Passing data from one form to generate another custom form

[Don_2]

I want to create a form that our Certified Trainer has to fill out when he goes out into the field to certify a system. This form asks him to specify:

(Dropdown menus; Options seperated by commas)
1) Type of metal: Aluminum, Steel
2) Type of application: Roof, Parapet, Footpath
3) Number of users: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

When the user submits this information, another form must open up based on what information was inputed above.

For Eg. (If Aluminum was chozen, if Roof was chozen, if 2 users were chozen) then the form generates as follows:

1) Inspect the Aluminum system for rust, damage and deformation. Comments:____________________

2) Specify the Length of Roof. ____ ft. Specify the Width of Roof. _____ft.

3) User 1: _________. User 2: _________.

I hope I've explained exactly what I am trying to achieve here.

I'm trying to pass data to another form that is generated based on the choices of the main form. I've searched everywhere for this but cannot quite get to anything specific.

Is there a software that I use such as Infopath, Access, etc.. or can this be accomplished through php, xml, etc.. I'm quite confused.

I would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction on this one. Thanks is advance for your help.

[Don_2]

I'll try and make it simpler.

Lets say this is my form:

1) Type of metal:

1. Aluminum
2. Steel

If the user selects (i) and hits Submit, here's what shows up on the next page:

1) Inspect the Aluminum system for rust, damage and deformation. 
   Comments after inspection:____________________

2) Inspect the Aluminum system for loose bolts. 
   Comments after inspection:____________________

If the user selects (ii) and hits Submit, here's what shows up on the next page:

1) Inspect the Steel system for dents, scratches and deformation. 
   Comments after inspection:____________________

2) Inspect the Steel system for paint loss and loose bolts. 
   Comments after inspection:____________________

Hope this helps.

I use php mostly, so I could say use that, but any server-side language could produce what you need. In addition, you could even use javascript, but that would mean you couldn't save the data other than to localStorage. UNLESS, you use js for the forms, and then submit the second form to the server.

Depending on the complexity, some of this should be placed into a DB - well the responses definitely, or I suppose they could be saved to file, e.g. pdf, xml, csv. BUT, you may want to be able to edit the data (say you made a mistake and wanted to get back to it), so pdf may not be so useful.

I would imagine that this would be a pretty trivial solution though - but perhaps not for somebody that was not familiar with front-end or/and back-end coding.

The majority of the second form is down to placeholders, e.g.

1) Inspect the {METAL} system for rust, damage and deformation. Comments:____________________
2) Specify the Length of {APPLICATION}. ____ ft. Specify the Width of Roof. _____ft.
3) {FOR EACH USER DO} User #: _________.

The complexity would also depend on the parameters for each application - e.g. are length and width ALWAYS valid for each application? Are there additional parameters say for 'roof'?

Are some metals not applicable for 'footpaths'?

If this is the case, then a simple array for relationships or related tables in a DB could help.

What would be the first item to choose, aluminium or application? Or doesn't it matter?

If you provide more info, I (and others, I'm sure) would be happy to start you off.

On second thoughts, do you really need 2 forms?
Couldn't this really be done in one?

METAL : dropdown
STATE : textarea (descibe levels of rust etc)
APP   : dropdown (roof etc)
DIMS  : 2 textboxes for width and length
USERS : 1 numberbox (spinner) for number of users - js creates textboxes for each in response 'change'.
NAMES : 1 textbox per user

Why use 2 if you can get away with one?