Archives For November 30, 1999


For me, one of the biggest questions I wanted answered was the future direction of forms in SharePoint. What will replace InfoPath and how do we begin this huge task of migrating and converting the 100 of forms and customized list forms that are out there. Unfortunately, Microsoft did not give real clear direction on the subject. In short, we will a couple tools by 2015 that will help customize list forms and provide forms to our users.
The first is FOSS, or Forms on Spreadsheets. These are simply spreadsheet based forms and surveys and only hold value for those types of applications. You can’t use the form to submit to a list etc so its viability and overall usage will be minimal. They also included information on basic Word fill-able forms and auto-filling data based on the document metadata.
The second, FOSL or Forms on SharePoint Lists. This is a new button on the ribbon next to the Customize in InfoPath button. This allows for basic form design in browser. It is nice that you don’t have to launch a new application to customize a form. However, due to this lightweight in-browser design, it looks like we will sacrifice advanced data connections and web service calls. Microsoft did mention that they plan on adding this into FOSL. FOSL will include basic CRUD operations within the tool bar. All of the form design is being made possible by MS Access.
Finally, there is no clear direction on how we will move our existing forms into the new fragmented model. But, InfoPath will be support until 2023 so I guess we don’t need to panic yet:)

Continue Reading…