Another option for accessing a skyForm is to prepare a custom HTML page with the exact appearance desired, but embedded in the page are all the skyForm elements needed to put the data into the timeLines database.
To do this, you must be comfortable with adding your own HTML code without disturbing the generated FORM elements with their ACTION attributes. You may add your own new FORM elements (e.g., to include validation Javascript) as long as the names for your forms do not conflict with the original skyForm elements.
These are the steps to create a skyLight version of a skyForm.
- Make the skyForm as usual and fully test it with an ordinary skyLink. (Note: Do not use a Preview. Preview does not send information to the database. The streamlined guest skyLink is best.)
- When the skyForm is working correctly, use View Source in your browser to copy and paste the HTML code of the skyForm into your web page editor. Make a New page in the Files Manager for example, which you can edit using skyWriter.
Please note that you will no longer call the original skyForm in timeLines. Your new code page will have its own URL. This new page will still submit all the data to the timeLines database (through its ACTION links).
We describe this step as "peeling" a version of the generated skyForm, to make the skyLight version you can now edit.
- You may now make any changes you want to the HTML code. You may change the Submit link to other words or even a button, as long as you leave the ACTION intact.
- To add Javascript validation code, your new FORM element must call this very same page.
- If you want to change the questions and answers in the skyForm at this point, you will have to go back to step 1, then to step 2 to "peel" another copy of the skyForm, and paste in your HTML changes (steps 3 and 4) again.
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