Hi all.<br />
<br />
Can anyone point me to info on how AutoSubmit of forms is usually handled?<br />
<br />
Two examples of what I mean - two sides of the same thing:<br />
<br />
1. A product called Ezine Announcer autosubmits my newsletter details to forms on dozens of eZine directory sites.<br />
<br />
2. Leads services like LeadFactory auto-submit their leads to a subscription form on my site.<br />
<br />
I want to optimize my end (particularly in the case of 2 above) so that as I upgrade and improve my forms, I don't break the auto-submit process.<br />
<br />
So I decided to learn about how their auto-submit processes work. But when I contact the "tech support" at such places they say they don't have a clue as to how their service works - "sorry I'm not a programmer". Strange but true! Unfortunately no one offered to ASK their programmers, so here I am, still looking.<br />
<br />
No need to be gentle - I'm at least competent with ASP, JavaScript, VBscript, HTML, etc. I just can't seem to find the right key phrases to get a relevant search result.<br />
<br />
Any ideas, pointers or suggestions most welcome.<br />
<br />
TIA<!--content-->Originally posted by Dave Clark <br />
Is this what you're referring to?<br />
<br />
<body onload="document.forms[0].submit()"><br />
<br />
<br />
No Dave - I know about "document.forms[0].submit()", but I don't think that's where I'm trying to go. A 3rd party can't apply that to *my* website.<br />
<br />
It is possible I am being misled by comments from the service providers I asked (unsuccessfully) for explanation. One said:<br />
<br />
"Our software 鎱篿lls out?the form through something called HTTP Proxy. I personally don't know much about it, just what it's called".<br />
<br />
All I have been able to figure out is that it is easy for such a service provider to look at the source code of the Form on *my* page, create a copy of that form but put all data into Hidden fields, then submit the *form copy* to the same "<form action=" as my original form uses.<br />
<br />
I cannot figure out how a 3rd party would be able to *send* data to *my* actual form on *my* website and then submit it. Nor can I see how anything I have been able to determine about "HTTP proxy" could help with that.<br />
<br />
Yet this is apparently what these services are able to do.<!--content-->Originally posted by Dave Clark <br />
Basically, what they are doing is using a server-to-server request that retrieves the content of your page. They then proceed to use server-side code to parse out your HTML to find the FORM, its attributes, and its "fields". The server-side code can then "fill in" the HTML value attributes of those "fields" and "submit" the FORM to the HTML action that your FORM specified. This last part is what is called an HTTP Proxy Request (a FORM submission being a "request"). "Proxy" because the request is not coming from an actual client -- the "client" is being represented "by proxy".<br />
<br />
Ok?
<br />
<br />
Dave <br />
<br />
Roger OK. You confirm they have to be submitting a clone of my Form from their own site, which was the only way I can see it happening. There's plenty of ways to programatically retrieve a web page or parts thereof.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the input Dave.<br />
<br />
Regards,<!--content-->Originally posted by Dave Clark <br />
True, but let me clarify one thing by asking a question. If they have already demonstrated this to you, did the result of their HTTP proxy request cause any problems in relation to where it came from?<br />
<br />
Dave <br />
<br />
No - not to my knowledge. But at the moment my form (and thus apparently theirs) submits directly to an autoresponder service, so I only get the bare bones feedback.<br />
<br />
The reason for my concern about their processes is that I want to take more control of my own pages. If I know how they (the Leads supply service) work then I can make form improvements at my end with full knowledge of how it will affect the Leads supplier's end . For example:<br />
<br />
My own form, when filled in directly by a would-be subscriber, offers the option of HTML, TXT or AOL as message formats. But as the leads service only harvests Name and Email I have had to ask them to default to one of those, so they send, say, Name - Email - HTML to the autoresponder - always. I can improve on that a bit by analysing the email address and changing the message format to AOL if the address is such.<br />
<br />
It's obvious to me now that I will have to set up a processing page and ask the Leads supplier to submit to that, then the Processing page will submit to the autoresponder.<br />
<br />
Regards,<!--content-->
<br />
Can anyone point me to info on how AutoSubmit of forms is usually handled?<br />
<br />
Two examples of what I mean - two sides of the same thing:<br />
<br />
1. A product called Ezine Announcer autosubmits my newsletter details to forms on dozens of eZine directory sites.<br />
<br />
2. Leads services like LeadFactory auto-submit their leads to a subscription form on my site.<br />
<br />
I want to optimize my end (particularly in the case of 2 above) so that as I upgrade and improve my forms, I don't break the auto-submit process.<br />
<br />
So I decided to learn about how their auto-submit processes work. But when I contact the "tech support" at such places they say they don't have a clue as to how their service works - "sorry I'm not a programmer". Strange but true! Unfortunately no one offered to ASK their programmers, so here I am, still looking.<br />
<br />
No need to be gentle - I'm at least competent with ASP, JavaScript, VBscript, HTML, etc. I just can't seem to find the right key phrases to get a relevant search result.<br />
<br />
Any ideas, pointers or suggestions most welcome.<br />
<br />
TIA<!--content-->Originally posted by Dave Clark <br />
Is this what you're referring to?<br />
<br />
<body onload="document.forms[0].submit()"><br />
<br />
<br />
No Dave - I know about "document.forms[0].submit()", but I don't think that's where I'm trying to go. A 3rd party can't apply that to *my* website.<br />
<br />
It is possible I am being misled by comments from the service providers I asked (unsuccessfully) for explanation. One said:<br />
<br />
"Our software 鎱篿lls out?the form through something called HTTP Proxy. I personally don't know much about it, just what it's called".<br />
<br />
All I have been able to figure out is that it is easy for such a service provider to look at the source code of the Form on *my* page, create a copy of that form but put all data into Hidden fields, then submit the *form copy* to the same "<form action=" as my original form uses.<br />
<br />
I cannot figure out how a 3rd party would be able to *send* data to *my* actual form on *my* website and then submit it. Nor can I see how anything I have been able to determine about "HTTP proxy" could help with that.<br />
<br />
Yet this is apparently what these services are able to do.<!--content-->Originally posted by Dave Clark <br />
Basically, what they are doing is using a server-to-server request that retrieves the content of your page. They then proceed to use server-side code to parse out your HTML to find the FORM, its attributes, and its "fields". The server-side code can then "fill in" the HTML value attributes of those "fields" and "submit" the FORM to the HTML action that your FORM specified. This last part is what is called an HTTP Proxy Request (a FORM submission being a "request"). "Proxy" because the request is not coming from an actual client -- the "client" is being represented "by proxy".<br />
<br />
Ok?
<br /><br />
Dave <br />
<br />
Roger OK. You confirm they have to be submitting a clone of my Form from their own site, which was the only way I can see it happening. There's plenty of ways to programatically retrieve a web page or parts thereof.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the input Dave.<br />
<br />
Regards,<!--content-->Originally posted by Dave Clark <br />
True, but let me clarify one thing by asking a question. If they have already demonstrated this to you, did the result of their HTTP proxy request cause any problems in relation to where it came from?<br />
<br />
Dave <br />
<br />
No - not to my knowledge. But at the moment my form (and thus apparently theirs) submits directly to an autoresponder service, so I only get the bare bones feedback.<br />
<br />
The reason for my concern about their processes is that I want to take more control of my own pages. If I know how they (the Leads supply service) work then I can make form improvements at my end with full knowledge of how it will affect the Leads supplier's end . For example:<br />
<br />
My own form, when filled in directly by a would-be subscriber, offers the option of HTML, TXT or AOL as message formats. But as the leads service only harvests Name and Email I have had to ask them to default to one of those, so they send, say, Name - Email - HTML to the autoresponder - always. I can improve on that a bit by analysing the email address and changing the message format to AOL if the address is such.<br />
<br />
It's obvious to me now that I will have to set up a processing page and ask the Leads supplier to submit to that, then the Processing page will submit to the autoresponder.<br />
<br />
Regards,<!--content-->