Extension talk:Simple Forms

Actually work?
Does this actually work?? I can't get it to do anything other show the full URL. --198.70.22.217 20:16, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
 * It's still in development, I'll add a message to say it's not ready. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nad (talk • contribs) 13:50, April 27, 2007. Please sign your posts!
 * See demo for an example --Zven 01:22, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Anything new?
Anything new with this extension? I see that the code listed on the organic website has some errors in it. The article creation part would be wonderful for those who don't want to use semantic forms. --72.21.245.86 07:57, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Bug fixed - I'll hopefully get some time to work on it again soon, currently it allows forms to be created and query-string items to be processed as in this example. --Nad 09:12, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

An idea to think about
What if there was an easy way to add another type of input verses text for the create article part of this extension? Like if you were able to use another extension as an input, like some form of media, .gif, .mp3, .wav, .flv, ext... --198.70.22.217 14:36, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Sounds interesting, but not quite sure what you mean.... you mean like an input type that can work like an upload form? --Nad 21:35, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Yeah, basically like an upload form. If someone wanted to upload a media file of some sort, I would say that videos would be most widely used, but others as well. That could be in one input type and then maybe some text in another input type describing it.


 * Another thought is to allow wikitext in the input. I have no idea how difficult that would be, but that way if someone wanted to use one of the media input extensions out there as the input, like one of the .flv extensions that uses outside sites like a youtube they could instead of actually uploading a file. Both ways could useful, but I'm not sure how doable it is allow wikitext. Maybe only allow some pre-defined extensions? Or just use similar functionality of the other extensions in this one as an input type.


 * And then to take it even a step further, use templates with the form using these different types of input. Haha, I guess all this doesnt make them to "simple" anymore! I just think there is room for a great form extension for Mediawiki and I'm surprised that after this long that not to many have went that route.--75.73.16.68 00:12, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah I've wondered why forms haven't really taken off in mediawiki too. I think the youtube functionality you describe sounds more like extending the template embedding functionality rather than forms, which I'm also working on in another extension called Extension:Livelets. I have made the #input parser-function easy to add new kinds of input to so after it's up and running I'll have a look at getting it to do some more exotic functionality. --Nad 02:06, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree, I think that extending the template functionality would be key. The main thing I guess I'm trying to get at would be: When creating a new article, the user would have the option to add thier video or whatever right from the form along with text fields, etc... I know this is done at www.wikioutdoors.com. They have some sort of a forms entry that allows the user to choose an image for the article in question based on a template. Maybe the livelets works something like that? --72.21.245.86 03:56, 11 June 2007 (UTC)

Ajax configuration
$wgSimpleFormsUseAjax appears to be a configuration setting in Extension:Simple Forms and a variable in LocalSettings.php. Is the first one in the configuration file a logical only, and the second picked up to specify the path of mootools? --Zven 03:05, 26 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Disregard that, the configuration defaults in Extension:Simple Forms are overridden with configuration changes in LocalSettings.php --Zven 00:05, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Edit functionality??
Version 0.3.2 (2007-07-09): Removed special-page and #edit parser-function, SimpleForms will not be implementing these
 * This seemed like one of the best features of the extension! Thats too bad it is no longer going to be implemented.... --198.70.22.217 19:36, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
 * SimpleForms can still edit articles in the ways shown in the examples, but will not be implmenting the #edit parser-function or special-page for interfacing to structured data (this feature had not been implemented yet). SemanticForms is the best solution for handling structured data, so it is a waste of effort re-implementing functionality which already exists --Nad 22:21, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I still see a huge benefit to having this extension include the edit/create page functionality. It doesnt require semantic mediawiki for one, but it can viewed as a simple form. Whereas semantic forms, a great extention, dont get me wrong, but it has lots of overhead where this great extension could be a more user friendly form experience.  --72.21.245.86 17:29, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

not possible to create new article
hello, i have tested the extension and i am very happy with it. But I have a problem that it is not possible for me to create new articles.

Also the test Blog example doesn't work on my wiki. I can only post comments with this form when there is already a discussion page, otherwise nothing happens.

----stp-- 13:36, 20 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I'll get these bugs fixed as soon as I get some time. --Nad 21:19, 20 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I will be very grateful If you can fix this bug. Please post here a comment if you have solved the problem ----stp-- 07:28, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

use tables for widget arrangement
As also mentioned on your user page at organic design, I have trouble when using a wiki table within th ebody of a #form. To achieve acceptable layout the use of tables would really be helpful. See.
 * Thanks, Algorithmix 14:24, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Fatal error
I get this when I include Simple Forms in LocalSettings.php: Fatal error: Call to a member function getText on a non-object in ../includes/Parser.php on line 3715 -Eep² 05:24, 29 July 2007 (UTC)
 * What's your version info etc? is the site viewable or intranet? --Nad 10:26, 29 July 2007 (UTC)


 * MW 1.9.3, http://www.tnlc.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Version but I had to comment out Simple Forms from LocalSettings.php in order to get the site working again. -Eep² 10:46, 29 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Any ideas? I'd like to try this out in place of Semantic Forms for my 3D game comparison... -Eep² 14:05, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Simple Forms fatal error still...
(Moved from User talk:Nad)

Any ideas about Extension talk:Simple Forms? You haven't replied for days since I provided more info, yet have replied to a later issue on the same page... I'd really like to be able to try out Simple Forms in place of Semantic Forms. -Eep² 11:00, 4 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm away at the moment, but I don't really have any ideas about how to fix your error since I don't get that error on any of my installations I run which are 1.6, 1.8, 1.9 and 1.10. You could try removing other extensions to see if there's a conflict. It's having some problems on the DPL wiki too which I'm going to try and help fix, so maybe those solutions will fix your problem too --Nad 22:45, 4 August 2007 (UTC)


 * OK, well, I thought it was because I didn't have Mootools installed, but I just tried installing it but still get the error. Then I tried messing with the path to it as declared in localsettings.php, thinking it was wrong by default as you have it, but that didn't work either... :/ Have you tried looking at /includes/parser.php line 3715? It's the start of this section:

-Eep² 08:11, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I can't really do anything without seeing the problem, try putting a condition on the simpleforms include such as

then I can add that to the query string to see the problems. --Nad 08:59, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Again, there's nothing to see except for the error which I've already given above/previously. What is the exact PHP syntax/code that I need to put in localsettings.php? Remember, not everyone is a programmer like you, Nad... -Eep² 09:06, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * If it's running I may be able to figure out what's going on from the html source, etc - I don't know what else I can do since that error doesn't happen on any other installations I know of. just change you include line to be wrapped by the condition, for example:

Or if you can give me shell access I'd be even more likely to be able to figure out the problem. --Nad 11:09, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't have shell access, and I don't feel like disabling my entire wiki until you decide to visit it and check out malformed HTML code. As for the if statement, it didn't do anything but the wiki is now running except Simple Forms doesn't appear in http://tnlc.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Version. Why would a "foo" request ever be sent anyway? What really goes there? -Eep² 13:23, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm the only one who would send a foo request, to try and find what the problem is. The foo request is working, but I need to be able to edit though so can you add a "nad" user with passwd 1234? --Nad 22:44, 7 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I would prefer if you told me exactly what to do to test this, as the wiki is not ready to be opened up to other users yet. -Eep² 03:05, 8 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't know what to test I just need to check it out for myself, let me know if/when you've added a user for me --Nad 22:10, 9 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Er, how are you going to know what to test if you had an account then? Nothing relating to Simple Forms is enabled on the wiki as, again, nothing about Simple Forms shows up in http://www.tnlc.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Version so without me doing things to LocalSettings.php again, I don't see how you're going to be able to test anything... -Eep² 02:38, 10 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I told you the foo request enables the extension so I can test it - forget it anyway, I've got too much on and you've not making it easy for me to help. --Nad 06:35, 10 August 2007 (UTC)


 * You never said the "foo" request enabled the extension so it could be tested, Nad. All you have to do is write here what you would write on a page to test the extension--it's really not that hard. Respect that I don't want to open up my wiki to other users at this time, eh? —Eep² 02:07, 14 August 2007 (UTC)


 * The debugging process is not simply a list of things to try, it is a feedback process based on trying one thing and then based on the results of that trying other things. I would rather do this process directly, and that is my choice, just as it is your choice whether or not to allow that. --58.28.52.185 21:00, 17 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Uh, Nad? Why aren't you logged in? Anyway, you can still get feedback going through a middleman (me, in this case). But considering the amount of other basic bugs I've recently found, it's obvious you didn't test Simple Forms very well at all... —Eep² 03:45, 18 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Nad has been away, at home he is logged in permanantly, he probably has limited time to access a computer where he is, however it is obvious that the unsigned posts are from him. You are right he could get feedback from you but that process is slower than the good suggestions he made, first enabling him to test a url query that enabled the extension without taking down your server then requesting if you could give him a basic login temporarily which you could disable afterwards if need be. Simple forms on http://www.organicdesign.co.nz was working quite nicely in all the working examples up until recently. We will look into it as soon as we can. There are some unique features on that server that could confound the issue which we need to eliminate, for example friendly urls. Remember Simple Forms is currently only a beta version 0.3.4, it is not even version 1.0.0 --Zven 20:13, 18 August 2007 (UTC)


 * If there are other Simple Forms developers, Nad should have passed off the bug investigation if he didn't feel like dealing with it (which he obviously didn't, given his delay in response until I reminded him days later). It's my perogative whether or not I want to open up my wiki to anyone--including extension authors. He should respect that and work with me. I don't use clean/simple URLs (yet). —Eep² 02:07, 19 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I am afraid there are no other developers of Simple Forms, Nad is the only author. As far as I am aware he is on holiday and has been for quite a few days now. Yes it is your choice whether you want to open up a collaborative framework or not I don't have a problem with that. --Zven 20:32, 19 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't buy that he's on "holiday" (vacation) because he's responded to other people's problems while ignoring mine (even removing something I wrote on another extension's talk page in order to get his attention). Like Gero (DPL developer) was supposedly only vacation yet still managed to respond to other people's problems until I pestered him about my issues to... If these extension authors don't want to support their product, they shouldn't be developing it... —Eep² 01:34, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Why don't you believe it? Why would I lie? I had a meeting last friday with him which was cancelled because he is away. He is however probably periodically using a computer and answering selected queries. Clearly your relationship with the author has broken down as evidenced within this thread, that is unfortunate.--Zven 02:59, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, I figured it out on my own. For some reason, SimpleForms.php has to be in ../extensions/SimpleForms or the aformentioned error occurs. Lame. Bug. —Eep² 09:55, 17 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm glad you found the problem, I'll see what I can do about making it independent of location. Why say "lame"? that's just disrespectful and makes people unwilling to give you any further help or time. --58.28.52.185 21:00, 17 August 2007 (UTC)


 * It's disrespectful forcing users to do things only a very specific way, Nad (if this is even you--tip: login before posting next time), and makes people unwilling to even bother with your extension/software. Be glad I've stuck with it for as long as I have and found several bugs (considering your lack of testing). I didn't appreciate you brushing me off for several days after I initially posted the fatal error either--and when I confronted you about it you acted like you didn't give a shit. Not cool--or very respectful yourself. You want respect? Give it to others by respecting them first/too. —Eep² 03:45, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Error Message
I get an error message after i have installed per the instructions: Undefined index: action in ... SimpleForms.php on line 106. Any idea as to what might cause that?
 * It's because you've got your PHP set to super-pedantic, so that trying to read array entries that don't exist raises an error instead of returning a default null result. I've made a minor update which should fix it. --Nad 22:08, 2 August 2007 (UTC)


 * What about the fatal error above? -Eep² 04:49, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

AJAX-enabled Simple Forms with WikEd - having a problem
I've set up my MediaWiki to utilize WikEd, but when I enable Ajax with motools, a line of text appears between MediaWiki's edit buttons and WikEd's edit buttons that just repeats the word "undefined" over and over again (trailing off the right side of the window). The cursor changes to the "link hand" icon when rolling over it, but the link simply points to http://mySite/undefined. When I disable WikEd or AJAX for simple forms, the text goes away. It appears to be some conflict between the javascript libraries - maybe an overloaded variable or function? Everything works fine though - but I can't leave that string of text there for everyone to see. Any ideas?


 * I have this same problem but just with Simple Forms installed and Mootools enabled with it. See http://www.organicdesign.co.nz/Talk:Extension:SimpleForms.php#Bugs for more info. —Eep² 01:30, 21 August 2007 (UTC)