Setting form properties

Use this Property inspector to set the properties of the HTML form.

To set form properties:

1. In the Form Name text box, type a unique name to identify the form.

   Naming a form makes it possible to reference or control the form with a scripting language, such as JavaScript or VBScript. If you do not name the form, Dreamweaver generates a name using the syntax formn, and increments the value of n for each form added to the page.

2. In the Action text box, specify the path to the dynamic page or script that will process the form. You can either type the complete path into the Action text box, or click the folder icon to navigate to the appropriate folder in the same site containing the script or application page.
3. In the Method pop-up menu, select the method that will transmit the form data to the server.

   POST embeds the form data in the HTTP request.

   GET appends the value to the URL requesting the page.

   Default uses the browser’s default setting to send the form data to the server. Typically the default is the GET method.

   Do not use the GET method to send long forms. URLs are limited to 8192 characters. If the amount of data sent is too large, data will be truncated, leading to unexpected or failed processing results.

   Dynamic pages generated by parameters passed by the GET method can be bookmarked because all the values needed to regenerate the page are contained in the URL displayed in the browser’s Address box. In contrast, dynamic pages generated by parameters passed by the POST method cannot be bookmarked.

   If you collect confidential user names and passwords, credit card numbers, or other confidential information, the POST method may appear more secure than the GET method. However, the information sent by the POST method is not encrypted and can easily be retrieved by a hacker. To ensure security, use a secure connection to a secure server.

4. If desired, use the Enctype pop-up menu to specify the MIME encoding type of the data submitted to the server for processing.

   The default setting of application/x-www-form-urlencode is typically used in conjunction with the POST method. If you are creating a file-upload field, specify the multipart/form-data MIME type.

5. If desired, use the Target pop-up menu to specify the window in which to display the data returned by the invoked program.

   If the named window is not already open, a new window with that name opens. The target values are as follows:

   _blank opens the destination document in a new unnamed window.

   _parent opens the destination document in the parent window of the one displaying the current document.

   _self opens the destination document in the same window as the one in which the form was submitted.

   _top opens the destination document in the body of the current window. This value can be used to ensure that the destination document takes over the full window even if the original document was displayed in a frame.

Related topics

• Creating HTML forms