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Speaker??: Sonya Koptyev, Greg Lindhorst

After the announcement of the InfoPath discontinuation, it was expected to have a session quite full, and it was indeed the case. Many people seeking for information about the future of Forms.

4 main scenarios were presented.

Excel Surveys, with which questionnaire can be designed and proposed to the users for filling. For each question, a column is added in the Excel worksheet. The different data types are supported and the editor is simple to used.

A brand new feature, which was apparently showed for the first time : FoSL (Forms on SharePoint List). This feature, available from the ribbon, next to the InfoPath “Customize Forms” button, is opening an editor showing the already available fields, coming from the list. The designer allows the user to place the fields where he wants on the design surface, and also to resize them. In list editing mode, the form is displayed with a user interface that is similar to the one used in Access Services.

Another way to publish forms is to use structured documents, in other words, a Word document containing fields.

The last possibility is App forms or Access Services.

All the presented solutions are for information workers, and do not use developments or code (no CSR, LightSwitch or Visual Studio)

Currently, the alternatives are multiple, from Nintex or Formotus, just to name two of them.

A roadmap presented for the next year, and the features are not yet frozen as the community inputs are very welcome. InfoPath will stay for a while, and will be supported until 2023.

There is currently no migration tool or techniques, and Microsoft is thinking about what can be done.