Best script I've seen in years
Reviewed bySilvaCoursesonFri, 15th February 2013
This MachForm script is the greatest script I have ever seen! It is the best bargain I have gotten in years.
We are using the MachForm as an Event Registration System. Previously we were just having people fill out a form and then forwarding them to a page with some PayPal buttons. Not the greatest system. We could only find a couple of event registration scripts that looked decent, and they were very expensive.
Now we are getting almost everything with the MachForm script that those event registrations scripts offered - and at a fraction of the cost.
For two days, it seemed like every time I thought of something that would be nice to have - I discovered that MachForm already has it.
A field specifically for names, with several options for how to display them.
Same with the address field. No need to enter several blanks myself, MachForm already did all the work for us.
When our Instructor in the United Kingdom asked if we could display the date field the way they use it over there - dd/mm/yyyy - no problem. One click and it was changed to the way he wanted it.
Where I really had fun was with the price lists. We needed more than one price list. Things are a lot more expensive in California and New York than they are in Texas, so we have to charge more.
That's when I discovered their "Logic" feature. I created a Drop Down list of states, and used Logic to display the appropriate price list when a specific state is selected. All of the other price lists are hidden.
Then I noticed that the price list being displayed wasn't the highest one, and I thought it would be better to start with the highest one. That way, nobody would see a lower price first and then be disappointed when they discovered they had to pay more.
And sure enough, MachForm takes care of that too. All I had to do was check off the state that I wanted to be the Default.
Since we have a lot of Instructors throughout the world, I planned to create a master form and use it as a template. Then I will just duplicate it and make the necessary changes. But suppose they only need one price list, then what?
Once again, MachForm already had the answer: Just set the Default location, and then enter the word "hidden" in the Custom CSS Class blank to hide the drop down list. That leaves just one price list, and no option to change to another. It couldn't be easier.
I also used Logic to "add" additional lines for names of additional people who might be registering for the event at the same time. When the user checks a checkbox, another Name field appears... with another checkbox below it to add yet another name field if needed.
I like the idea of being able to have "users," who can update their own forms. No reason I should have to do all the work. Now can I restrict them... yes! Once again MachForm was ahead of me: I can restrict the Instructors to only their own forms. It probably won't be long before I'll be upgrading to the Professional version so we can have more users.
I got a basic form done and published it to our web site, then went back and worked on it some more, taking advantage of all of the wonderful features I was discovering.
When I tried to publish the updated code to the web site, I was confused - the code was exactly the same as before... no change. Why?
Oh... wow! The updates we make on our MachForm Panel are automatically updated on the web site! I don't know how you do that, but I sure love it - once again, less work for me. Our Instructors can update their own forms and I won't have to do a thing. Just publish it once and forget it.
I am completely in awe of this script. I haven't had any problem with it. Everything works perfectly. Well... except when I tried to change the order of the items on the price list... the items got all mixed up on the Payment page, so I started over. That's okay, I can live with that.
I found a lot of great information on their Forum, like what to put into the Custom CSS Class blank to hide a field, or to display the Instructions below the field instead of beside it.
Just about everything that I thought of that I wanted, MachForm already had. It is very adaptable, so whenever it didn't have a specific feature for something, it was easy to find a way to handle it.
I have asked them a couple of questions, and they got back to me with the information I needed within a day or so.
Quality, price, service - what more could we ask for.
Please don't tell them I said this, but I don't think they charge nearly enough for this script. One small payment and you own it forever. It is the best bargain I have gotten in a long, long time. I have a dozen forms up and working, with no problems at all.
If you need a form for your web site, don't even think about it, just get the MachForm script.
No, I am not an affiliate, I am not being paid to recommend them. I just want to support them so that they will be around for a long time.
And thanks to all of the others who reviewed it on HotScripts, I took your advice and I am happy that I did.