10.1. What It Means to Publish an InfoPath Form
As mentioned previously InfoPath forms are made up of multiple XML-type files, creating the form templates you design. When you publish a form, you are going to place the template in a shared location that can be:
In a shared local area network folder
On a Web server
In a SharePoint library: Windows SharePoint Services is software created by Microsoft to enable companies to create collaborative Web sites. These Web sites include areas for: document libraries, events, various lists, tasks, and much more. The additional areas and publishing to SharePoint are discussed in detail in Chapter 17, "Working with InfoPath and Windows SharePoint Services."
10.1.1. Differentiating Forms to Fill from Their Templates
When the user fills out a form based off a template, that form is then saved separately. But it is still based on the original form template. One of the really cool things about this is that when the template is modified, the forms based on that template are updated as well. This makes it extremely easy to modify and update published forms.
10.1.2. Ways to Distribute InfoPath Forms
Once the template has been placed where it is accessible to users, there are different ways that users can fill out the forms. The ways to fill out InfoPath forms depend on where you published the forms, because a form must have access to the template it was based on. So, you can have users access the form:
On a shared network drive
Using a Web server
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