Mobile InfoPath Forms

InfoPath is a Microsoft Office application used for designing and filling electronic forms containing structured data in XML format. The product includes two separate applications: InfoPath Designer for creating forms and InfoPath Filler for filling and submitting forms. The Formotus client app (Forms Central, free in your favorite app store) is like an InfoPath Filler app for mobile devices.

InfoPath Designer features

• Office ribbon and WYSIWYG pane for laying out controls, much like using Word
• Fields pane for viewing and changing the data structure in a folder hierarchy
• Rules on controls for manipulating data and building in business logic
• Separate views that can act as pages in a long form or, with Formotus, as different interfaces for different devices
• Data connections that let forms connect to SharePoint and other backend data centers.

Formotus enables you to create sophisticated forms in InfoPath Designer and deploy them to mobile devices as custom mobile business apps.

Below is a screenshot of InfoPath Designer showing a Work Order form view optimized for tablets. (Click to enlarge.)

Download the Microsoft InfoPath 2010 Product Guide

Finding InfoPath

First check your installed Microsoft Office programs to see if you already have it. InfoPath 2007 was bundled with Office 2007 Ultimate, Professional Plus,  and Enterprise editions. InfoPath 2010 is only bundled in Office 2010 Professional Plus, which is only sold through volume licensing (though you may be able to download a 60-day free trial). InfoPath 2010 is available for purchase from Microsoft and from other online stores for around $200.

Note: You only need one copy of InfoPath installed on one machine to create and modify all your mobile InfoPath forms. If you want people on PCs to collaborate in using the same InfoPath forms as your mobile users, then you’ll need more copies of InfoPath.

Learning InfoPath

No knowledge of any programming language is required to use InfoPath. Because it is a Microsoft Office program that’s been around for a decade there are all kinds of good learning resources available.

We recommend starting with the following two pages to learn to use InfoPath:

Getting started with InfoPath: A short list of things to do and not to do

InfoPath tips and tricks

What is InfoPath used for?

InfoPath is used for creating forms to be filled out electronically on a PC. These can be very simple forms that submit by email, or they can be highly complex forms with multiple data connections for querying and submitting data in real time. Formotus enables InfoPath forms to run on mobile devices rather than PCs.

Is InfoPath a programming environment for developing applications?

Not for Formotus customers. InfoPath supports programming with custom code but Formotus does not, so there is no coding involved in Formotus mobile InfoPath solutions.

Is InfoPath hard to learn?

InfoPath is more powerful than simple, so there is a learning curve. Like in other Office programs such as Excel, it’s easy to create something simple and much harder to create something complex. We encourage customers new to InfoPath to let Formotus or a partner create their first form for them, but most customers end up learning to do their own updates and additional forms.

Are InfoPath forms in a proprietary format? What is an XSN file?

Unlike other Office file formats, InfoPath files are entirely non-proprietary. Form templates are saved as .xsn files, which are really just like zipped folders (you can rename to .cab and open the file with free utilities). Inside you find regular XML and XSL files along with assorted image and resource files, all using open standards.

Can InfoPath forms run in a browser?

Yes, if your SharePoint server has InfoPath Forms Services enabled or you are using SharePoint Online as part of Office 365.

Why not run InfoPath forms in a browser? What value does Formotus add?

Using InfoPath forms in a browser can be a great solution for office workers with PCs that don’t have InfoPath Filler installed. In fact some of our customers do use browser-based forms in the office and Formotus forms in the field. For mobile workers using iPads and other devices the browser solution is less than ideal. The two main reasons customers choose Formotus instead are:

• Robust offline capabilities when no data connection is available. Multiple drafts of multiple forms can be saved locally and queued to submit when a connection is available. Data can be cached on the device so it’s available when needed.  Browser-based forms depend on a constant connectivity that in the real world is often not available.
• Tight integration with device hardware. Formotus lets mobile users snap photos into forms, capture signatures on touch screens, capture GPS location information, and more. Browser-based forms can’t take advantage of device capabilities this way.