templated forms: duplcation risks

[newreality]

I'm using about two dozen forms, each mainly carries the same layout.

They are templates(now creating) that echo from mysql (1) or (2) dynamic drop menu values and plus one or two fixed hyperlinks on the pages. These are are automatically prepared for the site user for Inserting into tables, depending on where he or she is coming from.

Some pages have no other variation while some have little more.

Are there inherent risks with such a formatted structure; for being stamped "duplicate" pages?

Would it be better to have the .htm extension or php for this application?

Main question is : is it better to have the pages saved seperately using templates or to use a single page that changes it's tag dynamically?
Would I be hedging my bet against all risks to use a single page? But is there much to worry about?

Which is more likely to get indexed?

[Marcia]

Would it be better to have the .htm extension or php for this application?

Some still prefer .htm but the general consensus is that it shouldn't make any difference at all. Either will do fine, but if there are pages that don't use php those will also take a slight hit in processing time if the .htm pages are all parsed as php.

Some pages have no other variation while some have little more.

Are there inherent risks with such a formatted structure; for being stamped "duplicate" pages?

I'm not sure how it'll be working, not knowing what the application does, but if the form is filled out dynamically initiated by user action, the best I can understand it is that what's on the pages other than what goes into the forms is what would get indexed - and if it's all the same then sure, they're duplicate or very near duplicate.

Will traffic be expected to come directly to those pages from search engines?

[newreality]

Will traffic be expected to come directly to those pages from search engines?

Quite possibly. Or at least be indexed to help the same terms elsewhere. In that sense, they could be considered "sacrificial pages"

I also want to cut down on development time because two dozen forms I mentioned is way off, there's much more. Multiply this X's three or four for starters.

I'm trying to figure out why the competition isn't using templates (if it's notated in source code). Not only for these reasons but also for when the same changes are made across this number of pages. A different template for each optimized category could be made. I'm assuming you can do a mysql Insert off a templated page - don't see why you can't.