Hi all,
I'm looking at implementing a multi-page form (40 questions) using the form API. Doing this is not a problem but I have questions surrounding what I want to do with the information once I have collected it.
The first is storage. I can create a set of tables and store the information in there. But is there a better way of storing form data?
The next is displaying the information. Is generating my own page the right thing to do? If it is then how can I use other modules such as Panels etc to layout the information.
Finally searching. Do I need to write my own search box to search my data? Is it possible to use the Search API.
I suppose I'm torn between a clear definition of normal node and a form. Should I create a content type for my form, but then I will need to understand how to us AJAX to fill in data etc. Using a node type will get around a lot of my issues, but I haven't seen any documentation detailing how to split the information into several pages, or to use AJAX.
What I am probably missing is a tutorial which explains what you can do once you have generated your own form. I've seen tutorials explaining how to display the fields etc, but nothing explaining what can be done with the information once you have collected it and what you need to do to use it in other modules.
I may already have all the information on what to do, but just haven't figured out how to put them together. I can make my tables visible in a view but not search API.
You can give me links to bits of information but an overall picture of forms and what to do afterwards will be a start.
Apologies if this has already been answered, or if it is not clear what I need.