Rich Forms

Build rich forms quickly and easily

For many ColdFusion developers, creating HTML forms is one of the most time-consuming and difficult parts of their job. ColdFusion MX 7 allows developers to create accessible, high-quality forms in minutes using the new Rich Flash and XML forms capabilities.

Using familiar CFML tags, easily create complex, multistep forms with tabbed or accordion interfaces. Applications can use Macromedia Flash controls that are unavailable in regular HTML, such as data grids, tree controls, and calendar date pickers. Best of all, forms will look good and be intuitive for end users without requiring developers to spend extra effort coding presentation-tier information.

View a demo of this new functionality

Rich Form Example Screenshot
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XML Skins Make Design Simple

ColdFusion MX 7 can generate HTML forms based on XML and CSS styles to remove presentation logic from ColdFusion templates. By using form groups, developers define the placement of inputs and labels with tags; ColdFusion takes care of rendering HTML forms that are well laid out and look professional.

Code Example

<cfform format="XML" skin="silver" width="300">
<cfformgroup type="Horizontal" label="Name:" >
     <cfinput type="Text" name="firstName">
     <cfinput type="Text" name="lastName">
</cfformgroup>
</cfform>

Flash Forms Deliver Richer Controls

HTML forms are limited to very basic inputs: text fields, radio buttons, pop-up menus, and so on. With ColdFusion MX 7, forms can use Flash as the format for forms, allowing developers to easily offer users rich data grids, tree controls, calendars, and more. Complex, multistep forms can be broken up into multiple pages with tabbed or accordion navigators to provide a cleaner, more intuitive experience for users.

Flash Form Controls Example Screenshot
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