How to Install a CGI Script and Increase Web Site Interactivity - Steps to installing your own cgi script

1. Check that your web host supports CGI - your web host will have a cgi-bin folder installed on the server. The cgi-bin is a special directory in the server where all the files which require security are kept. This is where you will upload your cgi script once it has been modified.

2. Download the cgi script - this is a secure cgi formmail script. Spammers can't access and harvest your email address from this script.

http://nms-cgi.sourceforge.net/formmail.zip

3. Read the documentation that comes with the script - this will give you a thorough understanding what changes you need to make to have it work correctly with your web site and server. It will also provide you with some examples.

Editing your script

4. Open and edit your cgi script using notepad (don't use an html editor as this can create errors).

5. Remove the html tags from the script (at the top and bottom).

6. Change the path to perl to: #!/usr/bin/perl -wT (this is the first line of the script to be edited).

7. Edit the script - the bolded section of the cgi script shown below, are the other minimum fields to fill out in the script.  Replace the fields in the script you downloaded with the bolded fields in the script below.

# USER CONFIGURATION SECTION
# --------------------------
# Modify these to your own settings. You might have to
# contact your system administrator if you do not run
# your own web server. If the purpose of these
# parameters seems unclear, please see the README file.
#

BEGIN
{
$DEBUGGING = 1;
$emulate_matts_code= 0;
$secure = 1;
$allow_empty_ref = 1;
$max_recipients = 1;
$mailprog = '/usr/lib/sendmail -oi -t';
$postmaster = 'youraddress@yourdomain.com';
@referers = qw(yourdomain.com);
@allow_mail_to = qw();
@recipients = ();
%recipient_alias = ('siteowner' => 'youraddress@yourdomain.com',);
@valid_ENV = qw(REMOTE_HOST REMOTE_ADDR REMOTE_USER HTTP_USER_AGENT);
$locale = '';
$charset = 'iso-8859-1';
$date_fmt = '%A, %B %d, %Y at %H:%M:%S';
$style = '';
$no_content = 0;
$double_spacing = 1;
$wrap_text = 0;
$wrap_style = 1;
$send_confirmation_mail = 0;
$confirmation_text = <<'END_OF_CONFIRMATION';
From: youraddress@yourdomain.com
Subject: Subject of Your Contact Form

(short note here->> )Thank you for your interest. We will respond shortly.

END_OF_CONFIRMATION
#
# USER CONFIGURATION << END >>
# ----------------------------
# (no user serviceable parts beyond here)
-----------------------------------------

$postmaster = Who's sending the email
@referrers = Domains that are allowed to host the script
%recipient_alias = Whom the script will send email to

In my form:

<form action="http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/formmail.pl"
method="POST">
<input type="hidden" name="recipient" value="siteowner">

You can see how the siteowner variables match up in the .pl script and in my form. This way, nobody can tell what address the form is being emailed to!

Next: Create your html form >>
 

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