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Preparing custom forms for FirstClass Web Services
If you use FirstClass Web Services (FCWS), you can create versions of your customized forms for FCWS. This process involves:
• exporting basic HTML versions of your custom forms using FirstClass Designer
• refining the HTML forms (optional)
• making the custom forms available on FCWS.
Exporting HTML versions of custom forms
To export a basic HTML version of a custom form:
1 Select the form in Designer.
2 Choose Save as HTML from the form's context menu.
An HTML form is saved where you specify, named formID-d.html. It is a skeleton version of the eventual FCWS template, containing all the relevant fields from the client form, with enough information for FCWS to construct the template.
Style attributes such as font size and color aren't carried over from the client form. The HTML form is created as plain as possible so that you can add your organization's own style and branding.
Refining the HTML forms
You can refine the look of an HTML form by updating the client form in Designer and re-exporting it. It's also possible to edit the form's HTML code, and any styling you do in the code will be carried over to the FCWS template. However, if your users also use the FirstClass client, the client form will have to be updated in any case to be consistent with the appearance of the FCWS template.
If you want to test the look of your HTML form:
1 Create a test folder on your computer.
2 Put your HTML form in this folder.
3 Copy the following files from the FirstClass web server to this folder:
4 Open the HTML form in a browser or HTML editor.
Accommodating mobile screens
If you are creating customized forms for FirstClass GO as well as for FCWS, your forms must fit on a 320-pixel wide screen. Here are some guidelines for accomplishing that:
• Standard FirstClass input fields (most fields under field ID 1000, available in FirstClass Designer's "Message Fields" menu, such as "Subject", "To", and "Attach") are replaced with standard template code. This means you don't have to worry about their widths; they will be automatically adjusted to fit on mobiles.
• For other fields, remember to take into consideration any indents when you calculate the width. If both a guide text field and an input field are side by side, you must add the width of the guide text field plus the width of the input field.
• The mobile device lays out the fields in the order it encounters them in the HTML. You can't control exact layout, so don't expect left-to-right layout to always be respected. For example, guide text fields in radio groups may display above the input fields, rather than beside them. Also, because your x,y coordinates aren't respected, fields that look like they are in columns in the client may not appear exactly right in FirstClass GO. This consideration also applies to FCWS.
• To group things together, put them in a radio group.
• To group things on the right, put them in a radio group and right justify the radio group.
• Radio groups widen to the width of the element they are in (the form or within another radio group). Ensure that the longest field in a radio group is less than 300 pixels.
Making the custom forms available on FCWS
When you are satisfied with the look of your HTML form, put it on your FirstClass web server in
localized/ISO code/user/forms
For example, an English custom form would go in
localized/en/user/forms
Use the FirstClass client to put the client version of the custom form in a location where your users can access it using FCWS.
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