Reconnecting Custom Infopath Forms After Migrating Sharepoint Workflows

What Happens During Migration

When migrating SharePoint workflows from one environment to another, any associated InfoPath forms can become disconnected. This occurs because the form template and submitted form data are separate entities in SharePoint. During migration, while list content and metadata is transported, the underlying associations between workflows and InfoPath form templates can be broken.

As a result, even though the workflows and InfoPath forms will still physically exist in the new SharePoint environment, there are no connections enabling the submitted InfoPath data to automatically trigger the migrated workflows. Re-establishing these connections is essential to regain the pre-migration functionality.

Why Reconnect Forms and Workflows

There are two main incentives for reconnecting InfoPath forms with SharePoint workflows after migration:

• Retain original InfoPath form functionality – Without re-linking forms, they become standalone objects unable to activate associated processes
• Enable submitted form data to reliably trigger workflows – Reconnecting retains actions like generating emails, assigning tasks, and starting review processes

In effect, reconnecting InfoPath forms ensures migrated SharePoint workflows can trigger automatically after users submit relevant InfoPath forms. This retains the pre-migration user experience and ensures administrative processes related to forms run seamlessly after migration.

Locating the Correct Form Template

When re-establishing links between migrated processes and associated InfoPath forms, identifying the specific form template details is crucial for later workflow configuration stages. These key details are:

• InfoPath form template name – The descriptive name given to the template when originally created
• InfoPath form template ID – The unique identifier code assigned to the template

Both attributes are essential, as migrated workflows store references to InfoPath templates through both the name string value and ID reference. To identify the precise form template name and ID values:

1. Navigate to the document library or list containing associated InfoPath forms
2. Check attribute columns to locate template name strings
3. Note the template name values from active forms
4. Check submitted form files or library settings to discover the template ID code
5. Record the template name and ID ready for workflow re-association

Re-associating Workflows

With SharePoint Designer, administrators can directly access and edit workflow definitions, configurations, and associations. This allows updating existing references to InfoPath templates, reconnecting migrated workflows.

To connect migrated workflows to InfoPath forms:

1. Open the desired SharePoint Designer workflow
2. Check associations to locate prior InfoPath form references
3. Update former template ID and name strings to new values
4. Supply correct name strings and IDs from the migrated form template
5. Save and publish updates to implement changes

Double-check the workflow trigger associations before activating workflows, confirming the migration process established correct connections.

Updating Form Versions

Occasionally, administrators need to upload improved InfoPath template versions after migration to maximize functionality or apply customizations.

When updating InfoPath forms, create new major versions to retain submitted data and columns. This step maintains a consistent user experience through continuous list integration and avoids disruptions accessing previous submissions.

After establishing new form versions, test associated workflows trigger correctly on form submission by:

1. Uploading minor form data through the updated InfoPath template
2. Checking SharePoint Designer to confirm workflow instantiations on submission
3. Repeat testing until achieving consistent activations

Do not overwrite or replace existing form templates without major version updates. Deleting forms disrupts access to production data across system migration processes.

Example Code for Form Association

Here is example C# code for programmatically reconnecting InfoPath forms with SharePoint workflows through updating template ID references stored within workflow association data objects:


SPWorkflowAssociation association = existingMigratedWorkflow;

SPAssociationData associationData =
association.AssociationData;

// Update the stored reference
associationData.FormTemplateId =
migratedFormTemplateId;

association.AssociationData =
associationData;

association.Update();


This code directly accesses the SharePoint workflow entity, gets the AssociationData object storing form interconnections then inserts the new InfoPath template ID value from the migrated form.

Troubleshooting Issues

Common issues faced when reconnecting InfoPath forms with migrated SharePoint workflows fall into three areas:

• Workflows not activating – Double-check configured form template references, rerun migration tools to patch software-level errors
• Errors updating forms – Confirm no existing references before deletion, maintain inactive versions for records management
• Failed associations – Recheck ID values and form names match both migrated templates and target workflows

Thoroughly reviewing workflows in SharePoint designer allows identification and resolution using built-in debugging tools. Test activated processes end-to-end to isolate any remaining issues.

Summary

When migrating SharePoint workflows to new environments, stored connections with InfoPath forms can fail, disrupting processes relying on submitted data triggers.

Key steps for reconnecting InfoPath forms after migration include:

• Identifying migrated template details like name strings and ID codes
• Updating SharePoint workflows via SharePoint Designer associations
• Testing activations post-migration to validate correct reconnects

Following these instructions ensures administrators can reliably relink InfoPath forms to migrated SharePoint workflows for consistent behavior post-migration.