Confirmation form plugin strangeness with Re-edit

[boyjah]

We are trying to use the Confirmation form plugin but are having some problems when clicking the Re-edit button on the confirm information page.

1. If the user clicks Re-edit, all files that were uploaded into the form using the File Upload element (Use Ajax upload = Yes) still show the file name on the edit page but they all disappear when the form is resubmitted and those files are not saved.

How it looks in the form before clicking the Submit button:

How it looks on the confirmation page:


How it looks when Re-edit button is clicked:

And if the form is submitted again the uploaded file is no longer visible and is not saved.


2. There are 35 field/text area elements on the form. Oddly, when the Re-edit button is clicked, there are 2 elements that lose the original text put into them. Instead those fields show duplicate text from other fields from lower on the page. Only 2 of the 35 fields exhibit this behavior.

First field on the page is a Field element
y2vfp_fab_host_pre_registration___prereg_facilityname

After clicking Re-edit, the text in that field is replaced by the text from the 3rd field down on the page (also a Field element)
y2vfp_fab_host_pre_registration___prereg_facilityname_eng

For example, if I type the letter A in y2vfp_fab_host_pre_registration___prereg_facilityname
and I type the letter C in y2vfp_fab_host_pre_registration___prereg_facilityname_eng,
when I click Re-edit, both of these fields are now showing the letter C

This is the data in the form before clicking the Submit button:


On the confirmation page, it shows correct information, like this:


However, this is what we see if we click the Re-edit button on the confirmation page and are taken back to the Edit page:


The 33rd field on the page is a Textarea element
y2vfp_fab_host_pre_registration___prereg_accomodations
After clicking Re-edit, the text in that field is replaced by the text from the field directly below (which is also a Textarea element)
y2vfp_fab_host_pre_registration___prereg_accomodationswith

All text entry elements have identical settings and all Access is set to Public

 

[troester]

Not sure if the confirmation plugin is working with fileuploads.
Do you have "use WiP" set?

 

[lousyfool]

My workaround -- call it "preview" if you want:
Form redirect plugin (instead of the confirmation plugin), redirecting to the details view of the record. Since it's a custom detail view template for this purpose only, I've added an "edit" button there, leading "back" to the edit form of the record.

 

[boyjah]

Not sure if the confirmation plugin is working with fileuploads.
Do you have "use WiP" set?

"Use WiP" = No

But more critical is the weird replacement of values from other fields...

 

[boyjah]

My workaround -- call it "preview" if you want:
Form redirect plugin (instead of the confirmation plugin), redirecting to the details view of the record. Since it's a custom detail view template for this purpose only, I've added an "edit" button there, leading "back" to the edit form of the record.

While this plugin should not need a workaround if it functioned as expected, yours sounds like a viable workaround. How do we add an "edit" button that sends back to the edit form?

 

[lousyfool]

How do we add an "edit" button that sends back to the edit form?

Again, make it a custom details template just for the purpose. In there you can do what you want or need.

 

[troester]

Create a custom details template and add a link to the form, something like
index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=form&formid={formid}&rowid={rowid}&Itemid={Itemid}

You can do it in default.php or in default_actions.php.
You may also want to add a link back to the list (in case all is ok).

Call this custom template in the redirect plugin with &layout=your-custom-template

 

[boyjah]

So the conclusion is that the Confirmation plugin is acknowledged as broken and will not be fixed and cannot be used as expected and therefore we must make a custom solution to achieve the desired results? In that case, why is it available for download? Why is it not removed from the plugin options?

 

[lousyfool]

The confirmation form plugin is one case of code which could use some TLC... there are other sections as well.

Now, Fabrik is provided free of charge and "as is". As it stands, progress and fixes are happening depending on the developers' needs and/or contractual (paid) work, and the community's voluntary efforts. So, if you or others are able and willing to contribute with fixes and other code, that'll be great -- otherwise I'm afraid you'd rather need to invest dollars into the work required. Basically, that's just as with other custom solutions you may need for your project.

(Community member writing this.)

 

[boyjah]

My workaround -- call it "preview" if you want:
Form redirect plugin (instead of the confirmation plugin), redirecting to the details view of the record. Since it's a custom detail view template for this purpose only, I've added an "edit" button there, leading "back" to the edit form of the record.

Just to confirm, I will redirect the user from form edit to form details view when they click the submit button. The modified details view will have a back button to take the user back to form edit if they want to make changes. Correct?

In this case, every time they click the submit button on the form edit page and are redirected to details view, the data is actually recorded to the database, correct?

If that is the case, then the email plugins that we have associated with that form will be triggered when they click the submit button and before they are redirected to the "preview' page to confirm their data, correct?

This form contains 2 email plugins: one that sends an informative email to the user which also includes the data that they submitted. The other email plugin sends something similar to Admins. So, if I understand correctly, the user and Admins will get an email with potentially incorrect information, in the event that the user goes back and makes changes and then clicks the submit button again. In which case 2 emails will be sent: the first time with potentially incorrect information and the 2nd one with the modified information.

This would seem to be the main difference between using the Redirect plugin workaround vs. the Confirmation plugin, as I read that the Confirmation plugin saves the data in a temporary place for Re-edit or until the submit button is clicked on the confirmation page.

Assuming that the email plugins will be triggered every time a user clicks the submit button on the form edit page, is there a way to avoid having them triggered until the user clicks some kind of link or button that I will put onto the modified details page that indicates that they confirm the information and then sends them to the next place that they need to go (which happens to be a membership payment page)?

 

[juuser]

Just an alternative thought, do you actually need the confirmation form? I used it once in some cases, but actually it didn't reduce the amount of mistakes at all as users are mostly sure they enter correct information already first time, so they actually didn't pay the attention to a confirmation form at all (it's a bit like have you ever seen a person who reads terms and conditions )

Instead I ended up adding a js promp on form save, so they could still click cancel and check the data before submit if they got a doubt for any mistake on the form.

 

[boyjah]

Just an alternative thought, do you actually need the confirmation form? I used it once in some cases, but actually it didn't reduce the amount of mistakes at all as users are mostly sure they enter correct information already first time, so they actually didn't pay the attention to a confirmation form at all (it's a bit like have you ever seen a person who reads terms and conditions )

Instead I ended up adding a js promp on form save, so they could still click cancel and check the data before submit if they got a doubt for any mistake on the form.

We COMPLETELY understand your experience with regard to users confirming without actually paying attention to the information they have provided. In our case, the confirmation of information submitted is a LEGAL protection. This is NOT about number of potential mistakes or whether users pay attention to a confirmation step. It is only about avoiding potential legal repercussions. Our page with the "Submit" or "Confirm" button on the preview or confirm page will include specific legal language that will also be included in the message sent via the email plugin. So whether the user actually reads the contents of their own submission or not, we are not susceptible to legal liability if they claim that incorrect information about them is in our system.

But all of this is pointless when all that we want is basic function of this software as it is described. I have previously submitted requests to this questionable A-Team place about the willingness to pay to have software function as described, but have not yet received any response. And based on what we see on their website (including very basic HTML errors which create doubts and concerns about the most basic business/technical related capabilities) and their history of non-response, we do not anticipate anything helpful.

juuser, we appreciate you more than words can express. You are a wondrous and mysterious savior in SO MANY cases of technical trouble on this forum for this mostly amazing software. We are extremely grateful to you! We have sent you payments of gratitude for you support before and will very happily do again. Are you able to provide a solid and workable solution to this problem at an agreed upon price? If so, please consider yourself HIRED!

 

[juuser]

Totally understandable in your case. Yes, Fabrik has lots of pros and unfortunately also some cons and support is definitely one of the biggest cons. But in most cases it's possible to overcome these with some workarounds or extending the built-in features with custom code.

I will write you a PM in the forums inbox.

 

[boyjah]

Totally understandable in your case. Yes, Fabrik has lots of pros and unfortunately also some cons and support is definitely one of the biggest cons. But in most cases it's possible to overcome these with some workarounds or extending the built-in features with custom code.

I will write you a PM in the forums inbox.

Hey! For your reference I have been testing all of the form creation extensions for Joomla and found a really great one: ConvertForms
https://www.tassos.gr/joomla-extensions/convert-forms

Based on my testing so far, it seems to be capable of all functions that Fabrik can do (or claims to), and more! So far everything is working well and it gives lots of specific options regarding form layout and design in a very user friendly interface. AND there is already a Joomla 4 version.

I am now in the tedious process of transitioning from years of creating forms with Fabrik to ConvertForms.

 

[lousyfool]

Hey! For your reference I have been testing all of the form creation extensions for Joomla and found a really great one: ConvertForms
https://www.tassos.gr/joomla-extensions/convert-forms

Based on my testing so far, it seems to be capable of all functions that Fabrik can do (or claims to), and more!

Well... depends on what you want or need to achieve with Fabrik (= what plugins to use, etc). While you can do a lot with ConvertForms already, it doesn't cover "all" functions of Fabrik.

While we're at it, another good one (actually even better than ConvertForms, because they already have on board most of what ConvertForms still has on its to-do list): RSForm!Pro. Also ready for J!4, lots of free extra plugins available, ready for all the usual CSS/JS frameworks at just a click, also well supported and documented incl examples for custom code, etc. MVC frontend views for "lists" etc. Similar to ConvertForms, if you're fit with PHP and JS, you can add your custom code in convenient fields (I think even more triggers than ConvertForms...).

 

[juuser]

Agree, if one just needs to collect information from users and make some manipulations with the data, those mentioned plugins are probably quite good. But for serious and complicated app development, they do not even come close to Fabrik's functionality.

Well... depends on what you want or need to achieve with Fabrik (= what plugins to use, etc). While you can do a lot with ConvertForms already, it doesn't cover "all" functions of Fabrik.

 

[boyjah]

Agree, if one just needs to collect information from users and make some manipulations with the data, those mentioned plugins are probably quite good. But for serious and complicated app development, they do not even come close to Fabrik's functionality.

I agree, except when that functionality doesn't actually function and there is no viable way to get Fabrik to fix it. As much as I appreciate Fabrik as a great part of my JOOMLA tool set, I no longer have faith that I can rely on it as the main part of my many business related websites. After having spent many years incorporating Fabrik into my sites, it is painful and tedious to seek replacement software and redo all that I have created with Fabrik. "Serious and complicated app development" CANNOT be based on software that is floundering and does not fix acknowledged problems and refuses to inform users about basic things like when they will modify their software to work with JOOMLA 4. I spent almost 1 year testing every form creation extension for JOOMLA before deciding that Fabrik was the best for us. I then spent several years incorporating it into my various websites. Now I must start that whole process again. I would much rather spend my time growing and developing my businesses rather than redoing all that has already been done or spending weeks trying to find workarounds for things that don't work.

 

[boyjah]

Well... depends on what you want or need to achieve with Fabrik (= what plugins to use, etc). While you can do a lot with ConvertForms already, it doesn't cover "all" functions of Fabrik.

While we're at it, another good one (actually even better than ConvertForms, because they already have on board most of what ConvertForms still has on its to-do list): RSForm!Pro. Also ready for J!4, lots of free extra plugins available, ready for all the usual CSS/JS frameworks at just a click, also well supported and documented incl examples for custom code, etc. MVC frontend views for "lists" etc. Similar to ConvertForms, if you're fit with PHP and JS, you can add your custom code in convenient fields (I think even more triggers than ConvertForms...).

Thank you so much for your informative reply! We thoroughly tested RSForm!Pro (paid subscription version) but found it to be lacking and limited in many respects in comparison to ConvertForms. And while we do use many detailed and very technical aspects of Fabrik in our many many forms, we have so far been able to recreate them with ConvertForms.

 

[lousyfool]

Thank you so much for your informative reply! We thoroughly tested RSForm!Pro (paid subscription version) but found it to be lacking and limited in many respects in comparison to ConvertForms. And while we do use many detailed and very technical aspects of Fabrik in our many many forms, we have so far been able to recreate them with ConvertForms.

Interesting. And good there are different tools out there, so everyone can find and pick what works best for them.

 

[lousyfool]

As much as I appreciate Fabrik as a great part of my JOOMLA tool set, I no longer have faith that I can rely on it as the main part of my many business related websites.
(...)
"Serious and complicated app development" CANNOT be based on software that is floundering and does not fix acknowledged problems and refuses to inform users about basic things like when they will modify their software to work with JOOMLA 4.
(...)
I would much rather spend my time growing and developing my businesses rather than redoing all that has already been done or spending weeks trying to find workarounds for things that don't work.

As you know, Fabrik is totally free of charge and provided "as is", with only seldom feature updates and support from the community only.

As you also know, experts putting time and effort into it couldn't do it for free as they need to pay for their food as well.
[I've slightly edited the following question:]
Would you be ready and want to pay for Fabrik to be maintained better, and eventually also more than just $10 or $20 per month?