EXT: Contact Form¶

What does it do?¶

This extension provides a very secure and flexible Contact form with a solid Spam protection. It detects Spam-bots, locks visitors if the try to send a lot of emails and checks the inputs with several of the following routines depending on your configuration:

• Has it any input
• Minimal length
• Maximal length
• Allowed signs
• Not allowed signs
• Regular Expression
• Optional Captcha check

Error messages can be displayed in-line above the input fields, as list above the form or at any other position you want. You can redirect the visitor to another page if the form was sent. If you don't want to redirect, the same page will be shown with a status message (shows something like “Message was sent. Thank you.”).

The sender and a list of configured recipients get an HTML- or Plain- text email with specified form data. These emails and the form can be configured with templates.

You can also send a notification email to the administrator if a Spam- bot or visitor tries to send a malicious email. This notification includes all given input and a lot of information about the attacker.

Most TYPO3 installations are running with default UTF-8. But if you want to send your emails in a different character set you have to convert the emails. This extension allows you to configure which character set to use for emails and converts them automatically.

You can try the Contact form on my website: http://www.speedprogs.de/kontakt.html

What should I have?¶

All you need to get your own Contact form with this extension are these things:

• TYPO3 Version 4.5.0 or higher
• PHP Version 5.2 or higher
• One of these extensions if you want to use a Captcha: “sr_freecap”, “jm_recaptcha”, “captcha” or “mathguard”
• The extension “adodb” if you want to use external database storing
• Your preferred editor to modify the HTML templates
• This manual beside you for the abundance of features which this extension offers :-)

Install the extension¶

The Better Contact extension can be installed through the typical TYPO3 installation process using the Extension Manager. The Extension Key is “sp_bettercontact”.

Add the Plugin to a page¶

Create a new page in your page tree and insert a Contact form record onto it.

Tab: General¶

Success page: Define a page where visitors will be redirected to if a request was successfully sent.

Spam page: Define a page where bots will be redirected to if they try to send Spam (good for tracking purposes).

Too many requests: Show this page instead of an error message if a visitor has sent too many requests.

Error page: Define a page where visitors will be redirected to if a request results in an error.

Enable Log: Use build in log table to store each successfully sent request.

Log IP address: Log users IP address also (please check if this is allowed in your country).

Tab: Templates¶

Form template: Define a HTML-template for the form (you can find some examples in “res/templates/examples/” in extension's main directory).

Email template: Define a template for the emails (this could be the same like the form template if it contains all required subparts).

Style sheet file: Define a style sheet file for the form. It will be added as meta tag to the site header.

Additional language file: Define an additional language file if you add more labels to your template or if you want to overwrite some of the default labels.

Field name prefix: All input field names are prefixed with an automatically generated name. You can set a static one here.

Don't use default templates: Activate this if you won't use default templates as a replacement for not configured ones (all default templates could be found in “res/templates/frontend/” in extension's main directory).

Jump to form: The Contact form will return to the same page if the visitor input was invalid or no redirect page was defined. If this check box is activated the extension jumps directly to it's dataset instead of the top of the page.

Highlight fields: Activate this check box if you want to highlight malicious fields with a red border (the error class marker “###ERR_<FIELDNAME>###” must be an attribute of each input field in HTML-template).

Empty form: Clear all input fields if form was successfully sent.

Tab: Emails¶

Email recipients: Define one or more email recipients for the notification email if a visitor has sent a message.

Sender: Define a single email address for the sender of the form (it's also allowed to use this format: Contact form <contact@your- domain.com>).

Administrator address: Define a single email address for the administrator of the site. He gets a notification email if a Spam-bot or a visitor tries to send a malicious message.

Return path: Define an email address for the return path. It's mostly the same as sender or administrator.

Send emails to: Select which persons will get an email from the Contact form if the form was “Spam-free” sent. Available are “Nobody” if you e.g. only want store the request to database, “Only to recipients”, “Only to sender” for only the user who has sent the request and “Both”.

Send emails from: Select which email address will be set as sender in emails to the recipients. The sender of the email to the user who has sent the request is allways the configured sender email address.

Reply-to address: Define which email address will be used as reply-to address in notification emails.

Character encoding: Select an encoding for all emails.

Email format: Select an email format, available are HTML and Plain-text.

Tab: Spam handling¶

Activate Captcha support: Define, which Captcha extension will be used in the Contact form (the selected extension has to be installed to use it's functionally and the HTML-template has to be configured correctly (see marker reference in this manual. If you don't get any Captcha image with activated “sr_freecap”, please try to disable “display_errors” in your php.ini).

Show input in error case: Define which fields will get their last content if the Spam check fails.

Notify administrator about Spam: This option specifies how to notify the administrator about Spam. Available are “Nothing”, “Bot- Spam”, “User-Spam”, “Both” (the options “User-Spam” and “Both” are slow because an email will be sent every time a visitor tries to send a malicious request).

Check referrer: If activated, the HTTP_REFERER will be compared with current host (only enable this if most of your users use an Browser with activated referrer).

Max count of allowed mailings: Allow visitors to send only the specified count of emails.

Waiting time: If the specified count of mailings was reached a visitor must wait for this time (in minutes) before he can send the next emails. He will get a status message in Frontend which shows something like “ You have already sent 10 messages. Please wait 60 minutes ”.

Tab: Database handling¶

Table name: Define an internal or external table name to store successfully sent requests in.

Auto fill default fields: Activate this to automatically fill the fields “pid”, “tstamp”, “crdate” and “cruser_id” from an internal table while inserting a new row or updating a existing one.

Field configuration: Configure your field mapping here. You can use default TypoScript to describe the mapping.

Log report¶

Follow the steps in the Screenshot below to open the report.

Show: Select if all pages or only the current will be used for the report (you can adjust the output of the report with your own Backend template. See Backend templates in “res/templates/backend/” in extension's main directory and “CSV Export” chapter below).

Period: Select the count of days to show.

Download: You can download the currently visible report with one click as a CSV File.

CSV Export¶

To export the currently visible log report click on the “CSV” button (3) show in the Screenshot above.

Tip: You can adjust the output to your individual needs by manipulating the CSV template. Simply copy the default template from “res/templates/backend/” in extension's main directory to any target you prefer and edit it. Finally setup the new template in the Page TSConfig. To do that, go to the page properties of the root or Contact form page and add the required TypoScript configuration in the field “TSconfig” in tab “Options”. To see, which configuration is required, have a look into the “Page TSConfig – Reference” chapter in this manual.

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1¶

fields {
    name_of_field {
        required = 1
        minLength = 3
        maxLength = 70
        default =
        regex =
        disallowed = <>[](){}&;”
        allowed =
        default =
    }
}

markers {
    static_marker = Static marker

    dynamic_marker = TEXT
    dynamic_marker.field = title
}

database {
    table = tt_news
    useDefaultValues = 1

    fieldconf {
        name = TEXT
        name.data = GPvar : my_prefix|name
    }
}

browsers {
    firefox {
        name  = Mozilla Firefox
        ident = (Firebird)|(Firefox)
    }
    firefox30 {
        name  = Mozilla Firefox 3.0
        ident = Firefox/3.0
    }
}

systems {
    ubuntu {
        name  = Ubuntu
        ident = Ubuntu
    }
    ubuntu904 {
        name  = Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)
        ident = Ubuntu/9\.04
    }
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.fields¶

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database¶

fieldconf {
    name = TEXT
    name.data = GPvar : my_prefix|name

    email = TEXT
    email.data = GPvar : my_prefix|email

    newsletter = TEXT
    newsletter.value = 1
}

Example Configuration¶

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1 {

    formTemplate         = fileadmin/your-template-file.html
    emailTemplate        = fileadmin/your-template-file.html
    stylesheetFile       = fileadmin/your-stlesheet-file.css
    emailRecipients      = recipient@your-domain.com
    emailSender          = Contact form <contact@your-domain.com>
    emailAdmin           = admin@your-domain.com
    replyTo              = user
    emailCharset         = utf-8
    showMaliciousInput   = clean
    adminMails           = bot
    messageCount         = 10
    waitingTime          = 60

    fields {
        name {
            required     = 1
            minLength    = 3
            maxLength    = 70
            regex        =
            disallowed   = 0123456789<>(){}!?%&§$/*+-\
            allowed      =
        }
        email {
            required     = 1
            minLength    = 5
            maxLength    = 70
            regex        = /^[\w-]+(?:\.[\w-]+)*@(?:[\w-]+\.)+[a-zA-Z]{2,7}/
            disallowed   =
            allowed      =
        }
        message {
            required     = 1
            minLength    = 10
            maxLength    = 2000
            regex        =
            disallowed   = <>&
            allowed      =
        }
        privacy {
            required     = 1
            minLength    =
            maxLength    =
            regex        =
            disallowed   =
            allowed      =
        }
    }

    database {
        table            = tt_news
        useDefaultValues = 1

        fieldconf {
            title = TEXT
            title.data = GPvar : tx_spbettercontact_pi1-9|name

            bodytext = TEXT
            bodytext.data = GPvar : tx_spbettercontact_pi1-9|message
        }
    }

}

mod.tx_spbettercontact_modfunc1¶

Example Configuration¶

mod.tx_spbettercontact_modfunc1 {

    mainTemplate        = fileadmin/your-backend-template.html
    csvTemplate         = fileadmin/your-csv-template.html
    stylesheetFile      = fileadmin/your-stylesheet.html
    locallangFile       = fileadmin/your-locallang-file.xml
    dateFormat          = %Y-%m-%d

}

Frontend¶

Available markers for Frontend templates (see examples in “res/templates/examples/” in extension's main directory):

Backend¶

Available markers for Backend templates (see default ones in “res/templates/backend/” in extension's main directory):

Frontend User Session¶

Some information like the uid of last inserted table row or the complete user input will be stored into user session. You can call this information in the PHP-Script of your extension with the following keys:

$aSession = array (
  45 => array(
    'lastLogRowID' => 8,
    'tstmp'        => 1275687072
    // ...
  ),
  32 => array(
    // ...
  ),
  'lastEntryID' => 45,
);

$aSession   = $GLOBALS['TSFE']->fe_user->getKey(
  'ses',
  'sp_bettercontact'
);
$iLastUID   = (int) $aSession['lastEntryID'];

// Get session content for the last sent Contact form
$aContent   = $aSession[$iLastUID];

$aInput = json_decode(
  $aRow['params'],
  TRUE
);

// ...
$iLastLogID = (int) $aContent['lastLogRowID'];

// ...
$iLastID    = (int) $aContent['lastRowID'];

// ...
$iTimestamp = (int) $aContent['tstmp'];

// ...
$iCount     = (int) $aContent['cnt'];

// ...
$aGPVars    = $aContent['gpVars'];

How can I define a default value?¶

You can define a default value in your TypoScript field configuration:

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1 {
    fields {
        reason {
            required     = 1
            default      = TEXT
            default.data = LLL:EXT:sp_bettercontact/pi1/locallang.xml:support
        }
    }
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1 {
    fields {
        privacy {
            required     = 1
            default      = 1
        }
    }
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1 {
    fields {
        name {
            required     = 1
            default      = Your name here...
        }
    }
}

How can I use a checkbox, radio group or select field?¶

Since version 2.2.4 you are able to use check boxes, radio buttons and select options in the form. All you have to do for this, is to use a special syntax for the fields:

<input type="checkbox" name="###PRIVACY###" ###CHECKED_PRIVACY### />

<input type="radio" name="###GENDER###" value="###LLL:male###" ###CHECKED_GENDER_[###LLL:male###]### />
<input type="radio" name="###GENDER###" value="###LLL:female###" ###CHECKED_GENDER_[###LLL:female###]### />

<select name="###REASON###">
  <option ###SELECTED_REASON_[###LLL:general###]###>###LLL:general###</option>
  <option ###SELECTED_REASON_[###LLL:support###]###>###LLL:support###</option>
</select>

How can I use the Captcha support?¶

Since version 2.2.0 you are able to use Captcha extensions with the Contact form. You have to follow this two steps to do that:

Install a supported Captcha extension (sr_freecap, jm_recaptcha, captcha or mathguard) with the extension manager.

Select your installed Captcha extension with “Activate Captcha support for” in tab “Spam”, save the Plugin, clear your Frontend cache and enjoy ;-)

How can I configure my database fields?¶

Since version 2.4.0 you are able to use internal and external database tables to store user input into it. All you have to do for this, is to configure a table and the fields (these are examples, you can do nearly everything, what's is possible with TypoScript):

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database.fieldconf {
    deleted = 0
    hidden  = 0
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database.fieldconf {
    comment = TEXT
    comment.value = This is a dynamic comment
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database.fieldconf {
    pid = TEXT
    pid.data = TSFE : id
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database.fieldconf {
    cruser_id = TEXT
    cruser_id.data = TSFE : fe_user|user|uid
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database.fieldconf {
    crdate = TEXT
    crdate.data = date : U
}

plugin.tx_spbettercontact_pi1.database.fieldconf {
    # '9' is the uid of the Better Contact plugin on this page
    firstname = TEXT
    firstname.data = GPvar : tx_spbettercontact_pi1-9|firstname
}

<INCLUDE_TYPOSCRIPT: source="FILE:fileadmin/my_setup.txt">

How can I disable the emailing?¶

Since version 2.4.2 you are able to disable all email sending with one of the following steps:

Choose “Nobody” in field “Send emails to” in Tab “Emails” in Flexform configuration.

Set “sendTo” to “none” in your TypoScript configuration.

Known problems¶

Actually nothing. But if you know something, give me feedback via email or make a bug report at my project on http://forge.typo3.org/projects/show/extension-sp_bettercontact .

Bugs and features¶

Please use the bugtracker on forge.typo3.org to report bugs or request new features.

2.5.1¶

2.5.0¶

2.4.4¶

2.4.3¶

2.4.2¶

2.4.1¶

2.4.0¶

2.3.5¶

2.3.4¶

2.3.3¶

2.3.2¶

2.3.1¶

2.3.0¶

2.2.9¶

2.2.8¶

2.2.7¶

2.2.6¶

2.2.5¶

2.2.4¶

2.2.3¶

2.2.2¶

2.2.1¶

2.2.0¶

2.1.1¶

2.1.0¶

2.0.9¶

2.0.8¶

2.0.7¶

2.0.6¶

2.0.5¶

2.0.4¶

2.0.3¶

2.0.2¶

2.0.1¶

2.0.0¶

1.1.1¶

1.1.0¶

1.0.1¶

1.0.0¶

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