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Unsubscribe Link With Master Form V4

By Will Bontrager

When you need to publish an unsubscribe link in emails, the Master Form V4 form handler can be used to record the unsubscribing addresses. The addresses can be put into a database file and/or emailed to you.

Whether or not the email address of the recipient is contained within the unsubscribe link published in the outgoing email will determine how Master Form V4 is used.

If the recipient's email address can not be contained in the unsubscribe link, a link to a Master Form V4 form can be published. The form asks for the email address the email was sent to. The email recipient clicks the button. Master Form V4 stores the address in a file on the server and sends the browser to a thank-you page.

On the other hand, if the email address can be contained in the unsubscribe link of the outgoing email, an unsubscribe link URL something like this can be published:

http://example.com/unsub.php?recipient@email.com

When the link is clicked, the recipient's browser is sent to the URL. The script presented in this blog post creates a new URL of information Master Form V4 requires and then redirects the browser to it.

Master Form V4 stores the address in a file on the server and sends the browser to a thank-you page.

Two versions of the relay script are below, one PHP and one Perl CGI.

PHP:

<?php
# Relaying link information to Master Form V4
# Will Bontrager. Willmaster.com
# Copyright 2008 Bontrager Connection, LLC
# No warranties apply.
# You assume all risks and responsibilities
#    if and whenever you use this.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
#
# Seven items may need customization --

# 1.
# Between the quotes below, specify the location of the 
#    database file to be updated. The location should be 
#    either the full path to the file or the path relative 
#    to where Master Form V4 is installed.

$DatabaseLocation = "data/myfile.csv";

# 2.
# Between the quotes below, specify the location of the 
#    database template file. The location should be either 
#    the full path to the file or the path relative to where 
#    Master Form V4 is installed.

$TemplateFileLocation = "templates/data.txt";

# 3.
# Between the quotes below, specify the URL of the thank-you 
#    page to be displayed after the database has been updated.

$ThankYouPage = "http://example.com/thankyou.html";

# 4.
# If the thank-you page is to be customized with the use of 
#    placeholders, specify "1" or "yes" between the quotes, 
#    below. Otherwise, specify "0", "no" or "" (blank).

$UseFlowtoHiddenField = "yes";

# 5.
# If you want to receive an email after Master Form V4 
#    updates the database, specify the location of the 
#    email template between the quotes below. The location 
#    should be either the full path to the file or the path 
#    relative to where Master Form V4 is installed. If you 
#    do not want to receive an email, put nothing between 
#    the quotes, just leave it blank: ""

$EmailTemplate = "templates/email.txt";

# 6.
# It is assumed the link that is clicked that launches this 
#    script contains a value following a ? question mark in 
#    the link URL. That value might or might not contain a 
#    field name. Here is an example of a value with a field 
#    name:
#
#        http://example.com/relay.cgi?email=name@whatever.com
#
#    And, here is an example of a value without a field name:
#
#       http://example.com/relay.cgi?name@whatever.com
#
# If no field name is specified for the value in the link 
#    that was clicked, what field name shall be used when 
#    relaying to Master Form V4? Specify the name between 
#    the quotes below;

$DefaultFieldName = "email";

# 7.
# Between the quotes below, specify the URL to MasterFormV4.cgi

$ScriptURL = "http://example.com/cgi-bin/MasterFormV4.cgi";

# No customization required below this point.
#
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

$Params = array();
if( ! empty($DatabaseLocation) ) { array_push($Params,"dbfile=$DatabaseLocation"); }
if( ! empty($TemplateFileLocation) ) { array_push($Params,"filetemplate=$TemplateFileLocation"); }
if( ! empty($EmailTemplate) ) { array_push($Params,"emailtemplate=$EmailTemplate"); }
if( ! empty($ThankYouPage) )
{
	if( preg_match('/[y1tl]/i',$UseFlowtoHiddenField) ) { array_push($Params,"flowto=$ThankYouPage"); }
	else { array_push($Params,"redirect=$ThankYouPage"); }
}
if( isset($_GET['']) )
{
	$_GET[$DefaultFieldName] = $_GET[''];
	unset($_GET['']);
}
foreach($_GET as $n => $v)
{
	if( empty($v) )
	{
		$k = preg_replace('/_/','.',$n);
		if( isset($_GET[$DefaultFieldName]) ) { $_GET[$DefaultFieldName] .= "\t".$k; }
		else { $_GET[$DefaultFieldName] = $k; }
		unset($_GET[$n]);
	}
}
foreach($Params as $val)
{
	$pval = explode('=',$val,2);
	if( isset($_GET[$pval[0]]) ) { $_GET[$pval[0]] .= "\t".$pval[1]; }
	else { $_GET[$pval[0]] = $pval[1]; }
}
$Params = array();
foreach($_GET as $n => $v) { array_push($Params,"$n=$v"); }
header('Location: '.$ScriptURL.'?'.implode('&',$Params));
?>

Perl CGI:

#!/usr/bin/perl
#
# Relaying link information to Master Form V4
# Will Bontrager. Willmaster.com
# Copyright 2008 Bontrager Connection, LLC
# No warranties apply.
# You assume all risks and responsibilities
#    if and whenever you use this.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
#
# Seven items may need customization --

# 1.
# Between the quotes below, specify the location of the 
#    database file to be updated. The location should be 
#    either the full path to the file or the path relative 
#    to where Master Form V4 is installed.

my $DatabaseLocation = "data/myfile.csv";

# 2.
# Between the quotes below, specify the location of the 
#    database template file. The location should be either 
#    the full path to the file or the path relative to where 
#    Master Form V4 is installed.

my $TemplateFileLocation = "templates/data.txt";

# 3.
# Between the quotes below, specify the URL of the thank-you 
#    page to be displayed after the database has been updated.

my $ThankYouPage = "http://example.com/thankyou.html";

# 4.
# If the thank-you page is to be customized with the use of 
#    placeholders, specify "1" or "yes" between the quotes, 
#    below. Otherwise, specify "0", "no" or "" (blank).

my $UseFlowtoHiddenField = "yes";

# 5.
# If you want to receive an email after Master Form V4 
#    updates the database, specify the location of the 
#    email template between the quotes below. The location 
#    should be either the full path to the file or the path 
#    relative to where Master Form V4 is installed. If you 
#    do not want to receive an email, put nothing between 
#    the quotes, just leave it blank: ""

my $EmailTemplate = "templates/email.txt";

# 6.
# It is assumed the link that is clicked that launches this 
#    script contains a value following a ? question mark in 
#    the link URL. That value might or might not contain a 
#    field name. Here is an example of a value with a field 
#    name:
#
#        http://example.com/relay.cgi?email=name@whatever.com
#
#    And, here is an example of a value without a field name:
#
#       http://example.com/relay.cgi?name@whatever.com
#
# If no field name is specified for the value in the link 
#    that was clicked, what field name shall be used when 
#    relaying to Master Form V4? Specify the name between 
#    the quotes below;

my $DefaultFieldName = "email";

# 7.
# Between the quotes below, specify the URL to MasterFormV4.cgi

my $ScriptURL = "http://example.com/cgi-bin/MasterFormV4.cgi";

# No customization required below this point.
#
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

use strict;
my %In = ();
my @Params = ();
push @Params,"dbfile=$DatabaseLocation" if $DatabaseLocation =~ /\w/;
push @Params,"filetemplate=$TemplateFileLocation" if $TemplateFileLocation =~ /\w/;
push @Params,"emailtemplate=$EmailTemplate" if $EmailTemplate =~ /\w/;
if($ThankYouPage =~ /\w/)
{
	if($UseFlowtoHiddenField =~ /[y1tl]/i) { push @Params,"flowto=$ThankYouPage"; }
	else { push @Params,"redirect=$ThankYouPage"; }
}
for(split /&/,$ENV{QUERY_STRING})
{
	$_ =~ tr/+/ /;
	my ($n,$v) = split /=/,$_,2;
	($n,$v) = ($DefaultFieldName,$n) unless $v;
	$n =~ s/%([a-fA-F0-9][a-fA-F0-9])/pack("C",hex($1))/eg;
	$v =~ s/%([a-fA-F0-9][a-fA-F0-9])/pack("C",hex($1))/eg;
	if($In{$n}) { $In{$n} .= "\t$v"; }
	else { $In{$n} = $v; }
}
for(@Params)
{
	my ($n,$v) = split /=/,$_,2;
	if($In{$n}) { $In{$n} .= "\t$v"; }
	else { $In{$n} = $v; }
}
@Params = ();
for(keys %In) { push @Params,"$_=$In{$_}"; }
print 'Location: '.$ScriptURL.'?'.join('&',@Params)."\n\n";
# end of script

Both versions of the relay script require some customization. Instructions are in the scripts themselves. (Instructions for Master Form V4 are in the Master Form V4 Users' Manual.)

The scripts are designed so information other than, or in addition to, an email address can be put into the link. The subscriber's name, for example. Like the Master Form V4 form handler itself, the scripts are quite versatile.

April 24, 2008

Please note: Articles on this website are presented "as is". However -

If you have a question about a CGI script, HTML, CSS, PHP, or JavaScript
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Unsubscribe Link With Master Form V4

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Unsubscribe Link With Master Form V4

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