Sick of InfoPath? Come get sicker… a quick look into developing no-code business

forms for the curious cookie

Presenter: Hector Perez

Special Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor

…and our Gold Sponsor

Bio

• Admin/Dev for LDS Church• Exercise Science• Babe – never been stumped on a pop culture/movie question• Baby – specimen• Football (soccer)• Shoes

/Heckshmek_SP /pub/hector-perez/42/a90/992

Agenda

• InfoPath Intro• BIG ANNOUNCEMENT• Form building tips and pointers

What’s this form thing?

• A Microsoft forms software fully integrated with SharePoint allowing for rapid development of forms solutions• Used to design forms that

submit to SharePoint lists and libraries• Versions: 2003, 2007, 2010,

2013 - the FINAL version

BIG ANNOUNCMENT from MicrosoftInfoPath to be retired…"Industry trends and feedback from our customers and

partners make it clear that today’s businesses demand an intelligent, integrated forms experience that spans devices. We are looking to make investments that allow you to easily design, deploy, and use intelligent, integrated forms across Office clients, servers, and services -- forms that everyone can use on their PC, tablet, or phone. Our goal is to deliver tools that are flexible and agile, so you can quickly connect to your data and processes in new and exciting ways."

http://blogs.office.com/2014/01/31/update-on-infopath-and-sharepoint-forms/

BIG ANNOUNCMENT from Microsoft1. “…there will not be another version of the InfoPath desktop client or InfoPath Forms Services. We are focusing all of our investments on new intelligent, integrated forms experiences across Office technology.”

2. Support:• The InfoPath 2013 client will be supported through April

2023.• InfoPath Forms Services for SharePoint Server 2013 will be

supported until April 2023.• InfoPath Forms Services in Office 365 will be supported

until further notice.

3. Continue using InfoPath4. Migration: “We’ll provide more details on migration scenarios and guidance in Q4 of CY 2014.”5. New form capabilities?“We’ll be sharing updates throughout the year, with a sneak peek in March at the SharePoint Conference.”

Tips and Pointers

List vs. Library forms• List

• Form uniquely tied to list• Each control you add is saved as a column in list• Flat data• Saves to list the form is tied to• “Main Data Connection” set up by default

• Library• Templates designed can be published to different form libraries• Saved items stored as XML files on SharePoint• You “promote” fields to publish to SharePoint library• You define save locations• Complex business rules• Repeating or nested data• Managed code

Tool Set

• That RibbonList

Library

Tool Set

• Fields and Rules Panels• Rules• Validation• Formatting• Action

“Fishing” for changes?

• InfoPath Designer 2010 vs. 2013• No major change• Online Pics

“Rigg” it your way…

• Wireframe and plan out form flow• Using the ribbon options vs. buttons with rules• If using workflow with form, plan on how that will interact

with submitted form data etc. (i.e. trigger fields)

Views

• Create multiple views

• List Form - Create a Display view (read only)• Form Options select a Display View

• Views and Form Load rules

Drop-Downs

• Manually enter options• Get options from other fields in form• Get choices from a LIST• Allows for management outside of form

• Sort drop down?• Modify data connection

The POWER of queryFields

• queryFields vs. dataFields

Layout & Visuals

• Use tables to stay organized• Use sections to show and hide fields and buttons• Use simple (button) images for workflow visualization

Rules of people pickers

•Work around for running rules off of people pickersExample: I want to get email of user entered into people picker.

Create validation check before submitting• Avoid that annoying SharePoint error…• Disable your Save/Submit button• Use a view to inform user they are missing a required field

List URLs

• New Item/<SiteName>/Lists/<ListName>/Item/newifs.aspx

• Existing Item/<SiteName>/Lists/<ListName>/Item/displayifs.aspx?List=<List GUID>&ID=1

ID is unique to list item – useful for building dynamic links via workflow

Form Library URLs

• New Item/<SiteName>/_layouts/15/FormServer.aspx?XsnLocation=/<SiteName>/<Library>/Forms/template.xsn&SaveLocation=/<SiteName>/<Library>&OpenIn=Browser&Source=/<SiteName>/<Library>/AllItems.aspx

Form Library URLs

• Existing Item/<SiteName>/_layouts/15/FormServer.aspx?XmlLocation=/<SiteName>/<Library>/<DocumentName>.xml&OpenIn=Browser&Source=/<SiteName>/<Library>/AllItems.aspx

2 Query Parameters for Library forms• &OpenIn=Browser• &Source=/<SiteCollection>/<Page>• Used to redirect user to specified location within the same site collection