At what point does it need to "know" the new, case number? Does it need to
assign that number as soon as the InfoPath form is opened or, can it wait
until the form is "submitted" to a back-end process (i.e.: via a WebService).
Also, is the form used by one person or by multiple users within the
organization?
The number is needed when the form is opened. If possible, when the enter key
is used in the case number box, which is the first box on the form. The case
number is also used in another area of form. The form will be used by a few
people.
if so then within sql database, define a column as ID, int(4), select
it as a primary key, uncheck "allow nulls", in the details
section(bottom left of your enterprise manager), set identity as yes,
and increment by 1.
In the design view for a table, set the Field Name as "ID" or whatever
you want to.
For the "ID" column, set the Data Type to AutoNumber.
In the field properties (bottom pane), check the Indexed value, if you
want ID to be primary key then choose Indexed as "Yes (No Duplicates)"
That should do the trick.
I would like to have the same function in InfoPath. I created an issue
tracking form and I would like to have an autonumber generated for the ID
field in this form. I am not using MS Access to store all the data entered in
this form, instead, this form will be published to Sharepoint and users will
be entering data from there. How can I assign the next sequential number to
my ID form everytime when the form is loaded?
You need to set up a web service somewhere to generate these unique ID's.
The logic for that web service should be very simple: open some text file,
read off the number from it, give it to the client, increment the number,
write back to the file. Be careful with synchronization and locking, though.
Add that web service as a data connection to your InfoPath form.
So I understand the concept behind this Alex, but since I am a newby, steps
would be very helpful. Steps creating the code to do this, where to put the
code, or the text file, etc etc.
If someone can please take the time to show this step by step, that would be
most helpful!