InfoPath

Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007

• Collect data in an efficient way.
• Built using XML
• Contains its own set of controls such as
• repeating tables
• repeating sections
• choice groups.
• You can create your own custom controls.
• Controls that are not supported in browser-enabled form templates such as:
• repeating recursive section
• choice group
• horizontal repeating table
• You can publish the form template to the following locations:
• MOSS or WSS 3.0
  • Publish form template to a form library
  • Publish form template as a site content type
• Forms Server 2007 server
• Part of an Outlook 2007 email
• Shared network folder
• Installable file (needs Visual Studio 2005 installed)
• Trust Levels
• Security level determines which features are available to the InfoPath form.
• Full trust context, or
• Domain security context, or
• Restricted security level context
• Browser-enabled form cannot be published as a site content type in this context
• Site content type
  • Can be used in more than one form library.
  • It is possible to use more than one form template per form library

Data Connection Files

• One form template can have
• one main data connection (primary connection) and
• one or more secondary data connections.
• One data connection file can be used by multiple form template
• A data connection can submit to or receive data from an external data source
  such as
• a web service,
• SharePoint list, or
• SQL Server database.
• A data connection file is an XML file with an .xml or .udc(x) extension, where udc(x) stands Universal Data Connection.
• Udc 1.0 files use the extension .odc, which stands for Office Data Connection. Udc 1.0 files cannot be used by InfoPath 2007.
• Three ways to create data connection files:
  • via InfoPath
  • Excel
  • Create the UDC file manually via Notepad or UDC File Authoring Tool
    • Allows you to add authentication information to a data connection file.

Access Sharepoint List

• You can access data that is stored in a SharePoint list within InfoPath form.
• Data stored in a SharePoint list can be accessed via
• SharePoint library
• List data connection
  • Allows you to specify authentication information within the data connection itself.
• SharePoint Lists web service
• If use FBA, you cannot use the list directly. You need to use Lists web service.

Program InfoPath

• You can update an InfoPath form programmatically and save it back to a SharePoint form library.
• Steps
• Read the InfoPath form into an XML document
• Update the value in the XML document
• Save the XML document as a InfoPath form to the form library.

Reference:

Pro SharePoint 2007 Development Techniques