Microsoft Office

You can use InfoPath to collect business data from the people whom you work with, including your colleagues, partners, suppliers, and customers. For example, you can use InfoPath to create a form template for expense reports for the people in your organization.

InfoPath form templates can be straightforward, simple form templates that are used by several people in a small workgroup. For example, a 10-person sales team can use an InfoPath form to informally collect and share information about sales calls. The data in those forms can be merged into a single summary report that is sent to management each month.

Alternatively, organizations can design highly sophisticated form templates that are connected to existing corporate databases or integrated into existing business systems. For example, the developers in your information technology (IT) department can design an InfoPath form template to manage the expense reporting process for your organization. The form template can include views (view: A form-specific display setting that can be saved with a form template and applied to form data when the form is being filled out. Users can switch between views to choose the amount of data shown in the form.) and business logic features that enable different categories of users to submit the expense report, review it, approve it, and reimburse the submitter.

The following list outlines some of the benefits of using InfoPath:

Wider access to forms If you use InfoPath and a server running InfoPath Forms Services, you can design browser-compatible form templates in InfoPath and enable them for use on internal and external Web sites. This lets you share business forms with a variety of users, including employees, customers, suppliers, and partners. Users aren’t required to have InfoPath installed on their computers to fill out a form, nor are they required to download anything extra from the Web. All users need is access to a browser, such as Windows Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, or Mozilla Firefox. If users do have InfoPath installed on their computers, they can display and fill out the form in InfoPath rather than a browser. You can even design your form template so that users can open it and fill it out by using a mobile device.

Office system integration InfoPath works with a number of other programs and servers in the Microsoft Office system, including Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Office Access. For example, you can design and fill out InfoPath forms in e-mail messages, export form data to worksheets, submit form data to a database, or query data from a SharePoint list. In addition, developers can embed InfoPath forms — without menus, toolbars, or other aspects of the user interface — into custom applications. For more information, see the How InfoPath works with other programs and technologies section later in this article.

Reusable data The data that users enter in an InfoPath form doesn’t have to remain locked inside that form forever; it can be reformatted or reused in a variety of ways. This flexibility enables the developers in your organization to integrate the form data into existing business processes. For example, the data collected in sales reports forms can be used to update your company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This allows people throughout the company to access the data when and where they need it, so that they can make better-informed decisions. With more timely updates on sales numbers, it is easier for other groups, such as operations and finance, to make accurate forecasts of production and costs.

Consistent, accurate data InfoPath includes a number of features that help users avoid data-entry errors and fill out forms more quickly. For example, you can use formulas to automatically calculate mathematical values for users, use conditional formatting (conditional formatting: The process of changing the appearance of a control, including its visibility and read-write state, based on values entered into the form.) to draw the user’s attention to data, or enable the spelling checker so that users can check for spelling errors before submitting their forms. In addition, when users fill out a form, the data that they enter can be checked for data validation (data validation: The process of testing the accuracy of data; a set of rules you can apply to a control to specify the type and range of data that users can enter.) errors. If your form template is connected to a database or Web service, users won’t be able to submit data until they correct these errors. This helps you ensure that the data that you collect is accurate and error-free, and that it conforms to whatever standards you specify. The following illustration shows how a data validation error appears to the person who is filling out the form.