Shiny Contact Form App

This is a Shiny application that provides a user-friendly contact form integrated with Monday.com's API to submit user information and messages. The app features a responsive design using Bootstrap 5 (via bslib) and includes form validation, submission status updates, and a clear form functionality.

Features

• Form Inputs: Users can enter their name, email, and message.
• Validation: Ensures all fields are filled, validates name for valid characters, and checks that the message is not empty.
• Monday.com Integration: Submits form data to a specified Monday.com board using the API.
• Responsive UI: Built with Bootstrap 5 for a modern, mobile-friendly interface.
• Status Feedback: Displays real-time submission status with success or error messages.
• Clear Form: Allows users to reset the form with a single click.

Prerequisites

To run this application, you need the following:

• R (version 4.0 or higher)
• Required R packages:
  • shiny
  • bslib
  • shinyjs
  • httr
  • jsonlite
• A Monday.com account with:
  • An API token (set as the environment variable api_token)
  • A board ID (set as the environment variable board_id)

Installation

1. Install R: Download and install R from CRAN.
2. Install Required Packages: Run the following in R to install the necessary packages:

   install.packages(c("shiny", "bslib", "shinyjs", "httr", "jsonlite"))

3. Set Environment Variables:
   • Set your Monday.com API token and board ID as environment variables:

     export api_token="your_monday_api_token"
     export board_id="your_monday_board_id"

   • Alternatively, you can set these in your R session:

     Sys.setenv(api_token = "your_monday_api_token")
     Sys.setenv(board_id = "your_monday_board_id")

   • Or, in the app code, ensure the following lines are included before the server function to retrieve the environment variables (from file .Renviron that should be in the project root):

     api_token <- Sys.getenv("api_token")
     board_id <- Sys.getenv("board_id")

Usage

1. Save the Code: Copy the provided R code into a file (e.g., app.R).
2. Run the App: Open R or RStudio, navigate to the directory containing app.R, and run:

   library(shiny)
   runApp("app.R")

3. Interact with the App:
   • Open the app in your browser (typically at http://127.0.0.1:XXXX).
   • Fill in the name, email, and message fields.
   • Click Submit to send the data to Monday.com.
   • Check the status panel for success or error messages.
   • Click Clear to reset the form.

Code Structure

• UI:
  • Uses fluidPage with bslib for a modern Bootstrap 5 theme.
  • Features a two-column layout: one for the form and one for the status.
  • Includes custom CSS for status messages and Font Awesome icons for visual feedback.
• Server:
  • Handles form validation for empty fields, invalid name characters, and empty messages.
  • Sends a GraphQL mutation to Monday.com’s API to create a new item.
  • Updates the UI with success or error messages based on the API response.
  • Clears form inputs when the Clear button is clicked.
• Dependencies:
  • shiny: Core framework for the web app.
  • bslib: Provides Bootstrap 5 styling.
  • shinyjs: Enables JavaScript functionality like form clearing.
  • httr: Handles HTTP requests to the Monday.com API.
  • jsonlite: Processes JSON responses from the API.

Environment Variables

• api_token: Your Monday.com API token for authentication.
• board_id: The ID of the Monday.com board where submissions are stored.

Notes

• Ensure your Monday.com board has the correct column IDs as specified in the column_values variable in the code (text_mkq6vaar, text_mkq6awc2, text_mkq6cbxg for date, message, and email, respectively). Update these if your board uses different column IDs.
• The app assumes the Monday.com API is accessible at https://api.monday.com/v2. Check Monday.com’s documentation for any changes to the API endpoint.
• Error handling includes network issues, invalid API responses, and form validation errors.

Troubleshooting

• API Errors: Verify your api_token and board_id. Ensure the board’s column IDs match those in the code.
• Form Not Submitting: Check for empty fields or invalid characters in the name field.
• App Not Loading: Ensure all R packages are installed and the environment variables are set correctly.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• Built with Shiny and Bootstrap 5.
• Integrates with Monday.com for data submission.