It's fairly easy to change an existing form in a web editor like Netscape 3.0 by copying and pasting so that the form asks what you want it to ask.

Here's the way it works.

You tell the students where to find the evaluation form, so they can direct Netscape to bring it up. [An example of a link follows: Go to sample form #1. ] When the student completes ('submits') the form, an evaluation engine (post-que.exe) adds that response to the form data file. This data file consists of all responses collected by item. All names are in one spot. The responses to question 1, which had, say, 5 possible responses, are tallied. The comments, if any, are all tallied together, and so forth. Student names, if they are requested, are separated from all other responses. (Names are sorted alphabetically, starting with the first name (Ann Jones is before Chris Aarons).

Your view of the final tally.

Under Netscape, you go to a second engine (formread.exe) which sifts through the data file and produces an html document, which then comes up in Netscape, so you can read it, print it, or whatever.

The following link will permit you to see the output of the ongoing data file. (When you position the cursor over the link, the space at the bottom of the browser will show you the link address.) You should notice that both engines live in a folder (directory) called Form1. For things to work properly, this folder must be in a directory cgi-bin, under a server directory. In other words, the evaluation engines must live on a 'Web Server'. Look at output of this form.

Summary.

• First, you make a copy of the form. Then you modify the copy and rename it.
• Suppose you want the name field to be longer. You position the mouse over the yellow 'tag' indicator next to the name field, and right-click on the mouse. This brings up a box, where you click on Tag Properties. Another box comes up where you can change the size of the name field, and the tag is changed.
• By right-clicking in Netscape Editor on any of the yellow tags, you can change the properties of the form. As an exercise, try going to form 1 and changing the default for question 1 to item 2, instead of item 1. (You can figure out how to do this by moving the mouse (don't click) over each tag to see (in the line at the bottom of Netscape Editor) what that tag's properties are.)
• You must arrange to be able to put the two engines (post-que.exe, and formread.exe) in a directory under \Netscape\server\cgi-bin. You will need one directory for each form you use.
• I can give you copies of post-que.exe and formread.exe (written by Perry Peters).