Online forms acting as mailto

[jozsefs]

Hi everytime i fill out an online form and push submit it just acts as a mailto link and places all the info i put in the form into a new email composition.

I'm guessing I have it set somewhere to treat forms as mailto's but i'd like to know how to set it so that when i push submit it simply submits the form instead of just carrying over all of the forms content to my 'compose email' window.

[Statica]

Did you get the same issue when you filled out to the forums here?

The behavior of online forms is set by the creator of the webpage. It is possible that the form you were filling was designed to submit data through email rather than through a script on the webserver.

If you're having problems on all forms then maybe something peculiar is going on with your browser. Post back with which OS, browser you're using and perhaps a site where you're having the same issue.

[jozsefs]

Well aren't contact forms supposed to just "take care" of your information once you push submit?

Anytime I use a contact form I have to fill out all the fields and upon clicking submit it simply opens up a "compose mail" window with all the forms information arrayed in the composition box as follows

name= xxx
mail= xxxxx
comment= xxx

what's the point in filling out all the fields and pushing submit if all it does is open up a "new email composition". it'd be much easier and faster for them to just leave their email address or a normal mailto link. so i suspect that i have some setting that is turning these contact forms into mailto windows.

here's an example of a form that behaves like a mailto command on my browsers

https://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca.../contacts.html

i use firefox 1.5.0.12 with noscript and adblock plugins, as well as internet explorer 6.0 my OS is WinXP Pro SP1 and i tested the form on both browsers

[Statica]

All forms aren't just meant to "take care" of the information. There are a number of reasons why a designer might choose to have an email transmission of the form.

For example: The website you've linked has an email form .. in fact they call the form EMAIL ENQUIRIES ABOUT YOUR MSP ACCOUNT. It obviously involves confidential information and by having a client email them they can at least verify that the person is posing a legitimate question.
source:

PHP Code:

<form style="margin: 0px;" action="mailto:msp.registration@hibc.gov.bc.ca?subject=MSP Registration/Enrolment" enctype="text/plain" method="post"> 


[glc]

Leaving their email address or a mailto link opens them up for spam. Using a form adds a layer of protection even though all it's doing is putting your info into a blank email.

[jozsefs]

still seems off to me, you cannot press submit without strictly filling in the required fields, at which point it simply opens up a blank email where you can promptly delete all the fields and write whatever you want to some 912392439@msp.com email address that's been inserted in your "To:" field.

just didn't make sense to me but thank you for offering your advice, sorry i mistook this for a settings bug - i only came here because i had difficulty googling such a specific concern.

[mairving]

Originally Posted by jozsefs still seems off to me, you cannot press submit without strictly filling in the required fields, at which point it simply opens up a blank email where you can promptly delete all the fields and write whatever you want to some 912392439@msp.com email address that's been inserted in your "To:" field. just didn't make sense to me but thank you for offering your advice, sorry i mistook this for a settings bug - i only came here because i had difficulty googling such a specific concern.

It is just bad web design, plain and simple but an easy way to do a form if you don't have much knowledge.