ALFContact
Version
3.1.4 (last update on Apr 29, 2013)
Rating
Compatibility
Reviews
113
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Date Added
27 December 2007
Uses Updater?
- Yes
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Note:
The current release is a Security Release and users are advised to upgrade immediately.
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The purpose of ALFcontact is to provide a contactform with enough features to make it usefull and appealing whithout making it overly complicated.
Basically the form gives you the option to send messages to different aliases based on your accesslevel, these aliases are defined in the administrator section, each with their own set of options.
J!3 version now includes support for multilingual sites and unlimited optional fields!
E.g. create aliases for Sales or Billing or Webmaster, add a prefix, custom optional field(s), default subject and/or redirect as you like and you're set.
If the user isn't logged in it will show inputboxes for adding reply info, once they're logged in, detail;s can optionally be pre-filled.
Captcha security is included with a choice between reCaptcha and captchas.net.
Latest J!2.5 version: ALFContact v2.0.8
Latest J!3.0 version: ALFContact v3.1.4
ALFContact supports around 25 languages at the moment and the number is growing, check the website for the latest information.
Just install and test. I like this component because is not a derivate stuff of default com_contact and so is totally independent and is not required to point contacts with Joomla registered users...Who really need a clone of com_contact can use some others components..
The only reason because I don't give maximum rating is because it use 2 captcha system I don't like:
Recaptcha is a third party stuff and require a registration and key for work..and is pretty big with ugly display. Probably is efficient captcha method but maybe too complex for users. The goal of captcha is to avoid spam and bots...not avoid users to submit a form..
BigoCaptcha are simple but can not be well customized and his development seem to be dead. This plugin was before published on the JED but now unpublished for unknown reason.. I don't like too much the "flag effect" of this captcha image. No button or link for reload and ask a new image (in case is not well readable) are present.
Anyway captcha are not developed by AlfContact so if captcha don't fit my need is not the fault of developer...but maybe Alfred can add another more friendly captcha ? :-)
Last point: Since version 1.9 a custom header/footer is available...so is now possible for who need (like me) to add in footer Google Maps using iframe. This is really a great value !
The only reason because I don't give maximum rating is because it use 2 captcha system I don't like:
Recaptcha is a third party stuff and require a registration and key for work..and is pretty big with ugly display. Probably is efficient captcha method but maybe too complex for users. The goal of captcha is to avoid spam and bots...not avoid users to submit a form..
BigoCaptcha are simple but can not be well customized and his development seem to be dead. This plugin was before published on the JED but now unpublished for unknown reason.. I don't like too much the "flag effect" of this captcha image. No button or link for reload and ask a new image (in case is not well readable) are present.
Anyway captcha are not developed by AlfContact so if captcha don't fit my need is not the fault of developer...but maybe Alfred can add another more friendly captcha ? :-)
Last point: Since version 1.9 a custom header/footer is available...so is now possible for who need (like me) to add in footer Google Maps using iframe. This is really a great value !
I am very impressed with the simplicity of this form and the ease of use. It has everything I needed to use plus I did not have any problems understanding how to set it up. Beautiful job...many thanks.
Simple, yet effective. The only basic form tool that is missing is a way to order/reorder the list. I see that you have it on your wish list. Please don't fail to implement this.
This extension does the job well. Thanks for making this freeeeee!
I would have to say the easiest and nicest looking form ever. The ability to customize the header and footer are amazing and makes integration into a page very easy. Easy to install, and easy to use.
Only thing i would suggest is more configuration options when creating a form page via the menu option. I would like to add another form to my site, but I don't want the "To" or "Subject" field to show. Something that will allow us to create multiple forms for our website without having the same "To" dropdown.
Only thing i would suggest is more configuration options when creating a form page via the menu option. I would like to add another form to my site, but I don't want the "To" or "Subject" field to show. Something that will allow us to create multiple forms for our website without having the same "To" dropdown.
The component by itself is just great: simple and effective. Special thanks to the fact that it's delivered with SH404SEF and JoomFish plugin. I install it on all my sites. Captcha and custom fields are very convenient. Speaking of support, I have asked for help a few times, and Alfred replied in no more than 5 minutes! Thank you Alf for your precious time and this very nice component.
Great that this is free and I know your aim is for something simple which it is but I found some good and not so good features as follows. Will suit most pretty well so long as you don't mind it being seperate from the core contacts component.
Pros:
The built in recaptcha support was easy to set up as I had already set up a recaptcha account to create my keys.
Prefilling fields for those visitors that are logged in is a nice touch.
Cons:
Not an extension of the existing contacts so you loose the fields from the core contact function.
Reentering contact records rather than being able to link to existing contacts in the core functionality.
Only one custom field.
No google map.
Would be nice to see a distinction between messages sent from a logged in user and one that supplied their own email address. Would also be nice to limit the function of sending copy to self to those that are logged in.
Pros:
The built in recaptcha support was easy to set up as I had already set up a recaptcha account to create my keys.
Prefilling fields for those visitors that are logged in is a nice touch.
Cons:
Not an extension of the existing contacts so you loose the fields from the core contact function.
Reentering contact records rather than being able to link to existing contacts in the core functionality.
Only one custom field.
No google map.
Would be nice to see a distinction between messages sent from a logged in user and one that supplied their own email address. Would also be nice to limit the function of sending copy to self to those that are logged in.
Owner's reply
Thanks for the feedback, I'll put your suggestions on the 'things-to-consider' list ;-)
I'm not sure what you want with googlemaps, but email me and convince me to put it in the next release.....
I am very happy with ALFcontact. Setup was a breeze, the features offered are very nice and easy to change, and the way it looks on the frontend is simple and elegant. I would recommend using Bigocaptcha since it looks better than recaptcha.
Setup was relatively painless although I did have a little trouble getting it to work at first. Once I learned that the parameters needed to be set through the component menu and not just the menu item settings everything was fine.
I wish the parameter button was a little more prominent and that there wasn't any redundancy in the menu/component settings. Aside from that, the component is super clean and works great!
I especially love the support for reCaptcha and being able to attach multiple email addresses to one contact.
I wish the parameter button was a little more prominent and that there wasn't any redundancy in the menu/component settings. Aside from that, the component is super clean and works great!
I especially love the support for reCaptcha and being able to attach multiple email addresses to one contact.
This component is a great progress above the core joomla contact component. I recommend it for anyone that needs a contact component instead of the joomla core component.
I did have one problem (it was my fault) and sent a message through the demo site contact component. Alfred answered me quickly! Thanks Alfred.
My problem was using reCaptcha. I configured it in the menu item but not the main component parameters. If you use reCaptcha make sure you configure the main parameters in addition to the menu item parameters.
Once again, I highly recommend this component and Alfred's support is great!
I did have one problem (it was my fault) and sent a message through the demo site contact component. Alfred answered me quickly! Thanks Alfred.
My problem was using reCaptcha. I configured it in the menu item but not the main component parameters. If you use reCaptcha make sure you configure the main parameters in addition to the menu item parameters.
Once again, I highly recommend this component and Alfred's support is great!
Congratulations, very good. It was exactly what I wanted. Simple, objective and efficient. Thank you very much.
Recommendable, works as expected, support is fast and efficient =)
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