Publishing Infopath forms online...accessible?

[darrel]

We're at the very early stages of exploring some infopath options.

We're going to be installing MOSS soon and it looks like Infopath + MOSS
have the ability to allow you to make an electronic form and publish
publicly online allowing anyone to fill it out.

It looks great in a presentation, but was wondering if anyone else has done
this and what kind of results they got.

My main concern is accessibility, given that ASP.net 1.1 had some serious
issues, as did Sharepoint '03.

Mainly:

- do form elements have proper labels?
- is the HTML semantic and proper?
- is it browser agnostic?
- does validation work sans javascript?
- does the page work overall sans javascript?
- is there multi-language support?
- is the document resizable in the browser without breaking the
layout? (Font sizes, etc.)

I also see that IP forms inside of IP (the desktop client) have nice 'help'
pane that can be used. When publishing online, does IP have any built in
help/assistance type tools?

Ultimately, we're hoping that some of our Word/PDF static forms can be
eventually moved into infopath, however, being a .gov, we need to try to
adhere to accessibility issues as best we can.

-Darrel

 

[S.Y.M. Wong-A-Ton]

You can read more about the accessibility features in MOSS here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepointserver/HA101737251033.aspx?pid=CH100948721033

- is it browser agnostic?

While Forms Server is not browser agnostic, it has support for both IE and
FireFox, and a few other browsers. Read more here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepointserver/HA101945391033.aspx?pid=CL100626951033

- does validation work sans javascript?
- does the page work overall sans javascript?

Browser-enabled forms use JavaScript.

I'd encourage you to go take a look on the office website to find more
information on your accessibility requirements.

 

[darrel]

While Forms Server is not browser agnostic, it has support for both IE and

FireFox, and a few other browsers. Read more here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/sharepointserver/HA101945391033.aspx?pid=CL100626951033

Does MOSS = Forms server? Or is that a separate product we'd need to
purchase?

Browser-enabled forms use JavaScript.

Meaning javascript only? If so, then these are fairly useless for us,
unfortunately.

-Darrel

 

[darrel]

JavaScript only? I'm not sure what you mean. Once you've designed and

created an InfoPath form to be browser-enabled, you do not have much
control
over what it produces in its source, that is, HTML and JavaScript.
JavaScript
needs to be used for client-side validation, otherwise you would need
constant postbacks to the server whenever a field needs to be validated.

We need that. To meet accessibility guidlines, we can't depend on javascript
validation. Of course, for data integrity, you can't rely on javascript
validation either, so I assume infopath forms can be validated server side
just like most .net controls?

If so, can you explicitly turn off javascript validation? The problem is
that of the forms online I've seen, they use javascript pop-up windows to
display error messages which can cause problems for folks using things like
screen readers.

Forms Server will save you time when creating forms, but you need to
carefully weigh its advantages against the disadvantages. If your
organization already purchased MOSS, it would not hurt to explore its
possibilities. But as with many software products, if you want flexibility
and have many requirements you've got to keep under tight control such as
accessibility for gov-hosted forms, roll your own code and build your own
forms.

That's probably good advice, but we're probably never going to be able to
build a product on that level. We really need something that staff can get
trained on to create forms rather than having to have IT build them. That
was the appeal of infopath.

We're getting MOSS regardless, so we'll take a closer look once we get it
and compare it against the competition.

Thanks for the advice!

-Darrel

 

[S.Y.M. Wong-A-Ton]

so I assume infopath forms can be validated server side

just like most .net controls?

I'm not familiar with the internal workings of Forms Services, but do know
that MOSS is based on ASP.NET.

If so, can you explicitly turn off javascript validation?

I do not think it will work with JavaScript disabled, but it is definitely
something you could try out when you have MOSS installed, since I have not
yet tried this out. Or perhaps one of the folks at Microsoft will jump in and
tell you more...

they use javascript pop-up windows to
display error messages which can cause problems for folks using things like
screen readers.

Yes, I'm a bit familiar with accessibility issues. InfoPath usually displays
a red border around fields that contain validation errors. I believe this
also works in browser-enabled forms. But again, it's best to test it out once
you have MOSS.

We really need something that staff can get
trained on to create forms rather than having to have IT build them.

InfoPath is relatively quick and easy to learn if you do not want to do
complex things. Also, you'll have the added benefit of workflow if your
organization needs to go up that path. And do not forget that we will be here
to help you out if you ever get stuck building your forms.

We're getting MOSS regardless, so we'll take a closer look once we get it
and compare it against the competition.

Good luck making your decision!

Thanks for the advice!

My pleasure!