tutorial: building business solutions: infopath & workflows by jennifer mason - sptechcon

Building Business Solutions: InfoPath and WorkflowsJennifer Mason

Rackspace

About me…

•• http://blogs.sharepoint911.com/blogs/jennifer

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Agenda

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Introduction

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The Product ComponentsIn

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Process Components

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• InfoPath form?

• SharePoint List form?

• Document in a library?

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RequirementsIn

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Today’s Process Automation

• SharePoint Site

• SharePoint Lists

• InfoPath Form w/ Internal Workflow

• Custom SPD Routing Workflow

Intr

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The SharePoint site

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• This is the main list for the requests themselves. Workflow is based on this list.

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• For your first request, fill out information such as frequent flier and airplane seat preferences

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• These are assigned to approvers throughout the workflow

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Our Process Flow

Travel Request Submitted

Manager Approval

CompletionWo

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Fundamentals

• Creating and filling out a form

• Form layouts

• Form controls

• The data source

• Publishing the form

Creating and Filling Out a Form

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• Very simplistic. Quick but less functionality

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• My common choice

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• Rarely needed

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• Only needed for client-based forms being filled out on computers with IP 2007.F

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Form Layouts

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Form Controls

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Publishing the Form

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• Browser-based is most common: it doesn’t matter what software client machines have installed.

• Form library is most common, preferred

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• Administrator-approved is only necessary when the form needs to be used in multiple site collections in the farm.

• Site Content Type – just plain hard to deal with, update and test a form this way.

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Demo

Advanced Concepts

• Views

• Data Connections

• User Profile Services

• Working with rules

• Form options

Views in InfoPath

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• Create different stages of an approval process

• Split a large form in to multiple pages, with “Next Page” to move to next view

• Create a view specifically for printing

• Create a read-only view for a finalized form

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• New Form

• Approvals

• Read Only

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The Data Source

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• For dynamic lookups for drop-downs

• Get user information from the user profile service

• Create cascading drop-downs

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Data Connections

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User Profile Service

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• Receive from web service:YourSiteURLHere/_vti_bin/userprofileservice.asmx

• Pick operation: GetUserProfileByName

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Working with Rules

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• Validation

• Formatting

• Action

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Form Options

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Form Submission Concepts

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Demo

Workflow

• Workflow concepts

• Types of workflows in 2010

• SharePoint Designer workflows

• Workflow form

• Pros and Cons of approval methods

Introduction - Concepts

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• Manual, on Creation, on Change

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• If WHAT then do something

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• This is the something that happens according to the condition

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• The order of progression of the workflow

• Impersonation Steps

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Types of Workflows in 2010

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• Customizable now

• Simplistic

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• Customizable in easy interface

• Scalable now

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• Requires developer resources, highly customizable

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SharePoint Designer Workflows

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• Custom task process

• Custom approval process

• Custom feedback process

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Our Process Flow

Travel Request Submitted

Manager Approval

CompletionWo

rkfl

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Demo

The User Interface

• What is the user’s experience on the site?

• Plan out web parts, such as a button to fill the form out quickly

• Who needs to see the library itself?

• Create an admin page for forms

Define the User Interface

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Use

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Form Admin Interface

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• Current user filter web part can be used

• Show a view of all forms to defined form admins

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• Don’t over-complicate the workflow just because of simple notification emails.

• Utilize alerts and alerts based on viewsUse

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Demo

Want More?

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