Best Practices for Developing and Deploying Forms Solutions with Microsoft Office

InfoPath 2007 and InfoPath Forms Services in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Christian Stark

Designing InfoPath Forms: The Do’s and Don’ts

Deploying InfoPath Forms: Making the right choice

Adding custom business logic—in case the built-in stuff isn’t enough

Integrating forms into Web pages: Reaching and making it scale

Session Objectives and Agenda

DEMOImporting a Microsoft Office Word FormUsing Template Parts

Designing InfoPath Forms

Form Design Best PracticesWhat to do and what NOT to do

Do Don’tKeep views smallUse view switching for larger formsUse tables to align controlsSet control width to 100% so it scales

with column widthRe-use and adapt existing forms for

online filling experiencePut instructions in the form layoutUse all the validation UI and create

useful error messages

Avoid spaghetti formsAvoid script since it doesn’t work in

browser-based formsAvoid lots of On_Load processingAvoid queries that rarely change

result data in drop downsAvoid the task pane if your form

needs to work in the browser

Build a form design kit with template parts

Use pre-configured data connections via the data connection library

Use pre-defined schemas when building forms

Don’t build super complex forms with 20 or more views

Don’t use InfoPath forms as a Visual Basic replacement

Don’t add lots of custom code to forms

Template Parts and Logic Inspector

Word ImportRe-use existing form layout

Template PartsAllow

Re-use of parts across multiple forms

Multiple developers to work in parallel

Support all form features except codeFormatting and control properties; data connections; rules, validation, conditional formatting, calculations

Create in Design mode and use as a custom controlCentral repository with auto-updates

Logic InspectorInspect and debug the form thru a single, read-only view of all your form logic

Rules, calculations, validation, events

Caveat: Conditional formatting not reported

DEMOBrowser Forms, Design Checker, Deployment Options

Deploying InfoPath Forms

Deploying InfoPath FormsMaking the right choice

Simple deployment for end users Advanced deployment for administrators

Forms with no code (declarative logic only) deployed using InfoPath Designer Publish WizardPublish directly to Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services document library, or create site content type (for use in multiple document libraries)

Central administration and management Activate forms on multiple site collectionsTwo-step process: upload to server, and activate to a site collection

Create multiple document libraries based on a form templateForms containing code or requiring full trust must be deployed by a farm administrator

Use for:Small and more ad-hoc form solutions driven by Information WorkersSmall number of form filling sessionsUn-managed team solutionsVery few to none form upgrades The “quick and dirty” prototype

Use for:Managed department or enterprise-wide solutionsCentralized form solution managementComplex data connectionsLots of form-filling sessionsRobust forms solutions requiring solution upgrades in the future

Design Once, Use Anywhere

Shared featuresControlsBusiness LogicData ConnectionsDigital SignaturesManaged Code Object Model

Design CheckerA pure subset of InfoPath features is available for browser-enabled formsCompatibility errors and warnings can be seen in the Designer or on the server during the publish step

Design forms for rich client, browser and mobile device

Browser-Enabled Forms

Simple topology for scale-outInfoPath Forms Services runs on Web front ends

Session state optimized for bandwidth and scaleIn broadband, view state can be used for high scale

In narrowband, session state can be stored on the backend

Client-side architecture (AJAX) alleviates roundtrips

Improves scalability because of fewer requests

Improves user experience due to minimal interruptions

Design-time guidance on eliminating roundtrips

Per-control settings to tweak roundtrips for best experience of correctness and performance

Performance and scalability

DEMOVSTA and VSTO, Load event,Pre-Populating the Form

Adding Business Logic

InfoPath Business Logic

Most Form Development Does Not Need Code

XSD, Web Service, DatabaseS

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C#VB .NET

Cod

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Dec

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tive RulesFormulas

Data ValidationData Connections

Conditional Formatting

Visual Studio Integration

1. Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA)Out-of-the-box developmentLowers the bar for forms with managed codeCompatible with Visual Studio Tools for Office

2. Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO)Embedded designer for professional developersOne IDE for all your projects: workflow, etc. Integrated toolbox, project wizard, etc.

Write code in your favorite IDE

Resources

Technical Communities, Webcasts, Blogs, Chats & User Groupshttp://www.microsoft.com/communities/default.mspx

Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) & TechNet http://microsoft.com/msdn http://microsoft.com/technet

Trial Software and Virtual Labshttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/downloads/trials/default.mspx

Microsoft Learning and Certificationhttp://www.microsoft.com/learning/default.mspx

© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market

conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.