# Form Settings **URL:** \ **Category:** Elements\ **Created:** [August 26, 2025, 7:32am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213 "2025-08-26T07:32:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gelbseidenraupe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/gelbseidenraupe/32/19773_2.png) [@Gelbseidenraupe](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Gelbseidenraupe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 7:32am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/1 "2025-08-26T07:32:46Z")
Here is one thing in the Form setting, that I don’t understand: Isn’t it so, that the sender put in his own address? Why I should put in my address??? ![Bildschirmfoto 2025-08-26 um 09.28.10](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/7/d/7dc9cf1be50639d8369b55775ae87bc68401a1d4.png) Next Question: In the manual is written for the submitting: _Triggers the form submission. You can place a Button, Image, or other interactive element inside this component to send the form._ **Ok. Done! But for functionality I need a submit-link, don’t I?** ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/ben/32/28488_2.png) [@ben](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 9:07am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/2 "2025-08-26T09:07:13Z")
Hi @Gelbseidenraupe You need to use your own email address as the “From” address because the mail server will only send messages that come from an address it recognises. If we used the visitor’s email there, the message might get blocked. The usual way around this is to keep your own address as the sender, and then set the visitor’s email as the **Reply-To**. That way the form email always gets delivered, and when you hit reply it goes straight back to them — this is how Forms work in Elements. > [@Gelbseidenraupe](#): > > But for functionality I need a submit-link, don’t I? The Form handles this automatically for you. All you need to do is place a component inside the Form Submit. ---
**Author:** ![Gelbseidenraupe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/gelbseidenraupe/32/19773_2.png) [@Gelbseidenraupe](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Gelbseidenraupe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 10:09am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/3 "2025-08-26T10:09:27Z")
Hello @ben Like so? ![Bildschirmfoto 2025-08-26 um 11.57.55](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/7/7/77d5bfa6be0ad5d126e177d2bd1d025cc410a304.png) And I added of course a component (Button), but unfortunately it doesn’t work. You can check this here: ![Bildschirmfoto 2025-08-26 um 12.07.12](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/1/3/134a3447194364091e37b5bff1cd96ddc5908b5b.jpeg) [http://wp1125317.server-he.de/testordner/beratung/beratung/](http://wp1125317.server-he.de/testordner/beratung/beratung/) ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/ben/32/28488_2.png) [@ben](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 10:24am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/4 "2025-08-26T10:24:24Z")
you don’t need to link the Button to anything. When anything inside the Form Submit component is clicked, the Form will be submitted automatically 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mok3r88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea5d25/32.png) [@Mok3r88](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Mok3r88)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 11:30am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/5 "2025-08-26T11:30:02Z")
I’m having the same problem… I’ve placed the Submit button in the Form Wrapper but it doesn’t work, nothing happens, even when the site is published and all other variables checked. [Contact Farragut Homeschool Co-op Knoxville TN](http://www.farragutcooperative.org/contact.php) ---
**Author:** ![Gelbseidenraupe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/gelbseidenraupe/32/19773_2.png) [@Gelbseidenraupe](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Gelbseidenraupe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/6 "2025-08-26T11:50:31Z")
Hi @ben I tried again and again - result is negativ! maybe it’s too easy for us? 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/ben/32/28488_2.png) [@ben](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/7 "2025-08-26T13:56:22Z")
> [@Mok3r88](#): > > I’m having the same problem… I’ve placed the Submit button in the Form Wrapper but it doesn’t work, nothing happens, even when the site is published and all other variables checked. [Contact Farragut Homeschool Co-op Knoxville TN](http://www.farragutcooperative.org/contact.php) This one looks like an incorrectly configured reCaptcha. I inspected the browser’s error console logs and am seeing: `Error: Invalid reCAPTCHA client id:` This suggests you have reCaptcha set as the spam protection method for the Form, but the client id is empty or incorrect. When submitting the Form the request returns an error of > Spam protection provider ‘recaptcha’ is not properly configured Please check the Spam Protection settings on the Form component and try again 🙂 ![CleanShot 2025-08-26 at 15.55.33@2x](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/d/3/d3f724bf32d23bd5b3f8836608397b0e0cb4281c.png) ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/ben/32/28488_2.png) [@ben](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/8 "2025-08-26T13:58:19Z")
In your case it seems that your server is on an old version of PHP, please check with your host which version you’re on, and ask them to upgrade to the latest PHP version (or at least PHP 8.2). Thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mok3r88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea5d25/32.png) [@Mok3r88](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Mok3r88)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/9 "2025-08-26T18:14:03Z")
Thank you @ben , I thought ![Screenshot 2025-08-26 at 2.13.09 PM](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/8/5/857233b7843423cbdbbf54dcca004de3f0d24c8f.png) was captcha, but apparently not. I did select ReCaptcha to None, saved and re-published but still nothing happens? ---
**Author:** ![Gelbseidenraupe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/gelbseidenraupe/32/19773_2.png) [@Gelbseidenraupe](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Gelbseidenraupe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/10 "2025-08-26T19:04:06Z")
Thank you @ben Changed PHP-Version to 8.3. Now it runs. ---
**Author:** ![ben](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/ben/32/28488_2.png) [@ben](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/ben)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 7:25am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/11 "2025-08-27T07:25:19Z")
Your server is returning a 504 error - which is a “timeout error”. This means nothing is being returned from the request to the backend PHP code. My first guess is that the mail server you are trying to send through is not returning a response for some reason — it could be an incorrect setting such as the server name, port, username, etc. being incorrect. Have you gone through all the steps on our [Form checklist](https://docs.realmacsoftware.com/elements-docs/elements-app/components/built-in-components/form) docs? ---
**Author:** ![Gelbseidenraupe](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/gelbseidenraupe/32/19773_2.png) [@Gelbseidenraupe](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Gelbseidenraupe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 9:24am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/12 "2025-08-27T09:24:05Z")
Hi @ben This is just an additional question concerning Spam Protection, which is surely senseful. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any information about the settings in the manual. How to setup Spam Protection correctly? ---
**Author:** ![Mok3r88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea5d25/32.png) [@Mok3r88](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/Mok3r88)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:38am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/13 "2025-08-27T11:38:17Z")
![Screenshot 2025-08-27 at 7.34.12 AM](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/realmacsoftware1/original/3X/b/5/b54c58d3a2c8c5f9b3d1b08ed4b492a31969d8f0.png) \*USERNAME and **PW redacted** Thanks @ben , I did, @elementsbot confirmed correct settings and as far as I know Little Oak Hosting said it’s correct on their end too… but maybe I need to check with them again. Anything jumping out at you? Nothing happens on TSL or SSL btw. ---
**Author:** ![elementsbot](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/elementsbot/32/33134_2.png) [@elementsbot](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/elementsbot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:38am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/form-settings/50213/14 "2025-08-27T11:38:41Z")
Howdy Form Troubleshooters! 🕵️‍♂️🛠 A few things jump out from this ongoing epic, and I’ll give some super-clear tips for Spam Protection and your setup: * * * ### 1. **Your Settings Look Pretty Good…** But let’s go through The Sacred Elements™ Form Checklist: - **Host, Port, Encryption, Username, Password** — all must be provided and correct. Double-check with your hosting provider that: - The SMTP host and port are right for OUTGOING mail. (Sometimes email clients and web forms want **different ports/settings!** ) - “[mail.guardedhost.com](http://mail.guardedhost.com)” uses port 465 with SSL. (Some hosts want 587/TLS.) - **From Address** should match an email **actually hosted** on that server and with SMTP/IMAP access. Sometimes, using a different domain (e.g. sending “from” a Gmail-address on a non-Gmail host) will just… not work. - If you see a **504 timeout** , that’s often a firewall, wrong mail host/port, or network timeout. Worth checking server logs or asking your host for any mail blocks. * * * ### 2. **PHP Version** - You need at least **PHP 8.1**. If you’re not sure, check by visiting your published page with `?apicheck` appended: ```auto https://your-site.com/page-with-form/?apicheck ``` It’ll give a friendly nudge if your PHP version isn’t fancy enough. * * * ### 3. **Spam Protection Setup** Here’s how to set that up in the Form component: - **Service:** Choose `reCAPTCHA`, `Simple`, or (if you’re brave) `None`. - ✅ **reCAPTCHA:** You need to enter your Google reCAPTCHA _Site Key_ and _Secret Key_. [Get them here](https://www.google.com/recaptcha/admin). - ✅ **Style:** “Invisible” is fine, or switch to a visible one if desired. - **Tip:** If you pick reCAPTCHA and don’t fill in the keys, you’ll get errors like “Spam protection provider ‘recaptcha’ is not properly configured.” - If you want to keep it simple (and make sure this isn’t the problem), set Service to **None** , and try again. Here’s the relevant section from the [Elements Manual - Form Component](https://docs.realmacsoftware.com/elements-docs/elements-app/components/built-in-components/form): > The “Spam Protection” panel allows you to select between “Simple” (math test), “reCAPTCHA” (Google’s service), or “None” (not recommended for production sites). * * * ### 4. **Route to Diagnosis Heaven™** If it’s still stuck, here’s your checklist: - **Check your SMTP credentials** again with your host. Copy-paste, don’t trust memory. - **Set Spam Protection to None** while troubleshooting. - **Try changing your SMTP port:** Some servers only allow 587 with TLS; try that if 465/SSL times out. - **Ask your host for error logs:** See if connections from your web server to their mail server are getting blocked. * * * ### 5. **When in Doubt…** - Publish a super-basic test form with just your email and username settings — sometimes fancier forms fall foul of server rules. - If still stuck, email [support@realmacsoftware.com](mailto:support@realmacsoftware.com) with your support logs (Help menu → “Copy Support Logs”). * * * #### TL;DR On Spam Protection - For **reCAPTCHA** : add real Site Key and Secret Key. - For **Simple** : it’s a math test, no extra config. - For **None** : works, but you _will_ get more spam, so only use it temporarily. * * * Let me know what you try — and if the problem persists, I’ll climb into your server’s crawlspace (virtually) and take a look myself. 🚀 You’ve got this. And if not — at least your source code will be elegant and modern while you’re screaming into the void! 😅 — You can @elementsbot anytime for more troubleshooting fun and web nerdery!