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Introduction to InfoPath
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About Me
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About Me
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Nikkia T. Carter, CEO/Owner of Carter-McGowan Services, LLC (Industry Experience since 2001)
CMS specializes in business technology consulting, setup, migration, development, support, training and training material
Microsoft Partner/VAR (Value Added Reseller): Silver Small and MidMarket Cloud Solutions, SMB
Champion; Other Partnerships/VARs: Constant Contact, Hootsuite, BrainStorm
Past Experience:Application, Intranet / Recent: SharePoint, InfoPath, Office 365
Past Clients: DoD (Navy, Army, AF), NSF / Recent Clients: Mostly commercial organizations and entrepreneurs (many nonprofits, bail bondsman, insurance agent, tech consultant, defense contractors, facilities management company, US Courts, Center of Medicaid and Medicare, NIST,
etc.).
Certifications: CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer (CTT), Microsoft Certified Professional
Other Roles: IAMCP DC Philanthropy Chair, Board Member, and WIT Community Leader, Microsoft VFI Board Member, SUGDC and MFCF-DC Co-organizer, FEDSPUG Board Member, Microsoft WPC Partner Engagement Board (PEB) Member, Microsoft MCC PEB Member, IAMCP
WIT Board Member, IT ProCamp DC and Office 365 Ramp Up Day co organizer
About Me
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If you are interested in events I attend/speak at: www.cartermcgowanservices.com/where-we-will-be
Webinars on SharePoint and Office 365
Volunteer events
Places I am speaking
Etc.
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Before we begin…
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DMVMUG (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Management User Group) Event
http://www.dmvmug.com/ (link doesn’t seem to be active)
???
PASS DC (SQL Server User Group) Monthly Meetings here in the Microsoft offices in Chevy Chase, MD
http://passdc.sqlpass.org/
Meetings on 2ndThursday @ 6:30pm (Microsoft Chevy Chase, 5th floor)
Reston SharePoint User Group
http://www.meetup.com/Reston-SharePoint-User-Group/
Meetings on 1st Monday @ 11:30 am (Microsoft Reston Office 3rd floor)
Stay Connected -
FEDSPUG/WSPDC (Federal SharePoint User Group/Women In SharePoint DC) Monthly Meetings
http://www.meetup.com/FEDSPUG
Meetings 1stThursday @ 7pm (Microsoft Chevy Chase Office 5th
floor)
SUGDC (SharePoint User Group DC) Monthly Meetings
http://www.sugdc.org
Meeting 2ndThursdays @ 6:30 pm (Protiviti office in McLean)
Mobile-First, Cloud-First of DC Monthly Meetings
http://www.meetup.com/MFCF-DC
Meetings last Thursday of month (except holiday months; see MeetUp) @6:30pm 7pm (Microsoft Chevy Chase Office 5th
floor)
Stay Connected -
IAMCP DC (International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners DC) Monthly Meetings
http://iamcp.site-ym.com/
Meetings 3rdWednesdays of month (mostly Microsoft Chevy Chase office, 5th floor)
IAMCP DC WIT (Women in Technology)
Virtual monthly meetings on 3rd Mondays
Quarterly networking events
Seeking those who care about adding more women to tech fields and getting girls interested in tech
Focus on education, advocacy, and events
Stay Connected -
Get Certified – Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) Test-Fest - Usually in the Summer
IT Pro Camp DC- usually in February
Office 365 Ramp Up Day – Usually in August
Check out SharePoint Saturday Events -http://www.spsevents.org/
Stay Connected -
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Topics Covered
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Topics
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What is InfoPath?
How is it used?
How is it used with SharePoint?
What are List forms?
What are Form Library forms?
What is the difference?
How can I use it? (Live examples)
Created by Carter-McGowan Services, LLC @CarterMcGServ www.cartermcgowanservices.com
Created by Carter-McGowan Services, LLC @CarterMcGServ www.cartermcgowanservices.com
What is InfoPath?
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What is InfoPath?
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Microsoft InfoPath is a software application for designing, distributing, filling and submitting electronic forms containing structured data.
It adheres to the XML paradigm of separating the data in a document from the formatting
Features a WYSIWYG form design area in which the various controls (dropdowns, text boxes, etc.) are bound to data fields represented separately as a hierarchical tree view of folders and data fields.
Microsoft initially released InfoPath as part of Microsoft Office 2003 family.
In summer 2010, Microsoft released a new version that split InfoPath into two applications: InfoPath Designer 2010 is used to create forms and define data structures, and InfoPath Filler 2010 is used to fill out and submit forms.
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What is InfoPath?
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In InfoPath, you can do the following:
Design form templates
Fill out forms
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What is InfoPath?
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Features•Rules apply specific actions when triggered by button clicks or changing values in the form. They can change the values of fields in the data source, submit to and query databases, display messages, open and close forms, and switch to different views of the form.•Data Validation tests the validity of input into fields by comparing the input to patterns, checking for the correct data type (such as a string or an integer), and in other customizable ways.•Conditional Formatting can be used to change the appearance or visibility of objects based on values in the form.
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What is InfoPath?
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Features (cont)•InfoPath has many different ActiveX Controls, all of which have a value bound to a field in the form's data source. Common controls include:
•List boxes•Radio buttons•Text boxes•Buttons•Check boxes. •Calculated Values, which display the result of xPath expressions, and sections, which are containers for other controls. •Repeating fields and sections, which can store many different values.
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What is InfoPath?
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Features (cont)•XPath Expressions and Functions can be used to calculate values by applying functions to the value of fields in the form, such as "concat(string(field1 + field2), "#;", field3)" (the concatenation of the sum of two fields, the string "#;", and the value of another field). XPathfunctions for manipulation of strings, simple mathematical operations, and many other operations are included in InfoPath. •InfoPath supports Connections to External Datasources. SQL, Microsoft Access, and SharePoint databases can be connected to and submitted in the form.
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What is InfoPath?
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Features (cont)•JScript, Visual Basic, C#, and other languages can be used to extend InfoPath's capabilities by adding custom HTML taskpanes, iterating through data, using Active Directory, and generally accomplishing tasks that are impossible in the InfoPath design environment.•SharePoint integration•User Roles can customize a user's experience by changing views or using conditional formatting based on the identity of the user.•InfoPath's formatting capabilities and user interface are similar to Microsoft Word 2003 and 2010, depending on version.
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What is InfoPath?
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Version Included In... Release Year
InfoPath 2003
Microsoft Office 2003 Professional and Professional Enterprise
2003
InfoPath 2007
Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate, Professional Plus and Enterprise
2007
InfoPath 2010
Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus; Office 365
2010
InfoPath 2013
Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus; Office 365
2013
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How is it used?
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How is it used?
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Stand Alone
Connect to:
Outlook
Access
Excel
Word
XML Schema
Other business systems or applications using web services
SharePoint
And more!
How is it used?
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InfoPath Forms ServicesYou can design a browser-compatible form template and publish it to a server that is running InfoPath Forms Services.
Microsoft Excel
Users can choose to export data from one or more InfoPath forms into a new Excel worksheet.You can convert an Excel workbook to an InfoPath form template by using the Import Wizard in InfoPath.
Microsoft Outlook
You can distribute form templates to users by publishing the form template to a list of e-mail message recipients. Similarly, you can design a form template so that users can submit completed forms as an attachment in an e-mail message.
How is it used?
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Microsoft Access
You can connect your form template to an existing Access database. Users can then query or submit data to that database. Similarly, you can populate list boxes with values from the database or bind.You can also create an InfoPath form template based on an Access database and then publish the form template to a list of recipients as an e-mail message.
Microsoft WordYou can convert existing Word documents into InfoPath form templates, you can use the Import Wizard in InfoPath to do so.
How is it used?
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Microsoft Script Editor
It is possible to use Microsoft JScript or Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) in your form template by accessing the Microsoft Script Editor (MSE) from design mode.
Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA)
If you know how to write managed code, you can access VSTA (Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) from design mode in order to create, edit, and debug Microsoft Visual Basic or Microsoft Visual C# code.
Microsoft Visual Studio
You can integrate InfoPath design-mode features into the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment by downloading and installing Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System on your computer. You can then open Visual Studio, create an InfoPath form template project, and use design-mode features to design your form template.
How is it used?
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Web services
You can connect your form template to a Web service in order to exchange XML data with other programs or systems such as an Oracle database, which is not directly supported by InfoPath. You can also populate list boxes with values that come from the Web service or bind controls to the fields and groups associated with the Web service.
XML Schemas
You can base your form template's design on an XML Schema (.xsd) that is already being used by your organization. For example, if your organization uses a specific .xsd file for expense reports, you can base the design of a form template for expense reports on that .xsdfile. If you don't have an existing schema, InfoPath builds one for you when you add controls to your form template.
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How is it used with SharePoint?
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How is it used with SharePoint?
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“Pretty” forms
More functional forms
Digital signatures
Workflow (built around and/or in)
Dashboards
Reports
Content Types
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What are List forms?
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What are List Forms?
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The SharePoint List form template is used to customize the form that is used to create, view, and edit items in a SharePoint List.
You start by specifying a new or existing SharePoint list, and InfoPath automatically generates the list form.
After you customize the form, publish it back to SharePoint in one click using the InfoPath Designer Quick Publish feature.
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What are Form Library forms?
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What are Form Library Forms?
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The SharePoint Form Library template is used to design a form for collecting data in a SharePoint form library.
InfoPath starts you out with a basic layout that can be quickly tailored by adding controls, selecting from available SharePoint Themes in the Page Design tab of the ribbon, and customizing your submit options.
Basically, it is a form (document) that is published to a library
and coupled so that the data in the form can be exposed as library fields.
Typically, more features available than in the List form.
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What is the difference?
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What is the difference?
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SharePoint List Forms
Basically a way to modify the list’s new, edit, and view forms.
Not as powerful as the Form Library form.
SharePoint Form Library Forms
Basically, it is a form (document) that is published to a library and coupled so that the data in the form can be exposed as library fields.
More features available than in the List form.
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How can I use InfoPath?
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How can I use InfoPath forms?
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Ok, enough talk… let’s do some!!!At this point, the demo I do is live so there are no slides for the demo but there is a video!
To video of the examples that I did for SP24 World Conference, visit my Knowledge Center here:
http://www.cartermcgowanservices.com/knowledge-center
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Questions?
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Contact Information
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Carter-McGowan Services, LLCToll-free/fax: (866) 721-6085 Local: (540) 693-0578Email: [email protected]
SharePoint Online Trial with Office 365: http://ow.ly/HAzZs
Web: www.cartermcgowanservices.comTwitter: @CarterMcGServFaceBook: CarterMcGowanGoogle+: Carter-McGowan Services
LinkedIn: NikkiaTCarter
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