Contact Form 7 tag syntax

January 4, 2008

This page explains the syntax of Contact Form 7’s tag. If you are not familiar with basic usage of Contact Form 7, please see the plugin’s homepage.

Contact Form 7 uses “tags” for two purposes; one is for form content and the other is for mail (to, from and subject fields and message body). Tags for form content has different syntax from ones for mail.

Example of a tag used in form content:
[email* your-email 60/200 "your-email@example.com"]

Example of a tag used in mail:
[your-email]

As seen in above examples, a tag for form content generally has more complicated syntax and many options. In the rest of this page, I write mainly about the syntax and options of form content tag.

Contents

  1. Base syntax of form content tag
  2. Tags for text field (text, text*, email and email*)
  3. Tags for text area (textarea and textarea*)
  4. Tags for drop-down menu (select)
  5. Tags for checkboxes (checkbox)
  6. Tags for radio buttons (radio)
  7. Tags for CAPTCHA image (captchac)
  8. Tags for CAPTCHA text field (captchar)

Base syntax of form content tag

A form content tag consists of a type, a name, options (optional) and values (optional).

Here is the syntax rule with my bogus BNF.

form content tag =
"[" type name option* value* "]"
type =
"text" | "text*" | "email" | "email*" | "textarea" | "textarea*" | "select" | "checkbox" | "radio" | "captchac" | "captchar"
name =
(same constraint as the name attribute of the input element)
option =
space [0-9A-Za-z:#_/-]+
value =
space ('"' string '"' | "'" string "'")

submit type tag is an exception. It doesn’t have name.

Tags for text field (text, text*, email and email*)

Description
A tag with type of text, text*, email or email* is replaced by a text input field. The difference among the four types is how input text is validated. text* and email* suppose inputs are not blank, so they are used for required fields. email and email* suppose inputs are email address.
Example
[text your-name 40/100 "Your Name"]
[email* your-email 40/ class:email akismet:author_email]
Options
(size)/(maxlength) Field size and max length. You can omit one of them, like 40/ or /100.
id:(id) id attribute value of the input element.
class:(class) class attribute value of the input element. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [text your-text class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
akismet:author
akismet:author_url
akismet:author_email 		Options for using Akismet (spam filter). See here.
Values
A tag with this type can accept only one value and the value is used as default input value.

Tags for text area (textarea and textarea*)

Description
A tag with type of textarea or textarea* is replaced by a text area. textarea* supposes input is not blank, so it is used for required fields. While textarea accepts blank input.
Example
[textarea your-message 40x10]
Options
(cols)x(rows) Columns (width) and rows (height) of text area. You can omit one of them, like 40x or x10
id:(id) id attribute value of the textarea element.
class:(class) class attribute value of the textarea element. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [textarea your-text class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
Values
A tag with this type can accept only one value and the value is used as default input value.

Tags for drop-down menu (select)

Description
A tag with select type is replaced by a drop-down menu and its options.
Example
[select your-menu "A" "B" "C"]
Options
multiple Make drop-down menu multi-selectable.
include_blank Insert a blank item “—” into the top of options of this drop-down menu.
default:(num) Pre-selected options. The integer following default: is the position in the order of items. 1 is the first one. If you want to make two or more items selected, joint integers with _(underbar), as default:1_2_3.
id:(id) id attribute value of the select element.
class:(class) class attribute value of the select element. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [select your-menu class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
Values
A tag with this type can accept multiple values. The values are used as options of the selection.

Tags for checkboxes (checkbox)

Description
A tag with checkbox type is replaced by a set of checkboxes.
Example
[checkbox your-checkbox "a" "b" "c"]
Options
exclusive Make checkboxes exclusive. I mean, when you check a checkbox in the set, others are unchecked, so zero checked or one checked. This is a JavaScript gimmick, so JavaScript on client side is needed.
default:(num) Pre-checked options. The integer following default: is the position in the order of items. 1 is the first one. If you want to make two or more items selected, joint integers with _(underbar), as default:1_2_3.
id:(id) id attribute value of the span element surrounding checkboxes.
class:(class) class attribute value of the span element surrounding checkboxes. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [checkbox your-checkbox class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
Values
A tag with this type can accept multiple values. The values are used as checkbox values.

Tags for radio buttons (radio)

Description
A tag with radio type is replaced by a set of radio buttons.
Example
[radio your-radio "a" "b" "c"]
Options
default:(num) Pre-checked options. The integer following default: is the position in the order of items. 1 is the first one.
id:(id) id attribute value of the span element surrounding radio buttons.
class:(class) class attribute value of the span element surrounding radio buttons. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [radio your-radio class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
Values
A tag with this type can accept multiple values. The values are used as radio button values.

Tags for CAPTCHA image (captchac)

Description
A tag with captchac type is replaced by a CAPTCHA image. See also how to use CAPTCHA.
Example
[captchac your-captcha size:s fg:#ffffff bg:#000000]
Options
size:(sml) Image size. Only size:s (60×20), size:m (72×24) and size:l (84×28) are available.
fg:#(hex) Foreground color of the CAPTCHA image. Put RGB color code in hex format after fg:# as fg:#ff0000
bg:#(hex) Background color of the CAPTCHA image. Put RGB color code in hex format after bg:# as bg:#ff0000
id:(id) id attribute value of the img element for the CAPTCHA image.
class:(class) class attribute value of the img element for the CAPTCHA image. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [captchac your-captcha class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
Values
A tag with this type can not accept values.

Tags for CAPTCHA text field (captchar)

Description
A tag with captchar type is replaced by a CAPTCHA text input field. See also how to use CAPTCHA.
Example
[captchar your-captcha 40/100]
Options
(size)/(maxlength) Field size and max length. You can omit one of them, like 40/ or /100.
id:(id) id attribute value of the input element.
class:(class) class attribute value of the input element. To set two or more classes, you can use multiple class: option, like [captchar your-captcha class:y2008 class:m01 class:d01].
Values
A tag with this type can accept only one value and the value is used as default input value.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

Posted by miyoshi
Filed in WordPress Plugins
Tags: ,
75 Comments »

75 Responses to “Contact Form 7 tag syntax”

  1. kamal Says:

    January 20, 2009 at 3:21 am

    @Dominic
    use this – onblur=’if (this.value == “”) {this.value = “Enter your email address”;}’ onfocus=’if (this.value == “Enter your email address”) {this.value = “”;}’

  2. Chris Says:

    February 2, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    Great plugin thanks, is there any way to style the form?

    Thanks in advance.

  3. miyoshi Says:

    February 3, 2009 at 12:03 am

    Chris, you can do it with CSS stylesheets.

  4. voudini Says:

    February 9, 2009 at 4:02 pm

    Is there any way to use an image instead of a submit button?

  5. mbhan Says:

    February 13, 2009 at 4:47 pm

    Its Great plugin. Thx dude.. Good Job! I was use it.

  6. Ian Says:

    February 20, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    A quick way to get a button for your submit is to style it in. This is not an ideal solution, but try making a class on your p tag, like this.

    [submit " "]

    Then style wpcf7send like this.

    .wpcf7send input {
    border:none;
    background-image:url(images/btn_send_comments.gif);
    width:224px;
    height:31px;
    }

    You can see mine in action here.

    http://www.ianhoar.com/contact/

  7. Ian Says:

    February 20, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    Lets try that again. Here’s the HTML from the contact form tool.

    <p class="wpcf7send">[submit " "]</p>

  8. Rafael Says:

    February 25, 2009 at 7:19 am

    I’m a bit unclear with your instructions in the FAQ, I’m receiving an email with all of my codes in the form that i would like to be displayed in the email in order. What exactly am I doing wrong?

    here’s what my email looks like:
    [email* your-email] [text* PhoneNumber/30] [text* addresse1/100] [text addresse2/100] [text State/3] [text Zip/3] [radio injuries "Yes" "No"] [text Cardio/10] [textarea your-message/10]

  9. Tomas Sramek Says:

    February 27, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Great plugin. I used it on site of one of my clients.

  10. miyoshi Says:

    March 1, 2009 at 10:57 pm

    Rafael, In the Mail section, you need only the names of tags (the second parameter in the tag used within the Form section), so the correct code you should enter in the Mail Body is like this:

    [your-email]
    [PhoneNumber]
    [addresse1]
    [addresse2]
    [State]
    [Zip]
    [injuries]
    [Cardio]
    [your-message]

  11. Edvier Says:

    March 3, 2009 at 5:47 am

    Hi
    I am just wondering if there is a way to make the radio button list vertically instead of horizontally. Sometimes the items that I want put in the list are bigger, other are smaller, and what happen is something like this:

    O option a O option b

    I want something like this
    O option a
    O option b

    If somebody knows, please let me know

  12. Ranco Says:

    March 6, 2009 at 1:58 am

    Hello there,

    I’m using your plugin very much, but i’m wondering how i could get my checkboxes below eachother instead of all right after eachother.
    The look like this now: . A . B . C . D
    I want them like:
    . option A
    . option B
    . option C
    . option D

    Thankyou!

  13. Declan Says:

    March 26, 2009 at 5:12 am

    Hi,

    Great contact plugin. I want to use the checkbox as an active part of the contact enquiry. I’m trying to work out how to get the checked boxes by the enquirer to arrive with the submitted e-mail. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

  14. Phil Says:

    March 26, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    Using CF7 on a page dedicated to it works nicely and the fields seem formattable; but, there is a difference between browser realisations. FF shows narrower than IE7, for instance.

    Is this covered elsewhere? Or by a workaround?

    Thanks

  15. dale Says:

    March 31, 2009 at 10:15 am

    Hi the best form i’ve found.. thanks.. just wondering how to get the form to be more inline like your one. the form puts a tag after the text automatically?
    cheers

  16. Claude Gelinas Says:

    April 9, 2009 at 2:26 am

    This is an awesome plug-in!

    I wanted to know if there’s a way to send the “successfully completed form” to a specific “success page”.

    Thanks for any insight!

  17. Bill Rust Says:

    May 28, 2009 at 5:53 am

    Does anyone know the string or code you place in the e-mail part of the form builder to send the checkbox selections in the email when submit is clicked?

    Thanks,
    Bill

  18. Bill Rust Says:

    May 28, 2009 at 6:22 am

    I’ve tried every variation I think think of, using this code, and still does not send me the checkbox selection…

    [checkbox your-checkbox "a" "b" "c"]

    checkbox your-checkbox “a” “b” “c”

    Anyone have any ideas?

  19. Gene Says:

    June 5, 2009 at 4:09 am

    Any way to set word wrap on a txtarea? Doesn’t seem to work, even when set as a class.

  20. Michelle Says:

    June 18, 2009 at 6:10 am

    How can I set my own fields as required to contain input? I need this for drop-down menu’s, radio buttons, etc., not just name and email fields.

    Any examples (explained in detail) will be greatly appreciated.

  21. john conner Says:

    June 19, 2009 at 2:19 am

    I like how you set up your contact field on this page. How do I add “Leave a Reply” on top of the contact form, also the ‘field’ description “Name (required), on the side of the field?

    Thanks.

  22. Kelly Williams Says:

    June 27, 2009 at 8:17 am

    Very easy to work with but like several above regarding check boxes, I cannot figure out how to get my custom drop-down box results emailed to me. What do I have to type in the mail form to receive the user selection with my email? Any help is appreciated!

  23. dawnaturservice Says:

    July 8, 2009 at 7:01 am

    Hi,
    Looking for similiar answers. I have Your Phone (required)
    [text* your-Phone] in the form field and [your-phone] in mail field, but can’t get the phone # to appear in e-mail.

    Additionally, is there a way to have the id attributes for the radio buttons appear in the e-mail so I know which answers are pertaining to which questions without having to go back and look? I’ve tried various ways and after 10 attempts, am here to seek help.

    Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Dawn

  24. Calvin Says:

    July 8, 2009 at 11:59 am

    Great plugin… Is there anyway to mail a custom field from the page/post on which the form appears? how about any of the other page elements i.e. tags, category, post title?

    Any help is appreciated!

  25. drchivas Says:

    July 9, 2009 at 1:28 am

    very good – thanks

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