database and websites

[marlarae]

okay I am not a programer NOT even close.

my boss wants me to create a website. where the user enters information, it goes into the database(access) then when the users returns to the website and enters a email address, then the information they entered the last time they were at the site pops back into the form.

I need to know what software will do this for me, or where to look on the internet for tutorials.

[smozgur]

Originally posted by marlarae
okay I am not a programer NOT even close.

my boss wants me to create a website. where the user enters information, it goes into the database(access) then when the users returns to the website and enters a email address, then the information they entered the last time they were at the site pops back into the form.

I need to know what software will do this for me, or where to look on the internet for tutorials.

Hi marlarae,

It is just like a User Account where user can read/write (may be edit) their information by given login information (because users like nobody see or modify their information, right? You already told "enters an email address, this means login with a unique login information I think). Anyway, this is the structure part of it.

And one of your question's answers : It depends on the web server where you will publish this page. If your web server supports ASP then you will need to write your web application with ASP (Active Server Pages) or if it supports PHP and MySQL then you will use these.

Both of them, ASP and PHP are good/easy scripting languages and this is the easiest way of managing data in web applications. Because you need to write entered data somewhere in web for future using, basically you need a database and a web application to manage this database. You can create great database web applications with ASP or PHP.

I'd like to help more but your question is really general. If you start learning one of the scripting languages above then you can continue asking to learn "How" but what I could do for now, just answering your main question.

Regards
Suat

[marlarae]

Hi Suat, thanks for anwersing my question. This is Jason's mom, in las vegas.....grin. I have heard great things about you...

Okay i understand that it has be an ASP page. I have created those. And set up the database. But i don't know how to pull the information from the database back on to website???

does frontpage do this? Do you know where i can find a tutorial?

Or could you recommend a webpage software that would do this, without me having to write code?

Thanks,
Marla Rae

[smozgur]

Originally posted by marlarae
Hi Suat, thanks for anwersing my question. This is Jason's mom, in las vegas.....grin. I have heard great things about you...

Okay i understand that it has be an ASP page. I have created those. And set up the database. But i don't know how to pull the information from the database back on to website???

does frontpage do this? Do you know where i can find a tutorial?

Or could you recommend a webpage software that would do this, without me having to write code?

Thanks,
Marla Rae

Nice to meet you, Marla.
It's my pleasure to try to help you and I am hoping to help you more.

First of all, you will not use the database in your PC, that database must be located in web server, too.

And I don't think that you can do it with FrontPage. Also since ASP is a scripting language, you will have to write code anyway.

You said that you have created ASP pages and set up the database. Is it possible to send your ASP pages and Database file to me to see them to help you more? I will be at home in 3 hours then I can review them and suggest more something to do.

mailto:Suat@theofficeexperts.com (please zip the files if possible)

My Best Regards
Suat

[BukHix]

But i don't know how to pull the information from the database back on to website???
For small bits of information you could possibly use cookies and you may end up wanting to use cookies along with your ASP anyway.

Basicaly you need to open a connection to the database and grap the fields you want to dislpay in the form using an SQL statement.

Next you build your form and then use the <%=*****%> to fill your form values with the items you grabbed in your SQL statement.

Here is some sample code that you can take a look at to get a better idea of the process.

I removed the HTML code because it
did not render correctly and it was
slowing down the processing of this
thread.

I hope that helps a little and please post back if you have more questions.

EDIT: I didn't expect the forum software to render my html so you can not see the actual html used. However I think you will still get the idea and with OZ's offer you may not need to anyway.

[marlarae]

thank you

Suat:

I used front page and created the database, the database is on the server.

BukHix

Thank you for your reply.

I have created my forms using frontpage. I have created the database. My pages are ASP pages. And they work...LOL. The data is saved to the database on the server.

Like i have stated before, i use software to build and create and know nothing of the code. I use tutorials to build these pages. So sorry to say, your code on your reply means nothing to me. LOL.


Do you know front page? Will front page grab the data for me, and pull back down into the forms when user logs on? What is that called, so i can search for some help?

Thanks
Marla Rae

[BukHix]

I cut and pasted that code right out of a FrontPage page so you shouldn't have any problem there.

You can use FrontPage wizards to do some of this stuff but I would not rely on it for very much past the very basics. If this is just a one-time deal I can help you make the code I posted work with your own stuff (basically you just need to replace my object names with your own. If this is something that you are going to be doing for a while I would suggest that you get, "Sam’s Teach Yourself ASP 3.0 in 21 Days" by Scott Mitchell.

I built an entire commercial site using the examples from that book, FrontPage and some examples I found on the Internet so with those tools you will definitely have the basics to get started. One quick note, since building that site I have migrated to a HTML based Editor and I can tell you hand coding is the absolute best way to learn this stuff. When you are forced to do the things the right way the first time it sticks with you longer.

If you are going to make a career or part time career out of this type of thing I would recommend you skip ASP 3 and go straight to ASP.Net, which is the newest version of ASP and will probably be the dominant way of doing web based development on MS platforms for the next several years.

[marlarae]

thank you again....grin

Okay I don't think i am explaning my self very well.

I work for event and meeting company. We do serval websites using frontpage for our clients.

the sites are mostly registration to events or hotel reservations.

here's is the lastest.......that i created and it is still in the testing period.

www.baskowonline.com/ Specific page link removed by Dreamboat at request of asker.

Several of our clients have serveral workshops a year. And the clients complain everytime they sign up for one, several times a year, that they consistaly have to re-enter there personal information they we ask for on the form.

There has to be a way, that when they register again for event, that they just type in a username or email and the information is pulled from my database on the server and pops back into the forms. Is this making more since?
I have searched on the internet for days of how to do this. I don't what the fucunation is called to research it. When i build the page lucnet.asp. I used a tutorial and frontpage.

[smozgur]

Marla,

It is "ADO (ActiveX Data Objects)" what you will use in your ASP pages to manage databases.

I have never used FrontPage for ASP and especially for Database connection, sorry :(.

But this is a good article about using ADO objects in ASP codes.

http://www.tutorial-web.com/asp/database/asp.asp

I hope this helps.

Suat

[BukHix]

marlarae, you are explaining yourself just fine. I understand what you are trying to do. The example I posted or the book I mentioned will help you do what you want.

For instance, I imagine your clients all have a client ID number in the Database. If so you could store that ID# in a cookie so that whenever your users come to the site the cookie brings up the ID number and the code I posted will do the rest for you. All the fields you "code" to show up on the forum will do just that based on the ID number. If no cookie is found it would require a unique logon similar to the way this forum software works.

Barring writing some code you could require all your clients to download the newest versions of IE and Netscape which I believe both will save form information. I would not recomend this method though. It is my opinion that the Sam's book is going to be your best bet.

[marlarae]

again, thank you!!!

Okay, I will do some research again.

unforitually, I do not know what do with the code you gave me..LOL.

It makes no rhym or reason to me......(wink).

I will figure this out, last week i did not have a clue of how to even connect my site to a database and make it work.....I have come a long way in a week..LOL>

Thanks, guys, I will not taken up anymore of your time

Marla Rae

[BukHix]

You are not taking any time away from us that we are not freely given. The code I sent is an entire page so everything you need is there. Let me see If I can get a demo up real quick so you can see a real life example and then I can just email you the code to do it.

[marlarae]

I wouldn't know what do with the code or how to use it my site.

[BukHix]

I emailed you a link to a simple demo I put up for you. Let me know if you want me to zip it up and send it to you.

I know that code won't make a lot of sense to you but I think you will be able to adjust it to work in your situation once you see how it works and what is going on.

[marlarae]

could you email here at work......
marlarae@baskow.com

thanks

[BukHix]

Done. Note that I mention on the page that I only put 2 numbers in the database but then give you 4 to choose from. There are 4 records in there I just forgot to change the text on the page after I added a couple of more records.

[marlarae]

Hi again:

I'm stuck using front page at work right now, until I can come up with better software to do what i need, In the mean time, I had a thought......grin

Right now, when i build my sites.....for people to register to different events, I attach a config file, These script tells the server, (lack of a better word) to generate a confirmaton page, to send that confirmation to the email they have supplied us, and then it sends that information to a .dat file.

Then I have to go in and grab the .dat file, pull into excell...fix all the mistakes and line up all the colums of informatin in the correct colums, (there can be fifty colums or more of infor) then when i have that all done, i then have to cut and paste into our database, which is Access.


so my questions are.....grin

Couldn't that config script, tell it to make the confirmation page, send it to the email address and send to the access database and also do the log in, where when the user returns to the site, types in there email address, the information they provided the last time they were at the site, would pop back into the fileds on the form.

Using frontpage, with out the config script, u can send it the database, but not to the email address provided. So microsoft came up with a *white page* that tells u how to do this.

However, it is a very long process and way over my head...LOL.

So i was thinking, since i can make the site attach already exsisting config script that tells the things i mention above, Couldn't another one be made to more do more? I could build the site, and then attach that config script like i do already, but these script would just do more? Is these making any since?



donfig file config script

[BukHix]

I am not sure I understand your question fully but if you are asking whether you can send the filled out form data to an email address and Access at the same time the answer is yes.

Since you are code challanged maybe you should check out this site which will teach you how to do much of what you are trying to accomplish using only the Front Page Database Wizards. Good Luck.

Spooky's FrontPage database tutorials (http://www.outfront.net/spooky/index.htm)