Formatta E-Forms Manager offers an alternative to direct submission by allowing end users to submit forms by email. Forms sent by email are processed just like those using a submit button and, once received, are available for review in the Submitted Forms and Form Data screens. Formatta E-Forms Manager can use POP3 or IMAP as the mail server protocol, but a dedicated mailbox is required (e.g., forms@domain.com).
For security purposes, Formatta E-Forms Manager will only process email which contains one or more valid Formatta forms (PFF) as attachments. All other email messages and attachments, if any, are automatically deleted. Once a Formatta form sent via email has been processed, the entire email message is automatically deleted, allowing unattended processing and mailbox management. Lastly, if an email message contains both forms and other attachments, only the Formatta forms will be processed.
Go to the main Administration tab, then choose Email Configuration. From here, choose the Processing Service tab, if it is not already displayed as the active tab.
The Email Processing Status screen allows you to turn email processing on or off by selecting one of the choices below. By default, email processing is disabled.
Email Processing Enabled - When email processing is enabled, the settings specified below (Email Server Connection Settings) are grayed out, meaning they cannot be edited.
Email Processing Disabled - When email processing is disabled, server connection settings (below) can be changed.
Email settings are specified in the Email Server Connection Settings screen. Formatta E-Forms Manager only processes received forms; it does not send forms or email to users, so a SMTP server is not required. Available settings are:
Mail Server Protocol: Supported protocols are POP3 and IMAP.
Check Interval: The number of seconds Formatta E-Forms Manager should wait before checking the mailbox for new forms.
Host Name: For IMAP, enter the name of the computer hosting the mailbox account. For POP3, enter the name of the incoming mail server (e.g., pop.earthlink.net)
User (Mailbox) Name: Enter the mailbox account. Examples include forms@formatta.com or "forms," depending on your email system. Formatta E-Forms Manager requires a dedicated mailbox for form processing.
Password: Enter the password associated with this account.
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Example Settings |
POP3 |
IMAP |
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Host Name |
pop.earthlink.net |
formatta73 |
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User (Mailbox) Name |
smith@earthlink.net |
FORMATTA\efm\efmsubmit |
Remember to save your changes using the Save Changes button before testing the connection settings.
Once the Email Server Connection Settings are specified, press the Test Connection button to verify that Formatta E-Forms Manager can connect to your mail server. A "Connection successful" or "Connection failed" message will display in a popup window based on the settings specified above.
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More Information |
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Adding an automated response |
Formatta E-Forms Manager does not automatically send an email response to acknowledge receipt of a form. However, most mail systems or ISPs (such as Exchange or Earthlink) allow you to specify an automated response for each mailbox. So you may want to configure your server send a response when a form is received with a message such as, "Thank you for submitting your form." Alternatively, you can set up a workflow rule to send an acknowledgement email if you have the address of the sender available in the submitted form. |