Beginning SharePoint® 2010: Building Business Solutions with SharePoint

Chapter 12. Forms Management

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Information collection techniques with InfoPath 2010

• How to create and InfoPath form template

• How to create a reusable template part

• How to connect to external data using InfoPath

An important aspect of working in a business environment and collaborating with others is the collection of information. A common challenge is to identify ways to make this process more efficient and effective. One solution is to collect information in a form that contains preconfigured fields for the data you want to receive. This ensures that all the required information is collected, and it also helps consolidate information which can be used for comparison or calculations. For example, by collecting feedback from your customers on their satisfaction level with your services, you can identify trends or averages in their responses. If the average of all customer satisfaction ratings is 4.5 out of 5, and a customer submits a rating of 3 out of 5, it is easy to see that the response is below average. If all customer feedback was submitted verbally or via a less structured format such as email, it would be more difficult to compare results in a calculated manner.

Forms simplify the task of gathering important information. In Microsoft Office, you can use InfoPath Designer to create electronic forms that you can then publish to team members and others through SharePoint. InfoPath is straightforward enough that nonprogrammers can use it for a simple ...