Microsoft Infopath Tutorial and Online Training Course

Editing Posted Data

If the form you’re filling out is connected to a database or Web service, then you’ll use the Submit button on the form to submit the data you enter.

Once you click the Submit button, the database is updated, either with a new record containing the data you entered, or with new values, if you’re modifying an existing record. Generally, forms connected to a database or Web service have several views, including one for searching for records you want to modify. This way, you can use the form to quickly edit existing data.

If the form isn’t connected to a database or Web service, you can modify the values that have been saved in the .XML file by using the Fill out a Form task pane to open the saved file. Edit the contents of the fields, and then resave the form:

• To overwrite the form, click the Save button on the Standard toolbar, or open the File menu and select Save.
• To save your changes as a new form, select Save As from the File menu. In the Save As dialog, enter a new file name and click Save.

Sharing Forms through Outlook

If you have Microsoft Outlook 2003 installed, you can share a form with other users by sending it in an e-mail. If the other users have InfoPath installed, they can edit the data; otherwise, they can view the data collected by the form in the body of the e-mail.

To e-mail a form:

1. Open the form.
2. From the File menu, select Send to Mail Recipient.

E-mail fields and a toolbar appear over the form:

1. Enter the recipients’ e-mail addresses into the To and Cc fields.
2. Enter the subject into the Subject field.
3. If you like, type a message into the Introduction field.
4. Click Send.

The form is sent as an attachment to the e-mail, with the form data displayed in the body. If the recipients have InfoPath installed on their computers, they can open the attached file and edit in InfoPath. While they’ll see the various fields contained in the form in the body of the e-mail, they won’t be able to edit the data.

Users who don’t have InfoPath installed will see the data contained in the form, similar to the following:

They can print the form by printing the e-mail.

Microsoft InfoPath Tutorial: Section 3 Review

In this section, you learned about:

• Completing a form in InfoPath
• Saving a form
• Exporting form data to Excel
• Exporting form data to the web
• Editing posted data
• Sharing forms through Outlook