In the last post I outlined how to setup the lists and newform.aspx for the RSVP template. Let’s test to make sure the form is functioning, then we can complete the project by tying off some loose ends.
Testing the form
To test the application, create an event in the Event List. Be sure to populate all the fields. Once the event is create, type the url of the form we just created into the address bar of your browser and add “?SelectedID=1″ to the end of the url. If you see information about the event on the top part of the form, you’re in good shape.
Go ahead and enter something in each of the fields, and submit the form. Then check the RSVP list to make sure that the record was correctly inserted into the list. The most important part of this test is to make sure that the correct event was identified in the new record.
Other (Optional) Stuff
Generating the RSVP url
I created the RSVP template to allow business users to create an RSVP form without IT support. My hope is that I will be able to step out of the RSVP business and make all the tasks self service. For example, it’s not readily apparent to the average user how to get to the form for a given event, so I created a way to automatically generate the url. The url for each event has three components.
- The link to the newform. It should be something like: http://sitecollectionname/sitename/listname/dynamicnewform.aspx
- The ID of the event. This component of the url will be SelectedID=X.
- The Source. The page to which the user will be directed after submitting the form like http://sitecollectionname.
The end result would be:
http://sitecollectionname/sitename/listname/dynamicnewform.aspx?SelectedID=X&Source=http://sitecollectionname
To create this link automatically, create a calculated column in the Event List. The calculated column will pull from the system created ID field and the field “Redirect after submitting” which was created in Part I:
=Concatenate("http://sitecollectionname/sitename/listname/dynamicnewform.aspx?SelectedID="&[ID]&"&Source="&[Redirect after submitting])
Creating the workflow
The last part of this process is to create the workflow. The workflow is not required, but it increments the total number of slots left so the system can identify when the event is full or when a registrant should be placed on a waitlist. Specifically the workflow should increment the field “Number of Places Used” in the event list. When the Number of Places is greater than number of Places Available, an email would go out to the recipient explaining that he/she has been waitlisted.
That’s it! I hope this is helpful to those who create these types of forms. If you have any questions, please comment below.
