to your form items.

    TIP: Our form-mailer script sorts the names of your form items alphabetically when it composes the email message. The order of precedence is: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers.

  2. Type "/cgi/gdform.cgi" as the form action line. For example:
    <form action="/cgi/gdform.cgi" method="post">
  3. Type "post" as the form method.
  4. In addition to the fields you create in your form, the following fields must be included:
    • Subject — This field controls the subject line in the form email.
    • Redirect — This field controls the page that your visitors will see after they submit the form.
    • Email — This field controls the return address for the form email.

    Here's an example:

    <form action="/cgi/gdform.cgi" method="post">
    <input type="hidden" name="subject" value="Form Submission" />
    <input type="hidden" name="redirect" value="thankyou.html" />
    <p>First Name:<input type="text" name="FirstName" /></p>
    <p>Last Name:<input type="text" name="LastName" /></p>
    <p>E-Mail:<input type="text" name="email" /></p>
    <p>Comments:<textarea name="comments" cols="40" rows="10">
    Type comments here.</textarea></p>
    <input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/>
    </form>
  5. Save and upload your form to your hosting account.

If you are using a secondary domain name (Managing Your Hosting Account Domains), your redirect should point to:

./folder/thankyou.html

where /folder is the folder on your hosting account you use for the site and thankyou.html is the file you want to redirect visitors to.

For information on reinstalling your default scripts, see Reinstalling the Default Scripts Directory on Linux Shared Hosting.