InfoPath Form Services
“As part of the update shared around the Evolution of SharePoint and the next SharePoint Server on-premises release, we are also updating the timelines for removal of InfoPath Forms Services components of SharePoint and SharePoint Online. Specifically, InfoPath Forms Services will be included in the next on-premises release of SharePoint Server 2016, as well as being fully supported in Office 365 until further notice. Customers will be able to confidently migrate to SharePoint Server 2016 knowing that their InfoPath forms will continue to work in their on-premises environments, as well as in Office 365.
The InfoPath 2013 application remains the last version to be released and will work with SharePoint Server 2016.”
Microsoft has just announced support for InfoPath and Forms Services in SharePoint 2016. This will bring relief to a lot of existing SharePoint customers, as upgrading to the next release of SharePoint looked to be a significant challenge.
All InfoPath forms developed across the business would need to be redeveloped in Java Script or out of the box lists. Some organisations have hundreds of custom InfoPath forms that integrated with backend systems through web services.
InfoPath has some very strong features
- Submit data to existing business systems When you design a browser-compatible form template, you can create data connections to Web services or other external data sources. This allows you to submit data to existing business systems, enterprise applications, or corporate databases. For example, a sales department can design a form that can submit sales leads and customer information to an existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
- Query data from existing business systems It is also possible to query data in existing business systems, enterprise applications, or corporate databases. For example, when users open a form based on your form template, you might want data from an external data source to appear in the name and address fields on the form. This enables you to take advantage of existing organizational data and simplifies the process of filling out a form.
- Add workflow to forms You can add a workflow to the form template that is stored in a library. This enables you to consistently manage common business processes. For example, as a manager, you can use an approval workflow to route an expense report form through a list of approvers. Approvers can approve or reject the expense report form, reassign the approval task, or request changes to the form. In InfoPath, users click commands on the File menu to participate in the workflow. On the server, they can point to the name of the form in the library, click the arrow that appears, and then click Workflows to participate in the workflow.
Contact Codec-dss today to find out more from our SharePoint Experts- 01- 603 4300 or info@codec.ie