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Structure examples

Last update:
May 18, 2026
Structures are useful for grouping a set of variables under a single name. The following example uses structures to collect information from a form, and to submit that information to a custom tag, named cf_addemployee. For information on creating and using custom tags, see Creating and Using Custom CFML Tags.

Example file newemployee.cfm

The following ColdFusion page shows how to create structures and use them to add data to a database. It calls the cf_addemployee custom tag, which is defined in the addemployee.cfm file.
<head> 
<title>Add New Employees</title> 
</head> 

<body> 
<h1>Add New Employees</h1> 
<!--- Action page code for the form at the bottom of this page. ---> 

<!--- Establish parameters for first time through ---> 
<cfparam name="Form.firstname" default=""> 
<cfparam name="Form.lastname" default=""> 
<cfparam name="Form.email" default=""> 
<cfparam name="Form.phone" default=""> 
<cfparam name="Form.department" default=""> 

<!--- If at least the firstname form field is passed, create 
a structure named employee and add values. ---> 
<cfif #Form.firstname# eq ""> 
<p>Please fill out the form.</p> 
<cfelse> 
<cfoutput> 
<cfscript> 
employee=StructNew(); 
employee.firstname = Form.firstname; 
employee.lastname = Form.lastname; 
employee.email = Form.email; 
employee.phone = Form.phone; 
employee.department = Form.department; 
</cfscript> 

<!--- Display results of creating the structure. ---> 
First name is #StructFind(employee, "firstname")#<br> 
Last name is #StructFind(employee, "lastname")#<br> 
EMail is #StructFind(employee, "email")#<br> 
Phone is #StructFind(employee, "phone")#<br> 
Department is #StructFind(employee, "department")#<br> 
</cfoutput> 

<!--- Call the custom tag that adds employees. ---> 
<cf_addemployee empinfo="#employee#"> 
</cfif> 

<!--- The form for adding the new employee information ---> 
<hr> 
<form action="newemployee.cfm" method="Post"> 
First Name:&nbsp; 
<input name="firstname" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br> 
Last Name:&nbsp; 
<input name="lastname" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br> 
EMail:&nbsp; 
<input name="email" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br> 
Phone:&nbsp; 
<input name="phone" type="text" hspace="20" maxlength="20"><br> 
Department:&nbsp; 
<input name="department" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br> 

<input type="Submit" value="OK"> 
</form> 
<br> 
</body> 
</html>

Reviewing the code

The following table describes the code:
Code
Description
<cfparam name="Form.lastname" default="">

<cfparam name="Form.email" default="">

<cfparam name="Form.phone" default="">

<cfparam name="Form.department" default="">
Set default values of all form fields so that they exist the first time this page is displayed and can be tested.
<p>Please fill out the form.</p>
Test the value of the firstname field. This field is required. The test is False the first time the page displays.If no data exists in the Form.firstname variable, display a message requesting the user to fill the form.
<cfoutput>

<cfscript>

employee=StructNew();

employee.firstname = Form.firstname;

employee.lastname = Form.lastname;

employee.email = Form.email;

employee.phone = Form.phone;

employee.department = Form.department;

</cfscript>

<!--- Display results of creating the structure. --->

First name is #StructFind(employee, " firstname ")#<br>

Last name is #StructFind(employee, " lastname ")#<br>

EMail is #StructFind(employee, "email")#<br>

Phone is #StructFind(employee, "phone")#<br>

Department is #StructFind(employee, "department")#<br>

</cfoutput>
If Form.firstname contains text, the user submitted the form. Use CFScript to create a structure named employee and fill it with the form field data. Then display the contents of the structure.
</cfif>
Call the cf_addemployee custom tag and pass it a copy of the employee structure in the  empinfo  attribute. The duplicate function ensures that the custom tag gets a copy of the employee structure, not the original. Although this is not necessary in this example, it is good practice because it prevents the custom tag from modifying the calling contents of the structure in the calling page.
First Name:&nbsp;

<input name="firstname" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br>

Last Name:&nbsp;

<input name="lastname" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br>

EMail:&nbsp;

<input name="email" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br>

Phone:&nbsp;

<input name="phone" type="text" hspace="20" maxlength="20"><br>

Department:&nbsp;

<input name="department" type="text" hspace="30" maxlength="30"><br>

<input type="Submit" value="OK">

</form>
The data form. When the user clicks OK, the form posts the data to this ColdFusion page.

Example file addemployee.cfm

The following file is an example of a custom tag used to add employees. Employee information is passed through the employee structure (the empinfo attribute). For databases that do not support automatic key generation, also add the Emp_ID.
<cfoutput>
Error. No employee data was passed.<br>
</cfoutput>
<cfexit method="ExitTag">
<cfelse>
<!--- Add the employee --->
<cfquery name="AddEmployee" datasource="cfdocexamples">
INSERT INTO Employees
(FirstName, LastName, Email, Phone, Department)
VALUES (
'#attributes.empinfo.firstname#' ,
'#attributes.empinfo.lastname#' ,
'#attributes.empinfo.email#' ,
'#attributes.empinfo.phone#' ,
'#attributes.empinfo.department#' )
</cfquery>
</cfif>
<cfoutput>
<hr>Employee Add Complete
</cfoutput>

Reviewing the code

The following table describes the code:
Code
Description
<cfoutput>

Error. No employee data was passed.<br>

</cfoutput>

<cfexit method="ExitTag">
If the custom tag was called without an empinfo attribute, displays an error message and exit the tag.
<!--- Add the employee --->

<cfquery name="AddEmployee" datasource="cfdocexamples">

INSERT INTO Employees

(FirstName, LastName, Email, Phone, Department)

VALUES (

'#attributes.empinfo.firstname#' ,

'#attributes.empinfo.lastname#' ,

'#attributes.empinfo.email#' ,

'#attributes.empinfo.phone#' ,

'#attributes.empinfo.department#' )

</cfquery>

</cfif>
Add the employee data passed in the empinfo structure to the Employees table of the cfdocexamples database. Use direct references to the structure entries, not StructFind functions.If the database does not support automatic generation of the Emp_ID key, add an Emp_ID entry to the form and add it to the query.
<hr>Employee Add Complete

</cfoutput>
Display a completion message. This code does not have to be inside the cfelse block because the cfexit tag prevents it from being run if the empinfo structure is empty.

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