Online registry software/program

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I would like to set up a website where people can register, then submit a wish list of gifts they would like. Then they direct their friends and family to this site to view the wish list and even create one of their own.

There are already several sites that do this. And I guess the technology is similar to registering for a bulletin board/forum. You register online and an email is sent to you that you must respond to to complete the registration.

How is this email sent upon submitting your info? What program does this require and does anyone know of software I can use to do this?

Thanks.

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There is not really any software just for the purpose of sending an email confirmation for a registration.

That's usually just a small part of the larger program.

Are you coding your own site? If so this should be a piece of cake to make for you.

If you are buying the code you should buy it with this feature enabled.

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Searching...
No... not coding my own.

What would you call this kind of program so I can do a search for it?

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What program? Authenticating user email?

Because like I said, that's almost never a program in and of itself. It's usually a component of another program.

And if you are coding the rest you should have no difficulty in coding this part.

Here's how it would work.

In your database the member account will be assigned a value of one upon creation.

When it is created a random number will be assigned to it as well.

This number is appended to a link sent to the registered email.

Upon licking on that link the value that has been set at one is now set at two.

Then the rest of your system must be configured to consider value 1 as an inactive account with only value 2 being considered an active account.

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You are way ahead of me
Though I understand the concept of the value of 1 and 2, I do not know how to make it happen. So I am searching the 'net for an asp script or a place to start.

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But how can you write the rest then? Beyond this concept the technical details are not as hard as the rest.

It means you have a column in the user database for "active/inactive".

Do you have the ability to insert data into the database? Do you already have a registration system that you'd like to augment with email validation?

If you already have a system for registration you need to do three things.

1) insert a value in a column used to differentiate active accounts from inactive ones.

I would use numbers so that this value can represent more than just active/inactive (e.g. user levels).

So in your registration script as the member infor is being inserted into the database an additional value would be inserted in this new column.

Let's say it's "0".

2) Another value needs to be entered into the database. This needs to be a random number.

This will be in a database column for "activation key".

This key will also be included in the email.

3) The user will recieve a URL in teh email to activate the key. The key itself can be included as a variable in the url (e.g. domain.com/validate.php?=1234
).

This page will be simple. It will compare the key to the one in the database.

If they are the same it will update the "0" value in the user level colum on the database to "1".

And that's it.

So what you need to know is how to insert data into the database. You'll already need this if you code the rest of the app.

You'll need to know how to create random numbers. This should be easy (I don't know asp but this is a basic element of programming).

You'll also need to know how to send emails. This shoudl be pretty basic.

Searching the net won't help too much because the rest of your app needs to use the user level value for it's permissions.

You'll probably be better off looking for code snippets for each small part of this.

For example, to create the new column in the database you'll use SQL or it's equivalent.

For example it would be something like this:

Quote:

ALTER TABLE USERS_TABLE ADD user_level not null

That is not proper syntax for anything but taht is the essense of what you'd do.

That would create a new column in the user table in the database.

Then you need to update the value for any existing users.

Quote:

update user_table
set user_level = 0

Then the registration script you already use should insert "0" into the user_level column of the user_table.

The same two steps would be done for the activation key.

After that it's just a matter of updating it and setting it to "1".

Then your whole app needs to authenticate off of the user level.

What do you have so far? How far along is your app?

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My status
Where am I? At the very beginning of this process. I have never done a site of this type. Hence the reason for wanting to do it.

I have set up various databases using PHP and CGI (scripts downloaded or purchased) on a unix platform for bios on company personnel or intercompany signups that go into various logs.

This time around, I would like to learn a new area. I would like to set this up (I use Dreamweaver MX) using asp and a windows platform.

So, yes, I have the ability to enter info into a database. But I have not set up this database yet.

I do not have a registration system.

I do not know how to create random numbers.

And I do not know how entering info into a database fires off an email that contains this random number verification.

I will go look at some snippets.

I appreciate your help. Your previous message included a wealth of knowledge for me.

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Entering the ínfo in the database doesn't send the email, you'd need an additional function that sends the same info by email.

I don't know ASP but I can post the PHP code that is used here if you'd like.

I'm sure there's a free ASP board script out there that can be used as an example as well.

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Much obliged
I would be very interested in the php code. I am more familiar with it and am not married to the asp version yet.

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This is just a relevant segment, the emailing code is in another file, Vut you can see how the key is genertated, the SQL to insert it and the code to send the variables to the emailing function.

Code:

			if ( $email != $userdata['user_email'] && $board_config['require_activation'] != USER_ACTIVATION_NONE && $userdata['user_level'] != ADMIN )

			{

				$user_active = 0;



				$user_actkey = gen_rand_string(true);

				$key_len = 54 - ( strlen($server_url) );

				$key_len = ( $key_len > 6 ) ? $key_len : 6;

				$user_actkey = substr($user_actkey, 0, $key_len);



				if ( $userdata['session_logged_in'] )

				{

					session_end($userdata['session_id'], $userdata['user_id']);

				}

			}

			else

			{

				$user_active = 1;

				$user_actkey = '';

			}



			$sql = "UPDATE " . USERS_TABLE . "

				SET " . $username_sql . $passwd_sql . "user_email = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $email) ."', user_icq = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $icq) . "', user_website = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $website) . "', user_occ = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $occupation) . "', user_from = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $location) . "', user_interests = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $interests) . "', user_sig = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $signature) . "', user_sig_bbcode_uid = '$signature_bbcode_uid', user_viewemail = $viewemail, user_aim = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", str_replace(' ', '+', $aim)) . "', user_yim = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $yim) . "', user_msnm = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $msn) . "', user_attachsig = $attachsig, user_allowsmile = $allowsmilies, user_allowhtml = $allowhtml, user_allowbbcode = $allowbbcode, user_allow_viewonline = $allowviewonline, user_notify = $notifyreply, user_notify_pm = $notifypm, user_popup_pm = $popup_pm, user_timezone = $user_timezone, user_dateformat = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $user_dateformat) . "', user_lang = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $user_lang) . "', user_style = $user_style, user_active = $user_active, user_actkey = '" . str_replace("\'", "''", $user_actkey) . "'" . $avatar_sql . "

				WHERE user_id = $user_id";

			if ( !($result = $db->sql_query($sql)) )

			{

				message_die(GENERAL_ERROR, 'Could not update users table', '', __LINE__, __FILE__, $sql);

			}



			if ( !$user_active )

			{

				//

				// The users account has been deactivated, send them an email with a new activation key

				//

				include($phpbb_root_path . 'includes/emailer.'.$phpEx);

				$emailer = new emailer($board_config['smtp_delivery']);



				$emailer->from($board_config['board_email']);

				$emailer->replyto($board_config['board_email']);



				$emailer->use_template('user_activate', stripslashes($user_lang));

				$emailer->email_address($email);

				$emailer->set_subject($lang['Reactivate']);



				$emailer->assign_vars(array(

					'SITENAME' => $board_config['sitename'],

					'USERNAME' => preg_replace($unhtml_specialchars_match, $unhtml_specialchars_replace, substr(str_replace("\'", "'", $username), 0, 25)),

					'EMAIL_SIG' => (!empty($board_config['board_email_sig'])) ? str_replace('<br />', "\n", "-- \n" . $board_config['board_email_sig']) : '',



					'U_ACTIVATE' => $server_url . '?mode=activate&' . POST_USERS_URL . '=' . $user_id . '&act_key=' . $user_actkey)

				);

				$emailer->send();

				$emailer->reset();

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Great
Many thanks... you've given me a place to start. I appreciate it.

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As an aside, that's a snippet that deals with updating the already registered email. If the email changes it changes the account to an inactive one and sends the validation.

If you end up doing this in PHP keep us posted. I'd like to at least follow it.

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Just FYI... I have abandoned the new frontiers of using ASP. I purchased a perl script and am hacking it. It's going much faster.

I have been editing the script in NoteTab Light, but it does not show line numbers. Did you suggest to me at one time a program to use for editing? I do not see it in our exchanges.

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I use Editpad lite. The lite version does have line numbering.

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Online registry software/program

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