SharePoint 2007: The Definitive Guide

Document Information Panel

The Document Information Panel is a new feature introduced in Office 2007. It provides users with a form that is displayed inside the client application, and it allows the user to enter metadata about the document. It is available in Microsoft Office Word 2007, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, and Microsoft Office Excel 2007.

InfoPath 2007 can autogenerate the document information panel for a SharePoint content type. The fields in the panel are based on the columns of the associated content type. The panel can be customized with an InfoPath 2007 template for validating and customizing the look and feel of the form presented in the client application.

To demonstrate the development of a document information panel, we will begin with creating a sample content type.

Creating a Sample Content Type

To create a content type:

1. Navigate to the Site collection administration page.

2. Select "Site content types" under Galleries and click Create.

3. Enter a name for the content type; for this demo, let's call it "Demo Content Type."

4. Under the "Select parent content type from" category, choose Document Content Types.

5. Under Parent Content Type, choose Document.

6. Under "Put this site content type into," leave the default option selected and click OK.

7. To add custom columns to the sample content type, select "Demo content type" in the Site Content Type Gallery page.

8. To add columns to the sample content type, select "Add from existing site columns" under Columns. Figure 20-16 depicts the "Add Columns ...