Professional InfoPath 2003

Ian Williams · Pierre Greborio

Apr 2004 · John Wiley & Sons

About this ebook

What is this book about?

Microsoft InfoPath 2003 helps developers tackle forms-based information-gathering with the full range of XML technologies. This book quickly guides experienced Office and XML developers through InfoPath fundamentals, including XML form templates architecture, form definition file structure, available external data sources, and backend services. From there, you delve into validation and updating forms, both during development and as business needs change. Finally, you examine the InfoPath security model, learning to implement and deploy trusted forms.

The second part of this book is an intensive case study covering metadata processing, exporting XML data to Excel for analysis, and much more.

What does this book cover?

Here are just a few of the things you'll learn in this book:

• The development options InfoPath makes available through XML technology
• How to combine various form files into a customized template
• The architecture of an InfoPath form template and the file types you can use in various applications
• Ways to build a form interface using menus or objects on the task pane
• Methods to support users at various levels of experience
• Different means of validating forms and reporting errors
• How to implement digital signatures and other form security measures with InfoPath

Who is this book for?

This book is for experienced corporate developers who have a strong knowledge of XML and related technologies as well as solid experience with Microsoft Office and related applications.

About the author

Ian Williams is an information designer specializing in XML technologies and a software technical writer. He worked in the UK publishing industry before getting involved in information technology at OWL International, developers of one of the first commercial hypertext products. Ian was a product manager there, and later a consultant working with large corporate customers.
Since 1998 Ian has worked independently on technical writing and information design projects for customers like Nokia and Reuters. He lives with his wife in London, England, from which they regularly escape to a house on a beach overlooking the English Channel.

Pierre Greborio is chief software architect of PEWay, an Italian software company providing services and Internet technologies for financial companies.
Born in 1971 in Belgium, he graduated as a telecommunication engineer from the University of Pavia in Italy.
His activity is characterized by a strong passion for technology. He participated in several talks at developer conferences and university workshops and wrote several articles for developer magazines and user groups about Microsoft .NET technologies and Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003. In the beginning of 2003, Pierre was given the award of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for .NET.