Don't want to send template via e-mail and other things

[Alan Cossey]

Please tell me where I have gone wrong!
I am setting up a customer (company #1) to receive data via an Infopath form
from another company (#2). I have created a template on my own PC and
published it to a network share. Double-clicking the template creates a form,
which can be filled in OK and e-mailed. This is a simulation of what will
happen at #2 when we have set them up. The idea is that both #1 and #2 will
have a copy of the template on their PC's and that #1 will create forms from
it, sending the form to #2 for them to import into an Access database (that
bit works OK. Long live Access.)

However,

1) I am not sure whether #2 will have Outlook 2007, so to simulate them
using some other e-mail program, I want to turn off Infopath e-mail forms in
Outlook 2007 on my PC. This I did, unticking the checkbox in
"Tools/Options/Other/Advanced Options/Enable InfoPath E-Mail Forms", yet when
I click File/Send to E-Mail Recipient in the InfoPath form, my InfoPath form
is embedded in the new Outlook 2007 e-mail message. Why? I thought unticking
the checkbox turned this behaviour off and would force the sending of the
completed form as an attachment. I have tried closing Outlook and InfoPath
and even rebooting the PC, but there is no change. I am on Office 2007 SP1.

2) With the InfoPath form obstinately embeded in the e-mail message, I get a
Mail Options pane appear on the right side of the e-mail. One option is to
have an Editable form and to choose whether to Include form template or not.
Clearing the checkbox and then sending the email to myself sends an e-mail of
275KB in size. When the e-mail arrives in my Inbox the e-mail is now only
125KB according to Outlook. Where did 150KB go? When I open the e-mail up, I
find the InfoPath form embedded in the e-mail (aagghhh!!, I didn't want that)
and it tells me there is an attachment (Form1.xml) of only 11KB, which
presumably is what is appearing in the body of the e-mail.

1) How do I actually turn off Infopath forms in Outlook 2007 SP1?
2) How do I avoid sending the template each time? I only want to send the
11KB form not the template as well at a total of 125KB/275KB each time.

Many thanks to anyone who can put me straight on this.

 

[BobCh]

Do you know what email client is available at #2? You may want to
think about system requirements for this approach.

Another option is to host the form in MOSS ($$$$) and expose the site
to company #2 ($$$$ for MS external connector license).

You could also build some Access util that sends the data back to you
for processing.

/bac

 

[Alan Cossey]

Bob,
Apparently they (Company #2) are getting some new computers today. Company
#1 is recommending to them that they install Outlook 2007 so hopefully they
will do that.

As for MOSS, the thing I am trying to avoid is that the template be sent
with the form once the form is completed. How come I am getting Infopath
forms embedded in my Outlook 2007 e-mail even though I have turned that
option off (as far as I can tell). I have done the work to get the data out
of the completed form and into Access 2007. I am just trying to stop the
template from being sent and making the e-mails many times larger than they
need to be.

Cheers,

Alan Cossey

 

[Clay Fox]

Hey Alan.

I see a couple issues with the architecture you have proposed.

InfoPath only works with the coresponding version of office so They would
either need to have both 2003 or both 2007 to enable an email submit.

Unless you include the template in the email they will not be able to open
the received form.

Each XML file contains a reference to the template so it can be rendered. I
guess if you can keep it in exactly the same path on each and every computer
it may work. I have not tried this.

Ideally you have a server or share which is accessible by both parties and
they can open and submit documents as needed.

I know of a beta test where forms are being hosted online and you can
subscribe to have a form available on the internet and it will populate a SQL
database. Then you would just set up an interface to pull data from the
online table.

Contact me here if you would like to know more.
http://www.infopathdev.com/members/clayfox.aspx

--
Thanks

Clay Fox

Qdabra Software
http://www.qdabra.com

InfoPathDev.Com
The Largest InfoPath Forum in the World
http://www.infopathdev.com

 

[Alan Cossey]

Hello Clay,
Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate both you and Bob replying.

The architecture I have proposed may not be optimal, I agree. Certainly it
is not scalable. However, there will be just one PC from Company #1 using the
form (receipt via e-mail and using Access 2007 to bung the data into their
database) and, I think, about 3 PC's, at Company #2 where they will be
entering the data into the form in the first place. Since this is a fairly
simple set up, I think I am still happy to use "exactly the same path on
each.. computer", i.e. I can set up a network share, e.g. a J drive, for both
companies.

Since Company #1 and Company #2 will both have the template in the same
path, it ought to work. Trying it on my PC and Company #1's PC it does. The
only thing that is causing problems is this sending of the template. Mind you
I note now that the size of the template is only about 30KB so with the form
itself at 11KB, that only comes to 41KB in total. It would therefore seem
that the embedded form in Outlook 2007 is the cause of the large e-mail size
(125KB or 275KB, depending on whether I am looking in my Inbox or Sent
folder), which is naff. Perhaps if Company #2 doesn't use Outlook 2007 or can
turn off Infopath e-mail forms properly, then the e-mail (with attachment)
will be a sensible size. Do you have any idea what gets sent if the person
filling in the data on the form tries clicking File/Send to mail recipient if
they are not using Outlook 2007, e.g. Outlook Express and Windows Mail (or
whatever son of Outlook Express is called)? Presumably it is just a ordinary
e-mail with an attachment??? I have Outlook 2007 on my two PC's and Company
#1 have Outlook 2007 on all theirs as well so am unable to try it out. That
was why I was trying to disable Infopath e-mail forms in my Outlook 2007 (but
not succeeding). I notice that sending a read only snapshot is large (158KB
in my case), it being an HTML format e-mail in Outlook 2007.

 

[Clay Fox]

If it does not pan out, another low tech, but effective solution is to have a
PC at Company 1 that is dedicated for their use or a server with terminal
services and have them use Remote Desktop or VNC and port through your
firewall and they could fill out the form locally and submit to Access
themselves.

At Company 2
They click on a an icon, You can have the login and autostart of the form
automatic. they complete, submit, and log out
--
Thanks

Clay Fox

Qdabra Software
http://www.qdabra.com

InfoPathDev.Com
The Largest InfoPath Forum in the World
http://www.infopathdev.com

 

[Alan Cossey]

Good thinking, Batman. I'll bear that in mind.