Thread

Hello - I have a client who I am developing an EE site for and they want me to build them a form with 500+ fields. Usually I make my EE forms with Freeform but for this one, I am wondering is anyone has a better (and quicker) idea for a different add-on or a different solution. The form is a quote request for a custom window company.

Thanks in advance for your ideas and help!

Hey Heather,

Pardon this question, but how are you planning to organize 500+ fields? Do you have a plan in mind already?

Hi Chris,

Honestly, I am not really sure. I know that I am going to use some Javascript so that certains sections will only be visible if the client needs to fill it in. I just got the brief today so I haven’t had tons of time ti figure it out. I know that freeform has worked well for me in the past but it seems like a lot of work to use that for something like this. Do you have any ideas? I am open to any suggestions.

Thanks!
Heather

Hey Heather,

My first inclination when I see the number “500” is to script it. An embedded PHP loop can do wonders with generating lots of fields, but that would assume lots of similarities—like allowing 10 pictures of each side of a house for an insurance claim.

If the “allowing 10” were the qualifier, SafeCracker + Matrix would make a cleaner solution.

And if there is any way to optimize (cut down) the number of fields on this form, please do it. I had a client a couple years ago who insisted on having 2-300 file upload fields on a single form. That broke marvelously when PHP decided to limit the number of file uploads for security reasons.

Hi Chris, This is super helpful. The 500 is coming into play because they have some certain sections of the form that are repeated based on how many windows they want quotes for so, I can see where looping it would be ideal. I haven’t used SafeCracker or Matrix but I will check both of those out.

I really appreciate your time and advice. You’ve probably saved me hours of frustration!

Heather