Integrating InfoPath and Microsoft Word, the big delusion!

[G. Tarazi]

Well, you can say whatever you want, but once you start integrating that product (Microsoft InfoPath) to the rest of Microsoft Office, and hit a wall, you will get an idea of what I mean.

I don't understand why InfoPath is part of the office family? Neither the end user functionality, nor the background functionality is compatible with office.

I really don't understand Microsoft, why simply not completing the product, why releasing it such uncompleted?

Here is a question, even if I was a great developer, and I am able to write anything from assembly, up to a product such as Microsoft Word, if I had all this experience, will I be able to integrate InfoPath with Word 100%?

The answer is NOOO, I will reach a level of 70% of compatibility; will use tricks to solve another 10%, and the rest 20% just no way!

Today another problem, one year and a half InfoPath developer, one year and a half of problems:

- I have a set of InfoPath forms XML.
- These forms have multiple fields.
- One of the fields is rich text, in other words, XHTML.
- I must create a WordML document from these xml files.

There is no problem with all of that, I had a look at the WordML specs, I wrote the code to combine and extract the xml, etc, etc, etc.

Just one thing I didn't pay attention too, does the bloody WordML support the InfoPath XHTML? Bloody NO!

There is simply no easy solution, and at the end there is just no way to convert this XHTML to WordML without destroying the formatting and loosing some of the images.

Yeh, yeh, yeh, there is a buggy InfoPath toolkit in the folder, ...

Thank you Microsoft; again, that is another example of "Do less with more".

What is more important for you Microsoft, having a project done using your tools, or supporting meaningless internet standards such as XML, XHTML, ZXQUQUBBML, whatever, and having nothing valuable done with your products!

Why simply the rich text is not stored as WordML? Why I don't have the option of that?

I have no problems with Internet Standard, but frankly, I have a project to be done, and if these standards cannot get it done, what is the point of using them?

Just frustrated, again, instead of Wow my customer, I struggle to get the job done.

It's like selling me a car with 2 flat, and one triangular tire, brilliantly looking, but useless.

 

[G. Tarazi]

In addition to demos, what this product can be used for? (InfoPath I mean)

I always criticized people of making fun of Microsoft's products regarding enterprise solutions; here I am today, doing it myself.

How long Microsoft, 10 more years, 20 more years?
"G. Tarazi" <Tarazi (at) LiveTechnologies.Ca> wrote in message Well, you can say whatever you want, but once you start integrating that product (Microsoft InfoPath) to the rest of Microsoft Office, and hit a wall, you will get an idea of what I mean.

I don't understand why InfoPath is part of the office family? Neither the end user functionality, nor the background functionality is compatible with office.

I really don't understand Microsoft, why simply not completing the product, why releasing it such uncompleted?

Here is a question, even if I was a great developer, and I am able to write anything from assembly, up to a product such as Microsoft Word, if I had all this experience, will I be able to integrate InfoPath with Word 100%?

The answer is NOOO, I will reach a level of 70% of compatibility; will use tricks to solve another 10%, and the rest 20% just no way!

Today another problem, one year and a half InfoPath developer, one year and a half of problems:

- I have a set of InfoPath forms XML.
- These forms have multiple fields.
- One of the fields is rich text, in other words, XHTML.
- I must create a WordML document from these xml files.

There is no problem with all of that, I had a look at the WordML specs, I wrote the code to combine and extract the xml, etc, etc, etc.

Just one thing I didn't pay attention too, does the bloody WordML support the InfoPath XHTML? Bloody NO!

There is simply no easy solution, and at the end there is just no way to convert this XHTML to WordML without destroying the formatting and loosing some of the images.

Yeh, yeh, yeh, there is a buggy InfoPath toolkit in the folder, ...

Thank you Microsoft; again, that is another example of "Do less with more".

What is more important for you Microsoft, having a project done using your tools, or supporting meaningless internet standards such as XML, XHTML, ZXQUQUBBML, whatever, and having nothing valuable done with your products!

Why simply the rich text is not stored as WordML? Why I don't have the option of that?

I have no problems with Internet Standard, but frankly, I have a project to be done, and if these standards cannot get it done, what is the point of using them?

Just frustrated, again, instead of Wow my customer, I struggle to get the job done.

It's like selling me a car with 2 flat, and one triangular tire, brilliantly looking, but useless.

 

[T.Coita]

Hi,

I'm not agree with you at 100% if you read the WordML spec It's easy if
you know XML to write a correct XSLT for make you infopath form in word
with all the functonnality of word!

read this:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...52-3547-420a-a412-00a2662442d9&DisplayLang=en

Okay it's not very easy but if you are a programmer you have always had
to make add-in to the program of microsoft!

And you can launch the transformation and word in infopath so remember
:

Comme on dit en francais: "on a rien sans rien" (If your are canadian I
think you understand)

BUT IT'S TRUE THAT MICRSOFT IS STUPID! IT WILL BE THE FIRST THINGS THAT
I MADE (AFTER THE SP1) IF I WAS MICROSOFT !


I hope you understand what I want to explain and sorry for my bad
english!

++

Thierry

 

[Lenore Benefield]

I am finding the concept of InfoPath great, the follow-through... no so much.
I like creating forms with all kinds of feedback, and flexibility... BUT the
limitations are aweful.

For example, I can create an asp page that will collect a large amount of
text (beyond 255 char) and will save to an Access memo field. In InfoPath, I
cannot save to an Access memo field.

I would like to create a "Word Print view" should be easy... again... not so
much. I downloaded the InfoPath SDK, the dlls have to be manually registered.
Took hours to find out how to do that. Once registered, I get MOST of the way
through the wizard... then, I get "abnormal program terminiation" with
mshta.exe. I can't find the solution to that. I, too am getting frustrated
with the "MS tease" great ideas lousy follow-through.

 

[Scott L. Heim [MSFT]]

Hi,

In regard to the "abnormal program termination" error you are seeing with
the wizard, make sure you are manually registering all *3* of the following
DLL files:

- html2xhtml.dll (C:\program Files\Microsoft Office 2003 Developer
Resources\Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 SDK\Tools)
- ImageDecode.dll (C:\program Files\Microsoft Office 2003 Developer
Resources\Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 SDK\Tools\WordPrint)
- WordPrint.dll (C:\program Files\Microsoft Office 2003 Developer
Resources\Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 SDK\Tools\WordPrint)

For the behavior you are seeing with "Memo" fields in an Access database
(and this same behavior would hold true if you were using SQL Server with
"Image", "Binary", etc. data types) you can simply create a web service to
retrieve and update your data and then bind your InfoPath form to the web
service.

I hope this helps!

Scott L. Heim
Microsoft Developer Support

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.