Introduction

Welcome to How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003. Since InfoPath was introduced in a beta release, end-users and developers alike have been excited about the prospect of electronic forms and how they can be used to gather and consolidate information previously held in traditional paper-based forms or in other electronic documents.

It has been a long time coming—over the past few years, paper-based forms and electronic documents (Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, etc.) have grown at a staggering rate as end-users struggle to create processes and systems using the tools at hand. While this enables organizations to quickly implement new processes and systems, it means that there has been a proliferation of “dead” documents, where the data held within the document can’t be used for any other purpose.

These documents range from spreadsheet forms (where the information is formatted to the point where it becomes useless) to Word documents with reams of information in them that is unstructured and unusable. Even worse is the proliferation of paper-based documents. Millions of dollars are spent each year scanning and storing documents, when it is only the data contained in the document that is important.

This is where InfoPath really shines—forms created within InfoPath capture information in a way that makes the data usable with almost any application or data source, from simple Access databases to complex workflow applications and web services. That’s just the tip of the iceberg—InfoPath has a host of features geared toward improving business processes and the quality of the data that is collected.

So if there is one goal for this book, it is that it will give you the skills you need to effectively use the features and functionality within InfoPath to get rid of the “dead” documents in your organization and gather real, relevant information.

Toward that end, this book will show you how to use InfoPath to create your own forms and integrate them into your existing business processes. The text has been arranged in logical sequence, starting with basic material, background information, and information on filling out a form, moving on to developing and publishing your own forms.

Chapter 1, “Introducing InfoPath” gives an overview of InfoPath’s features and how they are used. In this chapter, you’ll install InfoPath on your computer and then discover what makes up an InfoPath form.

One of the core technologies that InfoPath relies on is XML. If you are new to XML, Chapter 2, “XML Primer” is your starting point. Here, you’ll learn to recognize the components of an XML document and understand how InfoPath uses XML. If you would like to delve a bit deeper, there are recommendations for further reading at the end of the chapter.

For end-users who will fill out the forms they create, Chapter 3, “Work with InfoPath Forms” is essential reading, as it looks at InfoPath from the end-user’s perspective. In this chapter, you’ll take a first look at the user interface, and learn how to fill out InfoPath forms. From there, we’ll also see how you can print, save, and distribute those forms.

If you are a developer who wants to get down to brass tacks, you’ll want to have a look at Chapter 4, “Get Started with Forms” which starts our discussion on form design. A brief form design methodology is given, followed by walk-throughs to create and format a simple form.You’ll also find out how to preview and save your forms.

For integrating InfoPath with different data sources, read Chapter 5, “Work with Data Sources.” This chapter begins with instructions on how to create forms from an existing XML schema or file, followed by a lesson on creating forms from an existing SQL Server or Access database. It finishes with a look at forms created from XML web services.

Once you have created a form, what to put on it? Chapter 6, “Work with Data Entry Controls,” has the answer to that question, and more. This chapter covers everything you always wanted to know about form controls that are used for data entry, including how to create and modify controls, use plain and rich text boxes, create drop-down lists and list boxes, and other topics. The chapter also covers material on how to select dates using the Date Picker, and how to use check and option boxes on your form.

As if that wasn’t enough, Chapter 7, “Work with Form Controls,” covers the rest of the controls available within InfoPath, including how to insert different types of sections, create repeating tables, and utilize plain, numbered, and bulleted lists. You’ll also learn how to use Picture controls to capture graphics on a form, insert hyperlinks into a form, and create expressions using XPath.

With all of those controls on a form, how about some formatting? Chapter 8, “Form Formatting,” starts our discussion about formatting a form, including the use of layout tables. We also look at how to create and manage form views, and finish them off with borders and shading. How to conditionally format objects is another topic covered in Chapter 8.

If you are worried about the quality of the data that is entered using an InfoPath form, Chapter 9, “Validate Form Data,” should help you resolve those issues. The chapter takes a look at how to eliminate blank fields, create validation rules, and use validation operators. You’ll learn to create alerts inline and with dialog boxes.

For adding extra functionality to a form, Chapter 10, “Extend InfoPath,” has it all. Here, you’ll learn how to add scripting to a form, create custom task panes, and use secondary data sources to add additional lookups to your form.

How do you actually get the forms out to users? Chapter 11, “Publishing Overview,” answers this question and sets the scene for the chapters that follow. In Chapter 11, you’ll learn how to save your form and extract form files.You’ll also get an overview of the form publishing process that should help you decide on a publishing method.

Chapter 12, “Work with Form Libraries,” covers the first of the publishing methods: publishing forms to a SharePoint Form Library. The chapter will teach you how to use form libraries, create your own form libraries, and how to publish forms to a library. We’ll also be looking at how to access form data from within SharePoint and the techniques you can use to analyze form data from within SharePoint.

If you prefer to install forms on user’s local machines, you will need to read Chapter 13, “Install Custom Forms.” Here, you’ll create trusted forms using the RegForm utility, and create a script or MSI to install a form, as well as install a form on a user’s PC.

If you have something else in in mind, Chapter 14, “Other Publishing Methods,” covers several form publishing methods, including how to publish forms to a web server or shared location, send forms via e-mail, export a form to HTML, or view a form template using Internet Explorer and a style sheet.

Appendix A, “Sample Forms,” provides an in-depth look at the sample forms that ship with InfoPath and that you can customize for your own use. In addition to a summary of each form, there is also information on how to view the underlying XML schema for your form.

Just getting started with JScript? Appendix B, “JScript Reference” provides a reference on all things JScript, including declaring variables, using functions, reserved words, and the like.

If you run into problems when working with scripting (or any other InfoPath feature), you just may find the answer in Appendix C, “Troubleshooting.” This appendix covers common problems, troubleshooting resources, and more.

Finally, what is a form? What does it look like? What does the underlying schema look like? You can take a peek at underlying XML schema behind an InfoPath form in Appendix D, “InfoPath Form Template XML Schema.”

So, without further ado, let’s get into it! I sincerely hope you enjoy the book and working with InfoPath as much as I do.