Preparations in the page tree

1. When working with forms, you naturally need a website on which the form is to be integrated. This can be an existing page or a new one that is created specifically as a registration website.
   → The use of a separate website that is only intended for the form is usually recommended in order to keep the appearance clear and organised for those registering.
2. For the sake of internal organisation, it is also usually advisable to create two folders: the form is stored in one folder (form design) and the second folder serves as a storage location for the form data entered by the applicants. Technically, these two folders are not absolutely necessary, and it is not important where exactly they are located (e.g. they do not necessarily have to be subordinate to the form page). However, they are very helpful for the problem-free handling of forms and submitted form data and should therefore be placed and named in such a way that you always have a good orientation as to where something is located.

Procedure for creating folders

First create a page for the form. In principle, the two folders mentioned are created in the same way as the page, but when creating them, use the grey folder symbol and drag this onto the previously created page so that the two folders are subsequently located within the page:

After the preparatory steps, the actual form is created:

• In the page tree, click on the folder in which the form is to be saved (form design) and follow the prompt (blue button) to switch to the list view.
• Then click on the plus button above ("New data record" - see Fig. 1) and select powermail→Forms from the list displayed (see Fig. 2).
• In the view that opens, first give the form a name (see Fig. 3).
• You can then create the first page of the form. Form pages are named groups of input fields to distinguish thematic parts of the form from each other (not to be confused with web pages). Technically, only a single form page is required to accommodate all input fields, but it can be clearer when filling out the form if there are several form pages, as these are visually identified as a content group by a border line. It is therefore purely a design decision whether to work with one or more form pages.
  Form pages can also be used to fill out the form piece by piece by displaying only one page at a time and clicking on the next page after filling it out (this can be configured in the plug-in settings).
• Give the form page a name (as a sort of subheading in the form). Within the form page, create the desired fields (input fields of the form).
• Don't forget to add a field of type Submit at the end! This is the submit button of the form.

For the input fields, always select a title and a type (text field, radio button, submit, etc.) for the data to be entered. To make advanced settings, you must save the form once. In the "Advanced" tab of the field, you can then set whether the field is a mandatory field or whether the input should be checked.

A new content element (see section: Inserting content into a page) of the type [Powermail plug-in] is created on the website. This can be found under the [Plug-ins] tab. You can make all the important settings for the plug-in under the [Plug-in] tab (next to General).

Settings" tab

In the main settings, first select the form you have just created under [Available objects]. As mentioned above, if several pages have been created in the form, you can also select whether they should be displayed on separate pages ("Activate multi-step form").

However, it is more important to specify where the emails should be saved. Here you select one of the created folders. If this field remains empty, the form responses are saved directly to the current website.

Email to recipient" tab

Meaning: This is the recipient of the form, i.e. the form data is sent to this address. If these fields are left blank, the form data will not be sent to the provider of the form.

In the recipient settings, you enter a recipient name and the recipient email address below it. You can also enter several email addresses one below the other. Alternatively, you can select a user group to which the email should be sent.

In the text field you can see the variable: {powermail_all}. Powermail_All displays all values from the form fields in the email, i.e. a complete list of the transmitted information is displayed here for information purposes. The text field can be supplemented as required.

Email to visitor" tab

Meaning: This information is used as sender information if the person completing the form ("visitor") receives an automatic reply email. If these fields - including the subject line! - are filled in, this activates the sending of automatic reply mails as confirmation that the form has been received. If the fields are left blank, no reply email will be sent.

A personal salutation is also possible in the reply email, provided the name has been submitted in a corresponding form field, e.g:

Hello {name},

Thank you for registering! 
... etc. ...

Response page" tab

Here you can enter any text that will be displayed once the form has been completed and submitted. The response page acts as a final confirmation that the form has been submitted in full. The variable {powermail_all} in the text lists all submitted form data once again.

Data protection / Delete" tab

This tab is used to set how the received form data should be handled:

• Data is not stored in the database:
  The data is only sent by email to the recipient address entered and is not stored in TYPO3. This inevitably means that the data received cannot subsequently be exported as an Excel spreadsheet.
• Data is deleted after the specified deletion period:
  A number of days can be entered here after which received form data should be automatically deleted from the TYPO3 database.
  In addition, a notification to the recipient address before deletion can be activated with a selectable number of days before deletion.
  In addition, information texts on objection options and data protection can be entered, which will then be displayed with the submit button of the form in future. (This function is still deactivated for the time being).
• Data will be deleted after the specified date:
  In contrast to the previous point, no time period is specified here, but a time when all received form data should be deleted from the TYPO3 database.
  In addition, a notification to the recipient address before deletion can be activated with a selectable number of days before deletion.
  In addition, information texts on objection options and data protection can be entered, which will then be displayed in the future when the form is submitted. (This function is still deactivated for the time being).

The website of an event is a conceivable scenario. This can be calendarised, i.e. dates for the event can be entered in the "Date options" in the page properties. If the event now takes place several times - namely on the specified dates - it may be desirable to be able to register for one of the dates offered.

For this purpose, input fields of the selection field or single selection (radio button) type can be configured when creating the form so that they are automatically filled with the calendar dates of the website in which the form is embedded:

1. In form editing, create a field of type selection field or single selection (radio button) and leave the "Options" field empty (see Fig. 1 below).
2. In the [Advanced] tab of this field, there is the field "Automatically fill field from ...". Select the "Dates from calendarised page" selection option here (see Fig. 2 below).
3. Ensure that the page in which the form is embedded contains corresponding date options in its page properties.

Behaviour: As is usual in an online calendar, only future dates are automatically offered for selection. Elapsed dates therefore automatically disappear from the form.

Tip:
Automatic date embedding can be used very well in combination with counting based on response options, so that only a certain number of registrations are possible for each date offered!

Just like websites, forms are also considered to be in German by default, and foreign-language versions can also be created. If the structure of the English form version corresponds exactly to the content of the German form, the form data can be collected together internally and exported for further processing. It is then irrelevant whether the German or the English version was filled out.

The following steps are required to also create an English version of a form:

1. Firstly, an English page version of the folder (in the example: draft form) must be created. (Fig. 1)
2. An English localisation of the form can then be created (Fig. 2)
3. Finally, the English name can be entered for each existing (German-language) input field. The structure of the form is adopted 1:1 in the translation.
4. Of course, an English translation of the website in which the form will then be embedded must now also be created and the form embedded there. This is also best done after the German version of the page or form is complete and tested, as this minimises the risk of technical problems.

Important:
Once an English version of a form has been created, no subsequent changes should be made if possible - not even in the German version of the form! Unfortunately, this can occasionally lead to technical errors, as a result of which the form fields are no longer displayed correctly online. In any case, this must be checked immediately; if you have any problems, please contact our support team at de.)

All submitted form data is automatically saved internally and can later be exported as a table (in Excel format XLS or as a CSV file) in order to be available for further data use or as a source for a mail merge function.

Data is exported in TYPO3 using the separate Web>Powermail entry in the far left column. After selecting the data directory in which the form data is stored, the table can be output as a file using the corresponding button: