File uploads are indeed supported—you can specify what type of upload: images only, files only, or any file type—in addition to file size limits, image resize properties, and where to save the files, be it database or flat file in a folder of your choosing.

FormBoss also automates the export of file data to Email and SQL clients. For example, if you create a file upload item and create a Simple SQL module to store the form submissions, the file upload is automatically managed and routed by FormBoss, no extra coding is required!

To make installation as easy as possible, you should possess a working knowledge of your web hosting environment (such as knowing how to access the file manager) and general database setup, and be familiar with PHP insofar as installing software, such as forum boards or content managers. No PHP programming knowledge is required, however.

FormBoss utilizes a 1-step installer that requires us to fill in basic user and database information. Thus, we need to have a database user and schema set up for the FormBoss tables and optional procedures. You will also need to know, as with any PHP/Database software, your database hostname. All of these items and more are outlined in the FormBoss installation help page.

So long as you have the database users and web server file permission requirements met, installation only takes a few minutes and is done entirely in one screen.

Installation help is also always available at no extra charge, if you run into installations issues, just contact us at: support[at]formboss.net. We'll be happy to get you up and running!

The FormBoss editor requires a short learning curve for basic forms, though most users familiar with modern desktop applications should be up and running fairly quickly. There are always videos and help pages to assist you!

FormBoss leaves all form code untouched and in the case of process files, fully formatted. The editor application’s JavaScript and PHP processing code however, is encrypted.

If you have a feature request or suggestion, please drop us a line!

The FormBoss Editor requires:
PHP 5.1.4+

Database Layer of Either:
*MySQL 5+ or
**Microsoft SQL Server 2005+

Each copy of FormBoss you buy is licensed to one specific domain. You can purchase multiple licenses however, in packs of 3 or 5 domains. When you do purchase multiple domain licenses they are automatically added to a download account where you can generate a new license key for that domain at any time.

You cannot however, provide the FormBoss form creation process as a fee or free service to clients or other users (such as a web hosting company to their web hosting clients), nor can you 'give' FormBoss to other users, such as to a web site client or other third parties. You could however, create a form with FormBoss, export the result out, and give the final code to your clients.

Future, full version upgrades (2.0 -> 3.0, etc) are always full-price regardless of what version we own. This is because the FormBoss development cycle, unlike most other vendors, is extremely aggressive. By this we mean most software companies will charge for new versions, be it upgrade pricing or not, after a set time or number of features have been added. With FormBoss we keep adding new features to the current version and always give these updates for free; only after the point where major changes need to be made to support new features and content will a new version be released.

This means the quality and number of updates per version is much higher than just about any other software vendor today. For example, when FormBoss 2 was released it contained around 50 new features over FormBoss 1. However, during its lifetime it received literally more new features than were present over the FormBoss 1 to 2 update (around 70). The recently released FormBoss 3 has over 90 new features, and even as this is being written new items are being added, as always, for free. The idea is to release a great software product, then work with out users to make it even better.

In other words with FormBoss we don't just fix, we constantly refine and improve creating exceptional value along the way. When we combine that with the free support, both basic and often very detailed (Skype calls, job consultation, etc), all FormBoss users receive, we believe the upgrade policy represents a fantastic value.

Of course as policy should you purchase FormBoss and an update is released within 2 months, you always receive that new version for free.

We always welcome your comments and questions. You can contact us using the automated form, create a support ticket, or visit the forum to chat with others.

You can also check out the demo videos: This video covers the basics for general users; check out this video targeted at professional users.

FormBoss provides considerable latitude with how you manage your form submissions. You can use the Simple SQL/Email modules, the powerful SQL+ and Email+ modules, the HTTP Request module for Web Service calls, or even provide your own custom logic to write text files.

The most simple delivery method is to use the Simple SQL or Simple Email modules. These components are added with a single click, and will handle all the complex logic associated with your form submission—including file uploads and all form field elements.

The next step up would be to use the 'plus' modules, SQL+ and Email+. These modules allow you to create custom SQL insert calls and professionally formatted email messages interspersed with your form variables, respectively.

Along the same lines you can use the HTTP Request module to perform REST web service calls or execute file_get_contents() calls. Such calls could be used to communicate with external payment processors, search engines, and so on.

Finally, you can create custom submission logic, creating text files from form submissions, or any other logic you might need.

In every case every effort has been made to make the workflow as intuitive and easy as possible. For example, all the above modules can be freely intermingled, for example, you can use the Simple SQL module to send results to the automated result system, and also create a Email+ module to send professionally formatted email messages to the recipients of your choice.

The documentation is found on this site at: www.formboss.net/help

The help/documentation area is a great place to pick up on hints and tricks, as well as watch instructional videos.

First, it's important to note that when you buy FormBoss, you're not leasing the software or having us host it for you--you own it. That means all forms you create are hosted on your equipment, you manage all output as you see fit.

Generally speaking, when you build a form a folder with the same name as the job is created in the /formboss/output/forms/ directory. This 'job folder' contains all code needed to run your form, and can be thought of as a self-reliant entity. Thus, placement of your form on a site can be accomplished in two main ways:

First, you can use the FormBoss editor button on top of each form page named 'Embed Page'. Clicking this button will generate an iFrame embed code snippet, this snippet can then be copy/pasted into a 'host' web page of your choosing. When you navigate to the host page you will load the form page you previously saved via the iFrame include, and the form appears to be part of the host page. A classic example of this method is the contact page of this web site.

The second method is to copy the job folder to another destination on your web server. You would navigate to your form by calling the named folder the form is in plus the name of the first form page.

Of course! WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal all support HTML in posts, the 1-Click Embed Page button in FormBoss produces just that.

Placing your FormBoss forms on these sites is a very simple process. For example, to include a FormBoss form in a WordPress post you simply click the HTML button in the WordPress editor and paste in the Embed Code FormBoss automatically generates for you (see the image below).

You can try it yourself: simply copy and paste this code into the HTML section of a WordPress post:

<iframe src="http://www.formboss.net/fb/output/forms/wordpress_dark/page0.php" height="651" width="502" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

You can check out this live example of the above form.

Better yet, using this same technique you can integrate your FormBoss forms into any site that accepts iFrame includes in its content editor. Popular examples include Drupal, Joomla, and the powerful e-commerce solution Magento.

Absolutely! With FormBoss you have the same level of control as if you were hand coding the forms. This means you can name your fields in a manner that the Auto-fill engines on the market can complete your forms.

The Complete written documentation for the FormBoss installation process can be found here. On this page you will find a complete series of instructions for the most common server and database types. You will also find helpful videos which guide you though the process of installation on popular web hosting platforms such as GoDaddy.

Of course personalized help is always available, both on the forms and via email.

We are supremely confident that you'll find FormBoss a fantastic investment. However, if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, we offer a full refund up to 30 days after your purchase date. This covers FormBoss 3 and FormBoss Express - You have nothing to lose and loads of productivity and business to gain!

Purchase FormBoss 3 Now.

Most importantly, If you have any installation or configuration issues, we offer 7 day a week no charge premium installation help. Just contact us and we'll be happy to perform the installation for you.

While our return policy also covers hardware and software incompatibilities, to help prevent such issues after a purchase we have a free zip file you can download which will test your current configuration. Simply extract the zip folder and place it on your server. The script will test your loaded PHP extensions, PHP Version, and several configuration options to make sure you have everything you need to run FormBoss perfectly.

It only takes a few moments to run, and doing so will give you a piece of mind knowing the full version of FormBoss will work perfectly fine.

With regard to the FormBoss license, what it really comes down to is this, per the license agreement:

B. Distribution.
You may not distribute copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT to third parties.

In short, when you buy a FormBoss license you can use it for any site you own, but after you generate and receive a license key it is tied to that domain and will not work on any others. Also, as a general rule, you cannot ‘give/transfer/loan’ the software (the editor) to a third party. The terminology of site content provider and domain name owner exists as my way of helping to clarify what constitutes a valid ‘owner’ of a site.

The publisher of FormBoss, nicSoft, needs to avoid the situation where someone gets the software for free, be it by accident or intentionally. The most common way for that to happen would be to install instances of FormBoss on a third-parties domain, which is why the license prohibits that.

That said, FormBoss is a big program, it does many things in many ways. We want your business, so over the past several months we have worked with many content developers to make the process of form distribution much easier.

Allow me to dish out a few bullet points; perhaps one will strike a chord with your particular situation/project:

The license prohibits the transfer/installation of the software editor, NOT the forms it creates or the separate FormBoss Entry Viewer.

In English – This actually covers two types of forms. Let’s take each in turn:

1.  EMAIL
Let’s say you have a client that needs a form that sends an email. As far as FormBoss is concerned, every form you create, (with the exception of ones that write to the FormBoss database using the Simple SQL module) are completely independent entities. They have no dependencies outside of their own job folder.

Thus, let's say I create a sample form called email_sample. When I created the form FormBoss places all file in a folder called /email_sample, this job folder, as you could test, can be placed anywhere, including your client’s web site directory. It sends an email no matter where it is placed.

2. SQL
FormBoss has two main SQL modules, Simple SQL and SQL+.

Simple SQL jobs are ones that, with a single click, write to the default FormBoss database, created when you install the software. We have many clients who wanted to use Simple SQL but, same as you might, do not want to buy a separate license for each client. Thus, we created an application called the FormBoss Entry Viewer.

Basically, it is a free add-on that lets users login and use the full-blown entry viewer application for Simple SQL jobs. Thus, you create and give the forms to whoever you want, totally within the scope of the license.

The SQL+ module is an advanced delivery module that lets you create custom INSERT statements. It, like the Email modules, has no dependencies. You can create all the forms you wish using this delivery type and place them on your client’s servers.

To answer this question we first need to know what type of integration you need.

At the most basic level, Paypal and other such merchant service providers have the simple one click method, where you build and populate a button with the correct payment vars.

FormBoss 3 fully supports this method using the new E-Commerce module. You can learn more about this module here and here.

As always though, we encourage you to contact us if you have any questions. Custom support is always free!

The easiest way to answer this question is to consider the FormBoss output system. Put simply, every form you create, be it a simple one-page email contact form to a 15 page survey has a folder created with the same name as your job (often referred to as the 'job folder'). This folder contains all code and content to run your form, which means in theory you can place that job folder anywhere and the form will still run.

There are several initial limitations to this rule, most of which have to do with your confirmation page modules. In case you're not already familiar with confirmation page modules, these are the items that you place on the last page of your form to tell FormBoss what you want done with your forms data. The limitations** are:

1. When you use the Simple SQL Module - The Simple SQL module needs the FormBoss database to run. This is the database you create when you install FormBoss, which means unless FormBoss is installed on that server, the database will not exist.

2. When you use the Simple Email module with file attachments - Email attachments when using the Simple Email module use the FormBoss database to store the file uploads until delivery, without a FormBoss database this process will not work.

3. When we use Form Persistence - Form persistence works by saving user data in a database table. This table is part of the default FormBoss installation, and is not availible outside of a full FormBoss installation.

The important point is that all other confirmation modules except Simple SQL and Simple Email when using file attachments are dependency free, in that with all other confirmation modules the job folder will contain everything the form needs to run and thus has no requirements for external files or databases.

**The good news is that all users of FormBoss receive a handy utility app called the FormBoss Viewer, which is a simple program you can install on a client's computer which will allow them to use Simple SQL and Simple Email + attachment jobs. In fact, we have a handy video you can watch which shows how to use this app. The end result is the limitation goes away when using the Entry Viewer app.

If you're on a Mac, MAMP is a great choice.

For Windows and Mac Users, Zend Server CE is a great option.

Absolutely. In fact we have a typical form and a demo set up here:

http://www.formboss.net/tests/jqueryui-datapicker/page0.php

And here is a link for its proper validation.

The only potential catch is due to the rapid development cycle of FormBoss we may at times encounter a slight delay between a new features release and the full implementation of web standards testing.

That said, FormBoss forms are always well tested and compliant with all modern web browsers, the actual XHTML standards testing may be a bit behind.

When it comes to E-Commerce transactions it’s helpful to divide the task into two main groupings:

1. One off transactions (Buy Now buttons).
2. Shopping carts with multiple items and checkout pages (Amazon, Newegg Checkout Forms).

The reason for this division is that FormBoss proudly supports the first item for several payment gateways, including PayPal, Google Checkout, 2Checkout, and Authorize.Net.

In these transactions the key characteristic is that only one item is presented to the payment gateway for checkout, with the exception of PayPal, in that we can bundle multiple items together, though not in an itemized format. We can think of this as the eBay model.

Many users need a more advanced form of checkout processing however, and this is where a full shopping cart is needed. You can think of these guys as the Amazon.com and Newegg.com model.

So why the distinction?

Put simply—full-on shopping cart solutions are enormously complex applications, and because of this, simply out of the scope of what FormBoss is meant to handle. To put it another way, the base price of FormBoss is generally 1/6th of what a professional shopping cart solution costs (though prices are getting more competitive all the time).

From a technical perspective, the main issue is that any competent shipping cart solution needs to account for multiple items, currency conversion, refunds, shipping info, user tracking and logging, emailing notices, user account creation, inline payment processing, SSL enabled server integration, reporting, item management, sales and marketing promotions, merchant certification, and so on.

Instead of attempting all of this FormBoss lets the Merchant gateway do the heavy lifting. Don’t know how to handle VAT taxing? No problem, let PayPal do it for you. Worried about sending customer refunds or handling chargeback’s? Again, have the getaways lead the way.

As an end user then, the bottom line is FormBoss seamlessly handles one-off transactions using a very simple but powerful e-commerce module, but not act as a shopping cart front end to handle multiple items, payment calculations, and checkout pages with credit card processing. This may of course change in the future, and at very minimum, we’re always happy to discuss your projects requirements!

The current and future state of FormBoss Payment handling

While we currently do not support full shopping cart logic, this doesn't mean we aren’t finding creative solutions to the challenges online merchants face!

In the current timeframe, FormBoss, using the e-commerce field, fully supports dynamic pricing. This means we can build a complex form that acts like a shopping cart, including tally logic and shipping info, which then sends a final price to a FormBoss e-commerce item. For existing users, a sample job that shows how this is done is located at:

formboss\goodies\Sample Jobs\E-Commerce\dynamic-price.xml

The most important future work is integrating more advanced forms of payment processing. So above we talked about using Buy Now buttons, we’re working on providing boilerplate code for the more advanced PayPal transactions like Website Payments Pro and Express Checkout. No hard date has been set for the release of these code templates, but it should be within a few months.

We’ll make complete backups of our database and flat-files, specifically, the entire:

formboss/ folder

We’ll then restore the database on the new server, and move all files to the new server as well.

Then, we run the installer on the new server, that is, make sure the install.php file is on the new server.

Running the installer will simply make sure all file permission issues have been taken care of.

So long as you use the same domain (for licensing), and the same database details (login, user name, password, etc), all existing jobs will still be present, and will still work!

Absolutely! The simple answer is any content we create that can be served using no encryption (http), also works with SSL. This is because SSL is simply a layer on top of HTTP.

The server handles a request and before it sends it out, encrypts the data. On the client side your web browser uses the servers SSL certificate to decrypt the data. This data can be anything from HTML to images.

For FormBoss then the key is most content we create will integrate into a larger page via an iFrame. To place the iFrame on our parent page we use an iFrame tag, as part of that tag we have a src attribute. The src tag will contain a web address, so long as that address uses https instead of http, our forms will be securely served.