Ask Ben - Online forms not working?

01.10.2007

guest

In Tips & Advice

Dear Ben,

When I go to the website http://www.*******.org.uk and try to fill in a form with some data, the actual form will not load!  Internet Explorer says the page has fully loaded but there is a little triangle with an exclamation point in the bottom left corner.  I have tried it on another machine and it works fine.  Can you help?

Mary Robinson, Barnsley.

Dear Mary,

This is one of the more common questions I am asked and, thankfully, has an easy solution.  The form you speak of sounds like it uses JavaScript.  Java is a type of language used for many things on the internet from forms to games.  Some years ago the Java plug-in used to be installed with Windows and would work straight away, however Microsoft and Sun Microsystems (the company who made the Java plug-in) have fallen out, so now you must download it separately.

Simply go to http://www.java.com/ and click ‘free Java download' on the top left, and then follow the instructions.  After the installation your forms (and games) should work correctly!

Regards,

Ben.