InfoPath for 2007

This is not your father’s InfoPath:

MOSS 2007 InfoPath form integration

For anyone who has developed InfoPath forms with the 2003 client and SharePoint server code base needs to be aware of a completely different mechanism for the 2007 versions.

Probably the biggest change and the one with the most ramifications is the ability of MOSS to render a web form version of an InfoPath form (see Figure 1).

These ramifications of web forms include:

• Client side code: InfoPath 2003 clients could run client side code in the built-in Javascript engine or with a .Net assembly for clients with the .Net Framework installed. Web forms no longer provide this ability.
• Web Forms run the script code (C# or VB) on the server side i.e. the ASP.Net model. There is no separate Javascript code.
• Not all functionality available in an InfoPath 2007 client is compatible with a web form version. Because of this the client designer provides a Design Checker that highlights any web form non compatibility(see Figure 2).

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These caveats are very acceptable when you see an example of an actual form (see Figure 1) that MOSS renders out if the box.

The advantages are:

• Clients do not need InfoPath client installed.
• ASP.Net coders will be very familiar with the InfoPath code development environment and its machinations.
• MOSS can be configured to always render the web form or allow clients with the InfoPath client installed to open the rich client.

Workflow applications:

One of new paradigms that MOSS enables is the ability to model a Business Process (BP) using MOSS lists and document libraries and control activity and logic using Workflows. While the server does provide some built in workflows, InfoPath forms provide a comprehensive and flexible interface for custom workflow logic implementation.

Figure 3 shows example workflow logic in SharePoint Designer applied to an InfoPath forms library. The user interface for the workflow is the web form shown in Figure 1.

The combination of workflows and the ability to render the web forms is a killer app feature of Office 2007and I will be expanding on this in future blogs.

Figure 1 – InfoPath form rendered as a web form

Figure 2 – InfoPath Design Ckecker for web form compatibilty

Figure 3 – SharePoint Designer – Workflow designer