Understanding Relationship Between Infopath And Sharepoint For Better Workflow Management

What is InfoPath and How It Integrates with SharePoint

Microsoft InfoPath is a software application used to design, deploy, fill and submit electronic forms with a rich formatting capabilities. The filled forms can be saved, emailed or submitted to a database. InfoPath gets tightly integrated with Microsoft SharePoint allowing organizations to build customized data collection solutions and workflow-enabled forms.

Major areas where InfoPath integrates with SharePoint include:

Publishing InfoPath forms as web-based forms to SharePoint libraries and lists
Connecting data sources and submitting data from InfoPath forms to SharePoint lists and libraries
Designing customized SharePoint list forms using InfoPath
Using SharePoint workflows to control routing, approval and processing of InfoPath form submissions

InfoPath relies on SharePoint for storage, collaboration and content management capabilities, while SharePoint benefits from InfoPath for custom layouts, rich data inputs and distributed data collection abilities across an organization.

Table of Contents

Key Features Enabled Through InfoPath and SharePoint Integration

Custom Forms Design – InfoPath provides complete control over form appearance, fields, rules and formatting while SharePoint manages form publication and data storage.
Multiple Input Sources – Data can be collected through browser-enabled InfoPath forms published to SharePoint from variety of sources including SharePoint users, external partners or website visitors.
Collaboration – People across different locations and departments can simultaneously fill and submit forms, with submission data seamlessly flowing into centralized SharePoint databases.
Process Automation – SharePoint workflows can be configured to trigger on form submission to enable business process automation across the organization.

Technical Architecture of InfoPath and SharePoint Integration

The InfoPath client provides interface for designing forms, while SharePoint server manages form deployment and connectivity using following components:

InfoPath Designer – It is the design tool used to build InfoPath template (.xsn) containing form fields, rules, views and custom code.
Form Library – It hosts the published .xsn form template files and associated data connections to enable browser-based submissions.
Form Services – This is server-side component to render the XSN forms and apply rules for data validation and submission into SharePoint data sources.
Database Connections – Data adapters that enable InfoPath forms hosted on SharePoint to submit/retrieve data from associated SharePoint lists, libraries or external data sources.

Key Benefits of Using InfoPath Forms in SharePoint

Combining capabilities of InfoPath and SharePoint allows organizations to create structured business forms driving improved efficiency through process automation. Some key benefits are outlined below:

Enhanced Forms Experience

InfoPath enables greater flexibility in form layout and appearance using tables, themes, pictures, rules, calculated fields and controls such as dropdown, radio buttons, date pickers etc. This improved forms experience increases engagement and drives adoption across the organization resulting in wider data collection.

Reduced Manual Tasks

Automated routing, rule-based workflows, alerts generation and data submissions configured through InfoPath forms enable seamless information flow across departments. This eliminates time consuming manual coordination resulting in optimized business processes.

Consistent Data

Data validation constraints, computations and formatting applied through InfoPath ensures consistent and accurate data capture in SharePoint databases across the organization. This enables reliable reporting and informed decision making.

Enhanced Productivity

Self service data submissions via InfoPath forms empower end-users to update SharePoint records without intermediate IT support. This boosts user productivity through process decentralization and automation.

Lower Operational Costs

The automated workflows, integrations and rule-based form processing reduces organizational dependence on manual effort; thereby lowering operational costs and time required to route information between teams.

Creating and Publishing InfoPath Forms to SharePoint

InfoPath provides intuitive drag-drop based interface along with data connections and controls to quickly build electronic forms for robust data collection. The designed forms can be natively published to SharePoint document libraries for enterprise-wide availability. Below are key steps for creating and publishing InfoPath forms:

Design InfoPath Template

Open InfoPath designer and choose type of form template – browser, client or combined
Add controls and structurally layout sections/fields in the form using tables/containers
Insert labelled textboxes, dropdown lists, date pickers and checkboxes for capturing inputs
Configure Submit options and apply field-level validations to enforce correctness
Preview and debug the form template in InfoPath designer environment

Connect Data Sources

Point form template to a SharePoint list as primary data connection to enable storage of submissions
Configure secondary data connections to lookup values from other SharePoint lists or libraries
Define relationship behavior and filters between the connected data sources
Map fields from InfoPath form to columns in target SharePoint list to enable data submittals

Add Workflows (Optional)

Design SharePoint designer workflows that trigger on submission of InfoPath forms
Incorporate approvals, email alerts and business logic into the workflows for post-submission automation
Associate workflows events like ‘on form submission’ or ‘on field change’ that initiate processing
Debug and publish the InfoPath-integrated workflows into SharePoint platform

Publish to Form Library

Save the InfoPath design as a form template file with .xsn extension
Publish this .xsn template into a SharePoint form library along with preview and description
Provide access permissions to target audience who can fill and submit the browser-enabled forms

This enables enterprise users to access and submit the live InfoPath forms from within SharePoint, with connectivity benefiting data collection workflows between teams and partners.

Managing InfoPath Forms Lifecycle and Versioning

Collaborative nature of SharePoint allows multiple form designers to operate in parallel – creating, testing and publishing new versions of InfoPath forms. This requires structured InfoPath forms lifecycle management using following SharePoint capabilities:

Individual Sandboxes

Provision separate SharePoint site collections as development sandboxes for each form designer to iteratively build/test enhancements without impacting live forms or submissions data.

Form Version Tracking

Maintain Check-in/Check-out version control in document libraries publishing InfoPath forms to track changes between updates and roll-back if needed.

Multiple Stage Publishing

Configure multiple target SharePoint environments like Dev -> Test -> Production for validated InfoPath forms. Automate promotion between stages using Release Management workflows to control rollout.

Backwards Compatibility

Retain compatibility between new InfoPath versions and existing published forms. This ensures current form submissions remain valid avoiding data or workflow interruptions after upgrade.

Archival Policy

Define data retention rules to archive InfoPath forms submissions from previous years while maintaining active documentation for current year. This optimizes storage overhead.

Deprecation Alerts

Notify form owners ahead of any planned deprecation or retirement of InfoPath forms published in production. This provides sufficient heads-up for switching over to newer versions.

Using these governance mechanisms allows streamlined management of InfoPath forms lifecycle – seamlessly progressing updated design versions through the environments till deployment in SharePoint production for business users.

Using InfoPath Forms to Improve SharePoint Workflows

InfoPath forms provide an intuitive portal for business users to submit and process information requests in a structured manner. When combined with SharePoint designer workflows, this drives significant improvements in collaboration and business process efficiency. Some typical examples include:

New Employee Onboarding

HR initiates workflow on form submittal which routes access requests to IT and facilities
Parallel workflow tracks procurement of assets and office space for the new employee
On finish, automated emails are sent out to the employee guiding through onboarding

Customer Complaint Resolution

Online ‘Complaints’ form captures critical case details from customer
Workflows categorize issue criticality and assign to response teams
Escalation rules setup reminders if service levels breach on open issues
Confirmation report triggered back to customer on complaint closure

Inspection Tracking

Inspectors fill observations through tablet-based InfoPath forms on the field
Office workflow compiles observations, shares with sites owners and tracks action plans
Follow-up inspection scheduled through calendar appointments on pending action items

Using these InfoPath enabled workflows eliminates tedious manual steps allowing teams to collaborate smoothly on business processes through automated handovers, reminders and status reports.

Integrating InfoPath Forms with SharePoint List Forms

SharePoint maintains default forms presenting the Add, Edit and View item modes for all lists and libraries. InfoPath provides option to fully customize these out-of-box forms for enhanced data submissions aligned to business needs.

Customizing New Item Form

Create InfoPath browser-enabled form, insert controls for all SharePoint columns, configure data connections to list and publish as NewForm to override and enhance default insert experience.

Customizing Edit Item Form

Publish customized InfoPath EditForm to replace default item update form in SharePoint. Additional validations, formatting, workflows and data insertions can be defined specific to edit mode.

Enriching Display Form

Further improve default SharePoint view form using InfoPath by embedding recursive hierarchy views, lookup data calculations, images and hyperlinks to provide richer context around core submission record.

Sample Scenarios

Department ticketing system with custom fields, notifications and rules around issues assignment and escalation
Conference room scheduling solution with calendar integrations, equipment booking and catering requests
Organization chart builder for visually viewing reporting hierarchy and contact information

Thus InfoPath forms enhance default SharePoint list modes to deliver structured solutions for managing business data and driving automated workflows.

Sample Code for Submitting InfoPath Data to SharePoint

Below sample code demonstrates how to submit InfoPath form data to SharePoint list using in-built submit action on click of a button. Key steps include:

1. Configure SharePoint List Connection

“`
//Primary Connection to publish template and submit form data
dc:SharePointLibrary =”http://server/sites/dev/lists/employees/Forms/template.xsn”
“`

2. Map InfoPath Form Fields to SharePoint Columns

“`
//Map InfoPath controls
txtEmpName -> dc:SharePointLibrary -> EmployeesList -> Title
txtDept -> dc:SharePointLibrary -> EmployeesList -> Department
txtSalary -> dc:SharePointLibrary -> EmployeesList -> Salary
“`

3. Write Submit Button Click Code

“`
//Button click event handler
function btnSubmit_Click(event)
{
//Submit form data to Employees SharePoint List
thisXDocument.submit();
}
“`

This enables capturing InfoPath form inputs and persisting values into corresponding SharePoint list item. Additional scripts can serialize submissions into complex workflows covering approvals, email alerts and external integrations.

Tips for Optimizing InfoPath and SharePoint Integration

Some useful tips for enhancing integration between InfoPath and SharePoint include:

Form Activation – Ensure InfoPath form template is activated from list settings for customizing SharePoint forms
Lookup Columns – Use secondary data sources when submitting values from InfoPath into SharePoint lookup columns
Modular Architecture – Break down complex forms into multiple sub-forms for easier reuse across solutions
Version History – Retain older form versions using SharePoint library settings for rollback or auditing needs
Bulk Updates – Configure receiving SharePoint list settings to enable bulk insertions/updates from submitted InfoPath forms
Performance Testing – Stress test InfoPath solutions during development to gauge list thresholds and timeout issues
Error Handling – Incorporate retry logic loops in code for transient error handling during submissions to SharePoint data sources

Additionally choose right deployment model balancing capabilities between InfoPath client and browser forms for optimizing development efforts.