Joomla Websites: Create custom forms - what is the best extension?

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Building custom forms - whats the best extension?

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For some reason Joomla core has never natively been able to create custom forms - I'm not sure if this is due to it originally (pre-1.5 releases) allowing non-article content types to sit in the usual database tables that comprise your site, or something else... However, for years there have been multiple extensions floating around that could let you create forms out of basic elements, like text, email and file fields.

The most basic use of such extensions would be to get rid of Joomla's too-simple contact form system. To do just that it seems that today there are a good 4 or 5 extensions sitting in the extensions directory that could help you out, though the more digging you do the more you'll find discrepancies between them. Choosing the right form extension should be done with a balance of features to look for, such as:

A highly active and focused extension developer, A multitude of fields already supported, A large user base, Development of the extension with long-term focus; if the extension has been created to allow the developer to just create 1 or 2 forms on his/her website, it may not be able to do more in the future (given that their initial need for it was satisfied).

Back in 2007 I mentioned the release of a new extension called Fabrik - after spending some time comparing notes between a bunch of form components just now I am back in love with it! You see, Fabrik takes the approach of forms being essential things for application-building - meaning that with Fabrik, you can create forms to not only email somewhere but store in your database which in turn can be displayed as lists through your site - you you can, for example, use it to build things like a custom library listing of books.

Fabrik was around before last year's CCK-in-joomla copycating began and is interesting in not replacing Joomla's core article content-type but side-stepping it with a flexible system for handling custom content that supports custom theming and additional plug-in support (yes, you can make your own field types).

Already available fields for forms created with Fabrik include; user details, captcha (with recaptcha!), text areas/fields, file uploads, images, database joins and more (including text displays to annotate fields - for 'help' purpose)...

I highly recommend popping over to http://fabrikar.com and checking Fabrik out... Be sure to also pour through their forums to answer any queries you may have before installing/getting started. If you think there's a simpler, more powerful, or otherwise better form extension out there drop a comment below!

Comments Add NewSearchRSS custom forms posted by munyah on 2010-01-08 I agree that Fabrikar is head and shoulders above most of custom form components, though too complex for most.

For smaller forms, like enhanced contact forms, I prefer ChronoForms.

But cool post... Quote posted by Jim on 2010-01-13 Great Post! I am definitely going to check out Fabrik!
I have used Breezing Forms by Crosstec formerly known as Facile Forms and it has great functionality.
What do you think about it? Quote Learning curve... posted by designguru on 2010-01-15 @munyah - I think you're right, there may be some easier-to-learn extensions which handle forms, but last I checked, the forums on Fabrik's site were fairly active, so it shouldn't be too hard for newbies to get the knowledge they need. (http://fabrikar.com/forums/)

@Jim - I remember Facile Forms from way back but haven't used it in a long time... Will look into Breezing and post back with a review soon!

q./ Quote RSForm Pro! posted by Ian on 2010-01-31 I did some extensive research for myself over a year a go now and though I didn't evaluate Fabrik I found other than simple forms all the extensions were very limited.
RSForm Pro!is a delight - you can format the forms to do almost anything and the form formating is not that difficult - indeed it is very flexible. I don't know java script but can copy and paste and I've been able to get forms is do some amazing things. RDFom Pro! is a paid for extension but the helpdesk is amazingly good and responsive. Quote jseblod cck? posted by Shola on 2010-02-17 Hey there! Have you tried jseblod cck? Or perhaps sobi2? I'm currently searching for a CCK and it's between fabrik and the 2 I just mentioned. Quote posted by Eugen Radulov on 2010-02-18 I'm searching for CCK, to. any info? Quote posted by iLLeT on 2010-02-21 There are 3 top CCK out. K2,Jseblod, and FLEXIcontent. For a blog or magazine style K2 wins right now. K2 works out of the box. For anything else I perfer FLEXIcontent for right now, but it still in beta, and does have some bugs. Jseblod is amazing, but has things built in that I don't need, and the back-end takes time to learn, and does not look to pretty (organized). I also needed a filterf field parameter which Jseblod did not have at the time. Maybe it has it now. FLEXIcontent has multiple field filter which I love. Quote www.thefactory.ro posted by Victor on 2010-02-22 yeah, I like FLEXIcontent, but hate using beta programs Quote posted by Aaron on 2010-02-27 I don't remember seeing Fabrik on the Joomla extensions page. I'll have to give it a try. I tried ChronoForms but couldn't get it to work at all. Hopefully Fabrik will do the trick for me. Quote jSeblod CCK, really crazy posted by dustie on 2010-02-28 To say you that the stable version of jSeblod CCK is out. With incredible list and search features.
I know all Joomla CCK and it's the most powerfull because it's alone to be integrated to Joomla interface, alone to be compatible with a lot of extensions, alone to allow you to design administration like your client want, alone to have search module generator so powerfull, alone...
Yes, you must learn how to use it, but then you do what you want.

I used before K2, but it's not flexible, like "flexi"content which is not compatible with a lot of Joomla extension and it's not integrated to Content Administration Interface of Joomla. Your client must learn again a new extension.

When you manage your content with jSeblod CCK, the user go on Joomla article manager and select not only to build a Joomla article but what you want... Quote www.cms-informer.com posted by Steven Narrow on 2010-03-09 it is good that the extension's development is long focused, it means we can expect updates. Quote digital templates posted by Norbert on 2010-07-02 I used K2, but it is not as flexible as I need. Quote Write comment Name: Email: Website: Title: UBBCode: [b]

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