I next went into the Library Settings found in the Settings group of the Library ribbon. I next create a new document library named LessonsLeaned. I will not go through the steps here on how to create custom lists because I assume that you know how to do that. To begin, I first create the lookup tables as custom lists. Just like I created lookup columns and referential integrity links between lists last week, I can do the same thing between lists and a document library. The table on the right shows the additional metadata I want to add to a basic SharePoint document library. (These were used in the last couple of weeks to illustrate calculated columns and referential integrity between lists.) I will use the three tables on the left (Projects, Status, and Lesson Types) as lookup lists. The figure below shows the schema for a simple four table database to track lessons learned for a company. Therefore, this is not a preferred solution for forms that I want the general public to use.īefore I begin working on the form, I need to define a few lists and libraries. Of course, one of the immediately obvious downsides of this technique is that all Word form users must have Microsoft Word on their local machine to open and fill in the form. So for this week, I’ll check out the possibilities in Word so at least I can later compare this alternative to some of the other commercial products.

While Word based forms may not provide the functionality that you are familiar with from using InfoPath, you can create basic forms that even reference data in other SharePoint lists and build workflows to support the forms using SharePoint Designer. In the meantime, another often forgotten alternative is to create your forms in Microsoft Word. I’ve not taken a look at either of these two products yet, but if I can get my hands on a trial of either of them, I’ll let you know what I think.

There are a couple of commercial alternatives to InfoPath such as K2 or Nintex.

If you have the typical form application, you may think that it will be replaced within the next ten years anyway so why not use InfoPath for now. Sure they promised to support InfoPath as it currently exists until 2024 which may seem a long ways off. Microsoft has announced that InfoPath is at the end of it’s life.

Text form fields word 2013