InfoPath Usage Scenarios
Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 can be used in different scenarios that can scale from simple, ad hoc forms, to highly managed centralized forms solutions. The following gives a glimpse of the different scenarios with emphasis on value vs. shortcomings.
Forms in Email – quick ad hoc forms using InfoPath 2007 and Outlook 2007
- Designers build InfoPath forms, and publish forms to email recipients
- Recipients (users) fill in forms in InfoPath and submit to email of the form owner
- Outlook organizes forms in folders, and generates Excel reports for further analysis
| Value | Shortcomings |
| Simple and Quick | Form templates and submissions are scattered in mailboxes. Defeating the centralized repositories concept. |
| No server components required | No web-based forms, only rich client available |
| Integrated with Outlook 2007 and easy reporting to Excel | No centralized management of form templates and submissions |
| | No workflows |
Forms Solutions using Windows SharePoint Services v3 – Team forms using InfoPath and WSS
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Designers build InfoPath forms, and publish to Form Libraries in SharePoint (WSS)
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Users create new forms and submit to SharePoint Form Libraries
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Form Library stores form submissions, and enables reporting to Excel.
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Workflows can be designed (using SharePoint Designer 2007) or developed (using Visual Studio 2005 with Extensions for Windows SharePoint Services)
| Value | Shortcomings |
| One location to access and submit new forms | No web-based forms, only rich client available |
| Centralized form submissions on the server | No centralized management of form templates |
| The ability to assign workflows | No customized advance search capabilities |
| | No ready-made workflows. Designing/Developing workflows is required. |
Forms Solutions using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 – Business Forms and Process Automation -
Designers build InfoPath forms, and publish to Form Libraries in SharePoint (MOSS)
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Users create new forms and submit to SharePoint Form Libraries using both InfoPath rich client, and Web-based forms generated by MOSS (InfoPath Forms Services)
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Form Library stores form submissions, and enables reporting to Excel.
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Out-of-the-box workflows are available (Approval, Collect feedback plus other . Need custom workflows for medium to complex workflows.
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Form templates can be managed centrally using MOSS (InfoPath Forms Services). Management include central repository for templates, upgrade, and attachment to different sites.
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Usually planned and deployed on an organization-wide scale.
| Value |
| One location to access and submit new forms |
| Centralized form submissions on the server |
| The ability to assign workflows; ready-made workflows available |
| Web-based forms available. |
| Centralized management of form templates. |
| Customized advanced search capabilities |
Capabilities of InfoPath are still available in all scenarios, such as:
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InfoPath can be connected to Web Services or Databases (Access and SQL Server) to provide automation of form field filling.
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Design Template Parts for reusing the design elements among a number of templates
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Declarative rules to automate filling and validation
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Form Views
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User Roles (only in Rich client)
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