Dreamweaver CS5: The Missing Manual

Adding Data

As noted in Chapter 12, the primary way you collect information over the Internet is through an HTML form. Its basic elements—text boxes, radio buttons, pop-up menus, and so on—give you all kinds of ways to collect a wide assortment of data. But to record this information, you either need to write your own program or, more simply, use Dreamweaver’s built-in tools to funnel data into a database. Dreamweaver’s Record Insertion Form Wizard and Insert Record server behavior make adding data a simple process.

Warning

You might not want just anyone adding, editing, or deleting database information. To control access to these types of pages—or any page, for that matter—use Dreamweaver’s User Authentication server behaviors, as discussed on Password-Protecting Web Pages.

Figure 25-1. Whether you want to accept credit cards on an e-commerce site or gather sign-up information for an online newsletter, Dreamweaver simplifies the process of creating forms that funnel info into a database.

Dreamweaver’s Record Insertion Form Wizard

Dreamweaver’s Record Insertion Form Wizard is the quickest way to add records to a database. It builds a form, creates a table, and then adds all the necessary programming code in just a couple of steps. To use it:

1. Create a new web page, and save it to your site (or open a dynamic page you’ve already created).

   Make sure the page uses the extension (.asp, .cfm, ...