In theory you could use a forms plugin to create a bunch of check boxes in a form, but you’d need to obtain the grid layout yourself with custom CSS code. The plugin would only be good for generating the necessary HTML. But you’re looking at 400 check boxes! Defining those with any forms plugin would be incredibly tedious.
Since you need custom CSS code anyway, you’re likely better off custom coding the form HTML as well. By nesting loops that generate the HTML, the resulting code can be rather compact considering it generates 400 check boxes.
You’d then need some code to process the form data and compile it into a meaningful email message.
Are you sure 400 check boxes are the best UI for what you need to accomplish? It seems rather cumbersome to me and that there should be a better way. But since I don’t know the underlying intent, I’m just wildly speculating. Might a numeric “spinner” field or multi-select drop-down meet similar needs in a more compact, usable format? Such fields might be a better fit for existing forms plugins. You might be able to avoid custom code by re-imagining your UI.
Many thanks bcworkz
Appreciate the detailed answer but have no way on here to attach a jpeg of what I am after. Yes .. 400 checkboxes as each cell can be ticked by the user.
I can code in vba for Microsoft Access but not for websites.
Will see if I can place the form mock up on a google drive and report back.
Thanks
I’m skeptical you’ll find a plugin that will help you with such a form. If you can code VB then at least you have coding aptitude. That’ll help, but there’s not much other relation between JavaScript and VB other than they are both interpreted code.
It’s feasible to have JavaScript generate the form and handle the interactivity with the summaries. Your page mainly just needs an HTML element or few for the script to insert content into. If you’re new to JS it’ll be a struggle at first to get things working. With coding aptitude, you’ll get there eventually if you persevere. There will be great satisfaction waiting for you if you can accomplish your goals.
What happens with the completed form? If data needs to be saved somewhere server side you’ll also need to do some PHP coding to process the submitted data. All the same issues all over again as with learning JS.
If you don’t feel up to it, you could hire professional help through resources such as https://jobs.wordpress.net/ or https://jetpack.pro/
Many thanks bcworkz
I agree I am not likely to find a plugin for the job as I have tried many before asking the question.
It has taken me 10 years to become reasonably proficient at VBA so learning new coding is a non starter but once I have code I can at least step through it with a small degree of understanding.
The forms are emailed to the Admin and that is all that is required.
Appreciate the professional help links and I have considered this but unsure if the overall budget can cope but as the form is required it will have to done otherwise the project will not start.
Thanks again for your valuable advice and I will look around for help and report back on progress. Coders (myself included) love a challenge and this form seems a real one!!!
Just asking is there anywhere on this forum to find help or post the job specification? Had a look at both links but not seeing hire developer options. Will keep looking.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
alexanderweb.
There is no opportunity for requesting paid help in these forums or anywhere on this .org site. In fact requesting paid help here is against our guidelines. Sorry about the JetPack link. I was told on good authority it’s a place to hire professional help, but appears to only be for paid JetPack support. Apparently the advice I was given is outdated.
The jobs.wordpress.net link OTOH is what I think you are looking for. You can post a job listing only for the term of a project. The scope within that project is up to you. Specify in the job’s description. Use the Post Job top menu item to get to the form you fill out.
If you are in or near a large urban center, there may be regular meet ups of WP devs of whom someone might be willing to help you. Check out meetup.com and search “WordPress” for your area.
to become reasonably proficient
Proficiency is not required. You only need to learn enough to accomplish the task at hand 🙂 Not to diminish how difficult it’ll be at first. If you can find reasonable examples to start from you might be able to cobble something together without knowing much about the language.
BTW, I saw that you inadvertently made a duplicate reply (since removed). I believe I know what happened, it has happened to me several times. Submitting a reply appears to not work, so it’s natural to retry. In the future, please resist the temptation. 9 out of 10 times the request does get through, it’s the response that fails. Instead, re-check your topic in another browser tab to see if your reply was posted or not. If not, then it’s safe to retry.
Most helpful and appreciate the extra mile bcworkz
I belong to a WP meetup group in the UK and today did exactly as you have recommended.
I will take your advice on the website for posting the job spec and also on the duplicate posts. I have found some examples online and can see clearer than yesterday so making some progess.
THANK YOU
