Installing the Generic Perl Script

  1. First, create a "thank you" Web page in NotePad. This can be a simple HTML file with the words "thank you" in the text. Save it as thanks.htm.
  2. This file, thanks.htm, should be uploaded to the WWW folder in your Web site.
  3. Next, create a directory inside the www folder called data. You can do this by uploading an empty folder named data via FTP or by using the site tools to create a new directory.
  4. Now view the Perl script from the following link: Perl Script
  5. Choose View Source from the View menu in your browser. Select ONLY the perl script (after the advertising banner, it starts with "#" and finished with ";". Do not select anything else. Choose Copy.
  6. Open a new NotePad window and paste the Perl script into it. There should be no blank lines at the beginning or end. Each Perl statement should be on a separate line ending in semicolon.
  7. Save this under files of all types as "generic.pl". The extension is NOT p-"one" but p-"el". This identifies it as a PERL file.
  8. Upload the generic perl script, generic.pl to the cgi-bin of your Web site.
  9. Now create a survey using surveyWiz at the ati-birnbaum site: surveyWiz3.
  10. Save your survey as "test_survey.htm".
  11. Upload your survey to your Web site.
  12. Take the survey, putting something you will recognize in the comments such as your initials. You should see your "thank you" page when you have clicked the submit button.
  13. You should find your data in a file called "data.txt" inside your data folder.
  14. AFTER you have everything working, you can use the control panel to change the security on the data folder. Make it so that anyone can write to the file, but only the owner and the group can read it. (You do not want the public to read the data if you collect sensitive or personal information.)