Introduction
People miss a very important fact in SharePoint that is InfoPath was never built for SharePoint to begin with. InfoPath was not originally designed to support SharePoint but modified to become eligible to in a certain way so that forms solutions could be used on SharePoint
InfoPath has limitations that cannot grow with SharePoint and its framework. Microsoft started to look for solutions for its design and forms online. The solution they were looking for were found in SharePoint and some web-based online solutions. Instead of doing it on the desktop, they made it through searching online. This is the exact thing that InfoPath does, it looks for the solutions online.
The Use Infopath Forms In Sharepoint 2010
While you start to customize the SharePoint List/Library using the InfoPath form then you are likely to follow one of the solutions given below:
- By customizing the given list template in SharePoint and InfoPath forms connected with “Item Content-Type”. This can also be used to connect with SharePoint Designer to run the business process with workflows automatically. An example of this can be auto-generated emails.
- Another way is to customize the SharePoint Form Library where you use “Form Content-Type” to store the forms. Users fill the forms in the form library and then submit them back to the form library.
- There are some Advanced solutions which include two types of implementations given below:
- i) The first one is by using data connections – this data can be used from the Database of the company of online data using some web service (.asmx / WCF services), XML, etc.
- ii) The second type is using custom code/sandbox solutions – In this type we write custom codes for different custom events using C#/VB scripts
Some Known Issues And Facts
- There is no InfoPath 2016, but to fill its role in SharePoint 2016 InfoPath 2013 did a fine job. SharePoint 2016 is compatible with InfoPath 2013, which is said to be supported until 2026 but now PowerApps has replaced it.
- Microsoft has provided guidance that the successor to InfoPath is PowerApps, but with caveats: feature parity with InfoPath is not a goal, and InfoPath is still preferred for some workflow which includes offline work and rich XML documents.
- Office 365 supports InfoPath browser forms in SharePoint Online.
- InfoPath browser forms with code do not work on SharePoint Online.
- InfoPath browser forms do not work on mobile devices when SharePoint Online mobile view is enabled.
- There are reports of problems using InfoPath 2013 with Outlook 2016 email.
- InfoPath form in SharePoint Online doesn’t support some web service data connections which are supported in SP 2010 because of the enabling of the loopback protection in the SharePoint online framework. In order to connect to the SharePoint Online web service, you must disable the loopback protection option.
This loopback protection is enabled for security reasons but it limits the InfoPath forms in the Office 365 SharePoint Online. Microsoft has confirmed that this cannot be disabled. You cannot disable it because of security issues. There is an error message when you connect an InfoPath form to a SharePoint Online web service: “An error occurred while connecting to a Web Service” Here are the web services are given below which are supported
lists.asmx
CheckOutFile
CheckInFile
Usergroup.asmx
GetUserCollectionFromGroup
GetUserCollectionFromSite
GetGroupCollectionFromWeb
GetUserPropertyByAccountName
GetCommonManager
GetUserMemberships
GetCommonMemberships
InfoPath 2013 is the latest version and then is replaced with PowerApps
Microsoft has announced that InfoPath will still be supported through 2026, this is a long time in terms of software technology.
For SharePoint Online (Office 365) what does the future looks like, Microsoft’s answers are:
Microsoft Power Apps in place of InfoPath forms (Power Apps are not a complete replacement or alternative to InfoPath forms but yet they are an option and a very popular one)
Microsoft Flow is replacing the SharePoint Designer for workflows and ARC is offering his best services about SharePoint real estate solutions.
Other Considerations
There are more things to think about.
When you are upgrading to the latest SharePoint version, remember to check all your data connections and ensure they work.
Hopefully, this will allow you to migrate your complex InfoPath list to your latest SharePoint version or Online with relative ease.