I've Been looking for a solution for weeks. Help please!

[Ryan]

Hello All,

I am attempting to create an InfoPath 2007 Form that will submit asset
information to an SQL database. The form works fine when opened within
InfoPath. However, I would like the form to be uploaded to a sharepoint
library, and have users who do not have infopath installed to be able to fill
it out in a browser, and have it submit the data to the sql database. In
summary:

1. Uploading form to sharepoint
2. Users can open off sharepoint site
3. Once opened, users without sharepoint installed can submit information
4. Information is submitted to SQL database

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Mark Hatfield]

I think that when a form is opened from a document library on a SharePoint
Site, the user will have to have a copy of InfoPath installed on their
computer.

Quoting from Page 306 of the book titled "Beginning InfoPath 2003":

"Remember that although you upload the InfoPath form up onto the site, users
will have to have a copy of Microsoft InfoPath on their local machines." I
do think that this changes in InfoPath 2007.

Mark

 

[Mark Hatfield]

In the last line I meant to say:

I do not think that this changes in InfoPath 2007.

Mark

 

[kc.reddy.2000]

If you are using infopath 2007, u can host ur infopath form on a
sharepoint site gaving Forms server so that the users who does not
have infopath installed on their machines can run ur infopath form
from the browser.

 

[Mark Hatfield]

Can you help answering Ryan's original question?

Mark

 

[Bob C.]

Ryan,

One option that works for me is to use SharePoint Forms libraries and Field
Promotion options in InfoPath. Once the data is in a sharepoint library you
can view data from the main data source, and with wss 3 and IP 2007 you can
even edit some of the values w/in the datasheet view of a form library.

Advanced/Undocumented: From there you can dig into the SQL Content database
and create a view of the userinfo table that is home to the form data with
promoted fields exposed for reporting in Reporting Services, Crystal, etc.

 

[Ryan]

Hi Bob,

You seem to have some great insight on this.

I've been struggling for a week figuring this out. I am very new to both
infopath as well as sharepoint.

WSS is being used, as well as IP 2007.

Are there any posted step by step guides out there?

Would you mind giving me a brief explanation on how to do this?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Bob C.]

I'll see if I can put together a complete blog post. In the mean time, focus
on publishing the form and gettign the promoted values to display.

Also, more info is needed regarding how you want to use the SQL. Do you
want to populate a normalized dabase, or are you only concerned with
reporting, keeping Infopath and to a lesser degree WSS (via promoted fields)
as the data entry mechanism?

Let me know.

 

[Ryan]

I would like the date to be placed in the SQL table especially due to the
query feature. I am using this for company asset information and would like
to be able to query certain specifics.

As for the publishing part, ive had several problems with that. Ive tried
several times, with/without browser enabled features. I am unaware if I am to
try to publish this as a template or upload from my computer directly to the
sharepoint library as a file.

As I said, myself along with a few others have been trying several things,
and there does not seem to be any methods of writing the data into an SQL
table from a browser.

Ill provide any other information you need, this has been a painstaking
process.

I appreciate your help Bob.

 

[Ryan]

For my previous post the first line should read "Data" instead of "Date"