Visforms 5
Placeholder usage

Placeholder usage

Visforms placeholder usage

All areas in which Visforms placeholders can be used.

Note: Some of these features are part of the Visforms Subscription and are not included in the free Visforms version.

There are 2 types of areas in which Visforms placeholders can be used:

  • Formattable texts.
    For formattable free texts, the placeholders can be inserted using the editor button Visforms placeholders.
  • Text-like options.
    For text-like options, you must enter the placeholders manually.

Note: Fields of the type Submit button, Image submit button, Reset button and Field separator do not recognize placeholders.

Note: If the placeholder value to be inserted is empty, the entire placeholder is simply removed from the text. An exception applies when using the parameter option DIE.

An exception is the parameter option DIE. The parameter option DIE is used to suppress empty field values and the areas in which they appear. This option causes the entire HTML area marked with it to be deleted if the parameter value is considered empty.

Formattable texts

The placeholders can be inserted into all formattable texts using the Editor button Visforms placeholder.
The placeholders can also be inserted manually.

Formattable free texts

Direct use even without saved data

These placeholders also work if the data is not saved.

The placeholders are replaced during the current after-submit process.
The form object that knows the submitted data is used in the after-submit process.

The following texts can be provided with Visforms placeholders:

  • Form configuration
    • Result tab
      • Success text
    • Email options tab
      • Administrator email text
      • User email text
  • PDF template configuration (Visforms Subscription)
    • Document tab
      • Document
    • Header tab
      • Header
    • Footer tab
      • Footer

Delayed use only with saved form data

These placeholders only work if the data is saved.
If the data is not saved, values for certain placeholders may be empty.

Visforms placeholders can be entered in the following texts.

Data editing in the frontend (Visforms Subscription):

  • Form configuration
    • Edit email options tab
      • Administrator email text
      • User email text

PDF printing in the frontend and PDF printing in the PDF template configuration of the administration (Visforms Subscription):

  • PDF template configuration
    • Document tab
      • Document
    • Header tab
      • Header
    • Footer tab
      • Footer

Text-like options

Note: The placeholders for text-like options must be inserted manually.

Note: If an unknown placeholder name is misspelled, the entire placeholder is simply removed from the text.

These are special texts, often with technical meanings.
Examples include link texts, file names, email addresses or URL parameters.

Placeholders with special formatting often make no sense here.
An example is the parameter ASIMAGE (Visforms Subscription) for the placeholder in the field type File Upload.

Note: For all field types, only their simple placeholder names should be used, without any parameters that are pointless in this sense.


Email configuration options

Form Configuration Options

Placeholders can be used in the following options:

  • General tab
    Maximum one submission = Yes » Action instead of form = Show link to edit data.
    • Link text
  • Result tab
    • Forwarding URL
  • Email Options tab
    • Administrator email (identical to user email)
      • Subject
      • Sender email, recipient email, CC email, BCC email.
        Placeholders of the field types Email, Text, and Hidden are accepted.
      • Sender name.
        Placeholders of the field types Text and Hidden are accepted.
    • User email (identical to administrator email)
      • Subject
      • Sender email, reply to email, CC email, BCC email.
        Wildcards of the field types Email, Text, and Hidden are accepted.
      • Sender name.
        Wildcards of the field types Text and Hidden are accepted.
  • Edit Email Options tab (Visforms Subscription)
    • Administrator email (identical to User Edit Email)
      • Subject
      • Sender email, recipient email, CC email, BCC email.
        Wildcards of the field types Email, Text, and Hidden are accepted.
      • Sender name.
        Wildcards of the field types Text and Hidden are accepted.
    • User email (identical to Administrator Edit Email)
      • Subject
      • Sender email, reply to email, CC email, BCC email.
        Placeholders of the field types Email, Text, and Hidden are accepted.
      • Sender name.
        Placeholders of the field types Text and Hidden are accepted.
  • Advanced tab
    • CSV export
      • Name of the CSV file
  • Email attachments tab (Visforms Subscription)
    The Mail Attachments plugin must be activated.
    • CSV export
      • Name of the CSV file
  • Edit email attachments tab (Visforms Subscription)
    The Mail attachments plugin must be activated.
    • CSV export
      • Name of the CSV file

PDF configuration options

Placeholders can be used in the following options (Visforms Subscription):

  • General tab
    • Name of the PDF file

Field configuration options

Placeholders can be used in the following options:

  • Data usage in the frontend tab
    • Field type URL
      If ‘URL as link’ is activated.
      • Text before the link
      • Custom link text
      • Text after the link
    • Field type File upload
      If Show link in frontend is enabled and Custom text is selected.
      • Custom text

Content Plugin - Visforms Data

Placeholder replacement is also possible in Content Plugin - Visforms Data.
More information on activating placeholder replacement in the plugin using the plugin parameter replace_parameter can be found in the section: List of all parameter names and permitted values .

The entire plugin string is searched for Visforms placeholders, and the placeholders are replaced.
In principle, all placeholders can be used for all field types.
Using placeholders does not make sense for all field types, for example, for the two field types Signature and Location.

By using placeholder replacement, particularly in the plugin string parameter fieldselect, it is possible, for example, in an additional module in the data detail view to display only the data filtered to information from the current detail record.
More on this in the section: Example with parameter replacement in the plugin string parameter “fieldselect” .

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