CGI Scripts: Guestbook
What is a guestbook script? It's a page that allows users to leave
their mark, akin to having fellow students sign your yearbook upon
graduation.
To use the Guestbook CGI, you will need to create a guestbook directory
directly under your public_html directory. You would then download
and edit three HTML files to use by the Guestbook CGI. These are
placed in the guestbook directory. Once this is done, create a link
to the guestbook, and you are up and running with a Guestbook on
your webpage.
Create the guestbook directory
The first step is to create the guestbook directory in your public_html
directory.
- Using your favorite FTP client, login to our web
server. Use your username and your password. Do not login
anonymously. You cannot access your home directory under an anonymous
login.
- Once you have logged in, you will be in your home directory.
Change to your public_html directory.
- Use your ftp client's make directory command to create
the guestbook directory. (mkdir is the command you should
use with the UNIX and Windows '95, Windows '98 command line FTP
program.)
- Change the file permissions of the guestbook directory
to 777 (read/write/executable to all).
What follows is a sample command line FTP session.
ftp home.
Connected to home..
220 web2.tor.accglobal.net FTP server (NcFTPd 2.3.0) ready.
Name (home.:user): foo
331 User foo okay, need password.
Password: ********
230 User foo logged in.
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> cd public_html
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> mkdir guestbook
257 "/home/foo/public_html/guestbook" new directory created
ftp> CD guestbook
250 CDW command successful.
ftp>
If you are using a graphical FTP program, refer to your FTP client's
user guide for assistance.
Download the sample HTML Files
The next step is to download the Guestbook
zipfile that contains the three required guestbook files. You
can use these as a base for your Guestbook web page or as a guide
on how to modify your existing Guestbook webpage. (You can unzip
this file with the winzip utility)
Edit each HTML file as required and upload them to your guestbook
directory.
What each file does
| guestbook.html |
Main guestbook file. This file is updated when a user adds
their entry to the guestbook. The name of this file cannot be
changed. The filename must be guestbook.html, all in
lowercase, and html not htm as the file extension. File permissions
should be set to 777 (world readable/writable/executable)
for this file. |
| addguest.html |
The web form used to add entries to your guestbook. |
| guestlog.html |
The file updated with log entries of new additions to your
guestbook. As with the guestbook.html file, this filename cannot
be changed. File permissions should be set to 777 (world
readable/writable/executable) for this file. |
Updating guestbook.html
You may customize the guestbook.html file as much as you wish using
the following guidelines:
- All comments in the file are required. Do not remove them.
- The order in which the comments appear are important. Do not
rearrange them.
- Once the guestbook is in use, we do not recommend editing the
guestbook.html file. If the file is changed, it may fail to update
the file correctly.
Updating addguest.html
The guestbook script relies on hidden HTML tags to get the necessary
information to create the guestbook web page. addguest.html is the
file used to update the guestbook. The following table provides
a list of the tags contained in the file. Follow the link on the
tag name for a detailed description of the tags and it's usage.
For an example of how to insert the HTML form tags into your document,
view the sample addguest.html file.
The following tags are used by guestbook in addguest.html:
| Tag name |
Type |
What it does |
| username |
visible |
User's e-mail address |
| realname |
visible |
User's real name |
| url |
visible |
User's URL to home page |
| city |
visible |
User's city |
| state |
visible |
User's state or province |
| country |
visible |
User's country |
| comments |
visible |
User's comments |
| user |
hidden |
REQUIRED. Your user id or username. Should be in the format
of user@ For compatibility with existing guestbooks,
if the domain name is missing from the user id, @
will be added automatically |
| mail |
hidden |
Set to 1 if you want an e-mail message sent when an entry
is added to your guestbook. The recipient tag must be completed
for a message to be sent. |
| uselog |
hidden |
Set to 0 to disable guestbook logging into guestlog.html |
| linkmail |
hidden |
Set to 1 to enable linking of e-mail addresses to a mailto:
URL. This will allow users to clock on a user in your guestbook
to send an e-mail message to them. |
| separator |
hidden |
Set to 1 to use a line tag (<hr>) instead of a paragraph
tag (<p>) to separate guestbook entries. |
| redirection |
hidden |
Set to 1 to automatically redirect the user's browser to the
guestbook after an addition. Set to 0 to display a page telling
the user the guestbook entry has been added. |
| entry_order |
hidden |
Set to 1 to have new entries added to the bottom of the guestbook.
Set to 0 to have them added to the top. The default setting
is to add entries to the top. |
| remote_mail |
hidden |
Set to 1 to have a form letter e-mailed to the user if they
fill in their e-mail address. The recipient tag must
also be set for this to be enabled. The default is no e-mail
is sent. |
| line_breaks |
hidden |
Set to 1 to enable changing line break or newline characters
into <br> tags. The default is not to change newlines. |
| recipient |
hidden |
This is your e-mail address. It is required for the mail and
remote_mail tags to work. |
Updating guestlog.html
While you can update guestlog.html, there is no real need to. This
file is only updated if the uselog tag is
set in the addguest.html file and is intended to be viewed by you,
the web site designer. The information in this page shows who attempted
to use your guestbook including any errors.
Guestbook Details
username
This is a visible tag that give the user a place to enter their
e-mail address.
Syntax: <input type=text name="username">
[ top ]
realname
This is a visible tag that gives the user a place to enter their
real name.
Syntax: <input type=text name="realname">
[ top ]
url
This is a visible tag that gives the user a place to enter their
URL to their home page.
Syntax: <input type=text name="url">
[ top ]
city
This is a visible tag that gives the user a place to enter the
city in which they live.
Syntax: <input type=text name="city">
[ top ]
state
This is a visible tag that give the user a place to enter the state
or province in which they live.
Syntax: <input type=text name="state">
[ top ]
country
This is a visible tag that gives the user a place to enter the
country in which they live. It is helpful to default this tag to
Canada or United-States depending on where you expect most of your
users to be located. This ensures they enter something in this field.
Syntax:
Without default: <input type=text name="country">
With default: <input type=text name="country" value="United-States">
[ top ]
comments
This is a visible tag (generally set as a textarea HTML tag) that
gives the user a place to enter the comments that he/she wants to
add to the guestbook.
Syntax: <textarea name="comments></textarea>
[ top ]
user
This is a required tag. If this tag is missing, the guestbook CGI
will present the user with an error. Specify your user
id for the user tag. This should be in the form of user@
. However, for compatibility with older websites/pages, if the domain
name is left off the user tag, then @ will be added
automatically.
Syntax: <input type=hidden name="user" value="foo@">
mail
If this option is set to "1", the the guestbook CGI will
e-mail you when a new entry is made to your guestbook. The default
for this option is not to send e-mail The recipient tag must
also be defined for e-mail to be sent.
Syntax:
To enable send an e-mail on a new entry: <input type=hidden
name="mail" value="1">
To disable sending an e-mail on a new entry (the default): <input
type=hidden name="mail" value="0">
[ top ]/p>
uselog
This tag enables or disables logging to the guestlog.html file.
Set this value to "0" to disable guestbook logging and
to "1" to enable it. The default is to enable logging
is uselog is not included in your addguest.html file.
Syntax:
To enable logging (the default): <input type=hidden name="uselog"
value="1">T
To disable logging: <input type=hidden name="uselog"
value="0">
[ top ]
linkmail
Setting this option to "1" enables user's e-mail addresses
in the guestbook to be hyperlinked. This enables users to click
on the e-mail address to send e-mail to that user. Set this to "0"
to disable this feature. The default is not to hyperlink e-mail
addresses.
Syntax:
To enable linkmail: <input type=hidden name="linkmail"
value="1">
To disable linkmail (the default): <input type=hidden name="linkmail"
value="0">
[ top ]
separator
Set to "1" to use the <hr> tag (line tag) and to
"0" to use the <p> (paragraph) tag to separate guestbook
entries. The default is to use the <hr> tag.
Syntax:
To use the line or <hr> tag (the default): <input
type=hidden name="separator" value="1">
To use the paragraph or <p> tag: <input type=hidden
name="separator" value="0">
[ top ]
redirection
Set to "1" to enable redirecting the user's web browser
to the guestbook.html file after their entry is made. Set to "0"
to display a result web page suggesting the entry was accepted.
The default is to display a webpage, and not redirect the user's
web browser.
Syntax:
To redirect the user's web browser: <input type=hidden
name="redirection" value="1">
To not redirect the user's web browser: <input type=hidden
name="redirection" value="0">
[ top ]
entry_order
Set to "1" to have new guestbook entries added to the
top of the guestbook. Set to "0" to have new entries added
to the bottom of the guestbook. The default is to have the new entries
added to the bottom of the guestbook.html file.
Syntax:
To add new entries at the top: <input type=hidden name="entry_order"
value="1">
To add new entries at the bottom: <input type=hidden name="entry_order"
value="0">
[ top ]
remote_mail
This option, if set to "1", will e-mail the guestbook
user a form letter, if they provided their e-mail address. Set this
option to "0" to disable this feature. The default behavior
is to not send a form letter.
Syntax:
To enable sending a form letter: <input type=hidden name="remote_mail"
value="1">
To disable sending a form letter: <input type=hidden name="remote_mail"
value="0">
[ top ]
line_breaks
This option controls whether the line breaks or newline character
entered in the comments field are change to <br> HTML tags.
Set this option to "1" to enable this feature. Setting
it to "0" leave the comments field unchanged. The default
is not to change the comments field. Not changing the newlines to
<Br> HTML tags has the effect of placing the comments on one
line with formatting of the text left up to the web browser.
Syntax:
To enable changing the comments field: <input type=hidden
name="line_breaks" value="1">
To disable changing the comments field: <input type=hidden
name="line_breaks" value="0">
[ top ]
recipient
Set this option to your e-mail address. This option is required
if the mail or remote_mail options are set.
Syntax: <input type=hidden name="recipient" value="user@">
[ top ]
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