Office 2003 XML

Using InfoPath Design Mode

By now you’ve probably noticed that this chapter is heavily biased toward the creation of solutions by hand. One of the reasons for this is that you can only use the full power of XSLT when creating a solution if you do it by hand, rather than through InfoPath design mode. Provided that you understand how InfoPath establishes implicit bindings from your stylesheet, you should be able to avoid potential pitfalls by writing your stylesheet in such a way that only the bindings you intend to create get created. You can do it, whether it means avoiding certain arrangements of XSLT instructions or invoking xd:disableEditing="yes" in the right places.

Tip

The design mode of InfoPath is well documented in InfoPath’s online Help system. The focus of this chapter has been to expose the technical details of InfoPath solutions, particularly where existing documentation is lacking, such as how InfoPath interprets view stylesheets to establish node bindings. For that reason, this section provides only a cursory overview of InfoPath design mode and happily refers you to the online Help system for a more in-depth investigation.

That said, there are a number of reasons InfoPath in design mode may be useful to you:

• As a tool for learning how valid solutions can be created

• As a form design tool for developers or IT workers who aren’t as XML-savvy

• As an expedient way to create forms, given an existing XML schema, instance document, or web service

• As an expedient way to configure ...