Store IP in CSV

[JohnB]

Hi Russell
I need to store the remote IP address in the CSV file - I've read most of the documentation and can't see how to do this.

I need the IP recorded in the CSV for Identification purporses of the lead as I will be passing it onto another database that does a cross check on IP addresses and pulls out leads that are already in the DBase.

How could I set this up?

This is about the last thing I need to work out how to do!!

Thanks for any assistance ,

Best regards

JohnB

[russellr]

Hi,

FormMail doesn't provide the environment variables (like REMOTE_ADDR) in a usable form, but you can include them in the email as a list by using the "env_report" feature.

However, that doesn't get them into the CSV file.

We do have plans to provide the enviroment variables to the CSV file and templates as variables.

Until then, you could convert your form to a PHP script and get the IP address that way:

1. Rename your form.htm to form.php
2. Add a hidden field to your form like this:
   

   <input type="hidden" name="ipaddress" value="<?php echo getenv('REMOTE_ADDR'); ?>" />

[JohnB]

At last!! a limitation to formmail!! but with this workaround it's not really a limitiation.


One other feature which would be really usefull maybe to include the region/country associated with the IP address. I had this feature once in another form mail script and it was very useful data to ID which country the site visitors where from that were submitting the questions. This is also handy for when I'm matching up leads with another dbase.

Just a suggestion.

JohnB

[russellr]

Hi,

Yes, good idea. The question is how to get it. AFAIK GeoIP is the best way to go - they provide a free version with about 93% accuracy. You can read about it here: http://www.maxmind.com/app/geoip_country

If that's what you're looking for, we can look at adding to FormMail - it will require additional installation on your part and regular updates of the GeoIP database.

[JohnB]

Hi
sure I would be willing to install again now I know what I'm doing I don't think it would take that long ...?

The country with IP I've found to be particulaly useful feature for serveral reasons

1) I can see when someone is trying to send in a false review (my site provides a means for people to send in reviews of hotels or restaurants I've had quite a few people giving different names but having same IP addresses. Giving a bad review of one place and a very good review of another -
- I know that there is something wrong with the review and prompts me to look further - sometimes it's a competitor trying to put down another company -the country code tells me straight away if the review came from the Barcelona or not - in which case I know that it could be a false review.

2) I pass on leads to another organization and the country code helps them track down if the lead came from me - they do their searches at the end of the month by country.

3) useful market research information in geo-targeting where my site visitors are coming from. Or rather which ones are asking the questions.

hope this is useful info.

JohnB

[russellr]

Hi,

MaxMind provide a web-based service described here: http://www.maxmind.com/app/web_services

It seems inexpensive at $20 for 200,000 queries.

We can add this to FormMail or you can do it directly in your form (using PHP like in the IP address example I posted).

[russellr]

Hi,

We've attempted to contact MaxMind about their web service. I'll post back if/when we get a useful response.

[JohnB]

Thanks Russell , look forward to hearing what they have to say.


JohnB

[russellr]

Hi,

We've received a positive response from MaxMind, so we'll proceed to implement this feature in FormMail.

Do you have a deadline to meet for this feature?

[JohnB]

Hi Russell,

Excellent news! I am transferring my site across to the new server as we speak. This work has to be complete by the 18th January. But don't worry Russell, I can always re-install the script later if there is an update - I've figured out most of what I'm doing now.

One small thing I've noticed. Remember the fix for changing the file extension to php for pages so that we can capture the IP? I've started implementing this but then realised that on many pages I would loose all the links into the pages from other sites and therfore loose the Google PR ranking if I change the extensions. So it looks like I will only be able to use the .php work around on non-important pages. Do you know of any other way that I might capture the user's IP address on the form page and feed it to a field so this data can be transferred to the CSV? Perhaps there is another way without using the Global variable?

Best regards,

JohnB