Install and run a local PHP server

Download and install a php server - this is required to run php on your computer.

Most well-known are:

XAMPP (WINDOWS | OSX | LINUX)
WAMP (WINDOWS)
MAMP (OSX)

You'll find numerous pages and videos about how to install and run your php server.

Check your PHP version

Create a new empty file at the root of your project, named for example test-form.php.
Add the following line into your file:
```
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
```
Open your favorite browser and go to your file's url, for example: http://localhost/my-project/test-form.php
If your version is php 5.3 or newer, you're on the right track.

If not, you've got to upgrade your php to a most recent version.

Upload phpformbuilder folder

Add phpformbuilder folder at the root of your project.

Your directory structure should be similar to this:
- my-project
  - phpformbuilder
  - test-form.php
PHP Form Builder's package includes the Form Builder itself, the documentation and all the templates.

You don't have to upload all the files and folders on your production server.

Documentation and Templates are available online at https://www.phpformbuilder.pro/.
There's no need to upload them on your production server.

More details about folders, files and required files on production server here: ../index.html#package-structure

Include required files on your page to build form

Open the test-form.php that you created on step n°2 with your favourite editor (Sublime Text, Notepad++, Atom, ...)

Add html basic markup:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Test Form</title>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified Bootstrap CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.6/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-1q8mTJOASx8j1Au+a5WDVnPi2lkFfwwEAa8hDDdjZlpLegxhjVME1fgjWPGmkzs7" crossorigin="anonymous">
</head>
<body>
<h1>My first form</h1>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified jQuery -->
<script   src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-2.2.4.min.js"   integrity="sha256-BbhdlvQf/xTY9gja0Dq3HiwQF8LaCRTXxZKRutelT44="   crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified Bootstrap JS -->
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.6/js/bootstrap.min.js" integrity="sha384-0mSbJDEHialfmuBBQP6A4Qrprq5OVfW37PRR3j5ELqxss1yVqOtnepnHVP9aJ7xS" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
</body>
</html>

Now add the following code at the very beginning of your file:

<?php
use phpformbuilder\Form;
use phpformbuilder\Validator\Validator;
session_start();
include_once rtrim($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'], DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR) . '/phpformbuilder/Form.php';
?>

This code will be the same for all pages containing forms.

What's going on here?

<?php
// Following 2 lines are required since php 5.3 to set namespaces.
// more details here: http://php.net/manual/en/language.namespaces.php
use phpformbuilder\Form;
use phpformbuilder\Validator\Validator;

// Following line starts php session. That's to say we'll memorize variables in php session.
session_start();

// Then we include main form class, which contains all functions to build forms.
include_once rtrim($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'], DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR) . '/phpformbuilder/Form.php';
?>

Refresh your test-form.php in your browser (http://localhost/my-project/test-form.php)

If you see a blank page, all is ok, you can go on to next step

If your browser throws an error 500, click button below to solve this.

How to solve error 500

Your browser has thrown this error because php can't find Form.php.

rtrim($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'], DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR) should lead to the root of your project.
If works fine if your server is well configured, but it seems that's not the case.

To solve this, open ../phpformbuilder/server.php in your browser and follow the instructions.

More explainations about error 500 are available at https://www.phpformbuilder.pro/documentation/help-center.php#warning-include_once

Build your first form

So let's start building the form.

To create a new form, add this line just after the include_once statement Line 5 in your test-form.php:

$form = new Form('test-form', 'horizontal', 'novalidate');

What's going on here?

$form = new Form('test-form', 'horizontal', 'novalidate');
// this function creates a new form object.

// arguments:
//      'test-form' : this is the form name
//      'horizontal': this will add class="form-horizontal"
//      'novalidate': this will add 'novalidate' attribute. It prevents browser to use browser's html5 built-in validation.

// You can skip 'novalidate' argument if you want to use browser's html5 built-in validation.

// If you want Material Design style, instanciate this way:
$form = new Form('test-form', 'horizontal', 'novalidate', 'material');

// or without html5 validation:
$form = new Form('test-form', 'horizontal', '', 'material');

Add the following line to create an input field:

$form->addInput('text', 'user-name', '', 'Name:', 'required, placeholder=Name');

What's going on here?

$form->addInput('text', 'user-name', '', 'Name:', 'required, placeholder=Name');
// this function adds an input to your form.

// arguments:
//      'text'     : the html input type. can be for example 'text' or 'hidden', 'email', 'number', ...
//      'user-name': the html "name" attribute
//      'Name:'   : label content displayed on screen
//      'required, placeholder=Name': can be any html addributes, separated with commas and without quotes.

Add the following line to create 2 radio buttons with iCheck plugin

$form->addRadio('is-all-ok', 'Yes', 1);
$form->addRadio('is-all-ok', 'No', 0);
$form->printRadioGroup('is-all-ok', 'Is all ok?', false, 'required');
$form->addPlugin('icheck', 'input', 'default', array('%theme%' => 'square', '%color%' => 'red'));

What's going on here?

// add 2 radio buttons.
// arguments:
//      'is-all-ok'  : radio groupname
//      'Yes'        : radio label
//      1                      : radio value
$form->addRadio('is-all-ok', 'Yes', 1);
$form->addRadio('is-all-ok', 'No', 0);

// render radio group
// arguments:
//      'is-all-ok'  : radio groupname
//      'Is all ok?': radio group  label
//      false                  : inline (true or false)
//      'required'   : this will add 'required' attribute. can contain any html attribute(s), separated with commas.
$form->printRadioGroup('is-all-ok', 'Is all ok?', false, 'required');

// Add iCheck plugin (beautiful radio buttons)
// arguments:
//      'input'  : plugin's target (jQuery selector)
//      'default': plugin's config (see class doc for details please)
//      array([...])       : arguments sended to plugin (see class doc for details please)
$form->addPlugin('icheck', 'input', 'default', array('%theme%' => 'square', '%color%' => 'red'));

Add the submit button:

$form->addBtn('submit', 'submit-btn', 1, 'Send', 'class=btn btn-success');

What's going on here?

$form->addBtn('submit', 'submit-btn', 1, 'Send', 'class=btn btn-success');
// this function adds a button to your form.

// arguments:
//      'submit'     : the html button type.
//      'submit-btn' : the html "name" attribute
//      'Send:'     : Button text content displayed on screen
//      'class=btn btn-success': can be any html addributes, separated with commas and without quotes.

Well done. Now the form is ready with an input and a submit button.

Last step is to render it on page.We'll add 3 php blocks.

Just before </head>:
```
<?php $form->printIncludes('css'); ?>
```
Anywhere between <body></body>: (at the place you want the form to be displayed)
```
<?php
if (isset($sent_message)) {
echo $sent_message;
}
$form->render();
?>
```

Just before </body>:

<?php
    $form->printIncludes('js');
    $form->printJsCode();
    ?>

What's going on here?

// Following lines will include jQuery plugin's css files if your form uses plugins.
<?php $form->printIncludes('css'); ?>

// following lines will render the form in your page, and display success / error message if form has been posted by user.
<?php
if (isset($sent_message)) {
echo $sent_message;
}
$form->render();
?>

// Following lines will include jQuery plugin's js files if your form uses plugins.
<?php $form->printIncludes('js'); ?>

Refresh your test-form.php in your browser (http://localhost/my-project/test-form.php)

your form should be displayed.

Validate user's posted values and send email

Add this php block just after include_once [...] . '/phpformbuilder/Form.php';:

if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {

// create validator & auto-validate required fields
$validator = Form::validate('test-form');

// check for errors
if ($validator->hasErrors()) {
$_SESSION['errors']['test-form'] = $validator->getAllErrors();
} else {
$email_config = array(
'sender_email'    => 'contact@my-site.com',
'sender_name'     => 'PHP Form Builder',
'recipient_email' => 'recipient-email@my-site.com',
'subject'         => 'PHP Form Builder - Test form email',
'filter_values'   => 'test-form'
);
$sent_message = Form::sendMail($email_config);
Form::clear('test-form');
}
}

Email sending may fail on your localhost, depending on your configuration.

It should work anyway on production server.

What's going on here?

// if form has been posted
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST" && Form::testToken('test-form') === true) {

// create a new validator object & auto-validate required fields
$validator = Form::validate('test-form');

// store errors in session if any
if ($validator->hasErrors()) {
$_SESSION['errors']['test-form'] = $validator->getAllErrors();
} else {

// all is ok, send email
// PHP Form Builder will add all posted labels and values to your message,
// no need to do anything manually.
$email_config = array(
    'sender_email'    => 'contact@my-site.com',
    'sender_name'     => 'PHP Form Builder',
    'recipient_email' => 'recipient-email@my-site.com',
    'subject'         => 'PHP Form Builder - Test form email',
    // filter_values are posted values you don't want to include in your message. Separated with commas.
    'filter_values'   => 'test-form'
);

// send message
$sent_message = Form::sendMail($email_config);

// clear session values: next time your form is displayed it'll be emptied.
Form::clear('test-form');
}
}

Complete page code

<?php
use phpformbuilder\Form;
use phpformbuilder\Validator\Validator;
session_start();
include_once rtrim($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'], DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR) . '/phpformbuilder/Form.php';
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST" && Form::testToken('test-form') === true) {

// create validator & auto-validate required fields
$validator = Form::validate('test-form');

// check for errors
if ($validator->hasErrors()) {
$_SESSION['errors']['test-form'] = $validator->getAllErrors();
} else {
$email_config = array(
    'sender_email'    => 'contact@my-site.com',
    'sender_name'     => 'PHP Form Builder',
    'recipient_email' => 'recipient-email@my-site.com',
    'subject'         => 'PHP Form Builder - Test form email',
    // filter_values are posted values you don't want to include in your message. Separated with commas.
    'filter_values'   => 'test-form'
);

// send message
$sent_message = Form::sendMail($email_config);
Form::clear('test-form');
}
}
$form = new Form('test-form', 'horizontal', 'novalidate');
$form->addInput('text', 'user-name', '', 'Name:', 'required, placeholder=Name');
$form->addRadio('is-all-ok', 'Yes', 1);
$form->addRadio('is-all-ok', 'No', 0);
$form->printRadioGroup('is-all-ok', 'Is all ok?', false, 'required');
$form->addPlugin('icheck', 'input', 'default', array('%theme%' => 'square', '%color%' => 'red'));
$form->addBtn('submit', 'submit-btn', 1, 'Send', 'class=btn btn-success');
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Test Form</title>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified Bootstrap CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.6/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-1q8mTJOASx8j1Au+a5WDVnPi2lkFfwwEAa8hDDdjZlpLegxhjVME1fgjWPGmkzs7" crossorigin="anonymous">
<?php $form->printIncludes('css');?>
</head>
<body>
<h1>My first form</h1>
<?php
if (isset($sent_message)) {
echo $sent_message;
}
$form->render();
?>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified jQuery -->
<script   src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-2.2.4.min.js"   integrity="sha256-BbhdlvQf/xTY9gja0Dq3HiwQF8LaCRTXxZKRutelT44="   crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<!-- Latest compiled and minified Bootstrap JS -->
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.6/js/bootstrap.min.js" integrity="sha384-0mSbJDEHialfmuBBQP6A4Qrprq5OVfW37PRR3j5ELqxss1yVqOtnepnHVP9aJ7xS" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
<?php
$form->printIncludes('js');
$form->printJsCode();
?>
</body>
</html>

To go further

Now you've learned the basics ; Several resources will help to add other fields, plugins, validate different values and build more complex layouts:

PHP Beginners Guide

Welcome to PHP Form Builder's Beginners Guide

For any question or request

Install and run a local PHP server

Check your PHP version

Upload phpformbuilder folder

Include required files on your page to build form

Build your first form

Validate user's posted values and send email

Complete page code

To go further