Using Dreamweaver Form Tools

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Dreamweaver makes adding form elements easy. You don't have to remember required properties, because Dreamweaver displays all available properties for a form element in the Property inspector. To add form elements (tags) to your page, use the Insert menu or bar. Figure 38-2 shows the Insert bar's Form tools. Click the Forms tab to open the correct panel in the bar.

Figure 38-2: The Insert bar contains all the Form tools.

Following is a list of the form elements shown in Figure 38-2. These options are also available from the Insert menu using Insert ® Form or Insert ® Form Objects:

• Form — Places opening and closing <form></form> tags in the document.

• Text Field — Adds a text field. Text fields accept input in the form of letters or numbers. Different types of text fields include single line, multiple line, and password fields.

• Hidden Field — Places the input tag in the code that is invisible to users in their browsers, unless they view source code. Hidden fields provide a place for the developer to store values that you might use during processing.

• Text Field — A text field. You can set text wrapping (automatically wraps to the next line) here. Wrap Virtual hides unsightly horizontal scroll bars.

• Check Box — Inserts a check box in a form. Check boxes imply that more than one choice is acceptable in a single group of options.

• Radio Button — Inserts a radio button, generally as one in a group. The buttons are mutually exclusive. Selecting one button within a group deselects the others within a radio group.

• Radio Group — Contains one or more radio buttons that share the same form object name.

• List/Menus — Displays selection options. Lists display option values as a scrolling list; users may select multiple choices or options. Menus display choices on a pop-up (drop-down) menu; users can select only a single option.

• Jump Menu — Inserts a list or pop-up menu, used for navigation options, that is powered by a native Dreamweaver JavaScript behavior.

• Image Field — Inserts an image via the Browse function. Image fields are sometimes used as graphical replacements for submit buttons. Image fields require additional scripting to be effective.

• File Field — Allows selection of a file for upload to the Web server. It inserts a blank text field and a Browse button in a document.

• Button — Inserts a text button within a form. Buttons submit or reset form data, depending upon the properties set. The appearance of form buttons is controlled primarily by the browser on the user's computer. This is why you may want to use an image-field (your own button) instead of relying on the browser's default style.

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