Getting Started With SharePoint and InfoPath 2010

Question

I am a .Net developer and I need to get started with SharePoint 2010 and InfoPath 2010 for a new project.

I believe I don't want too much SharePoint just the basic configuration and how to host an InfoPath form there. For InfoPath I need to know how to design forms and program it using VS2010.

I appreciate if you can provide me with some links/books to get started with SharePoint and InfoPath (with more emphasis on InfoPath development).

I really need some personalized advice instead of an entire website to surf. I will be totally lost like this.

Answer 1

A good place to start would be to decide if (1) you only need to use InfoPath to customize SharePoint List Forms or (2) if you need to create an InfoPath Form Library.

The first option is quicker and easier to get started with. The second option takes some more thought and configuration but allows you to leverage more of InfoPath's richer features.

This article should help: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/infopath/archive/2010/04/22/comparing-list-and-form-library-forms.aspx

Answer 2

• SharePoint 2010 Developer Center
• InfoPath Developer Center

It took me about 60 seconds to find these links. Why didn't you find them?

Answer 3

As John alluded to - the path to learning really depends on your project needs.

My recommendation would be to learn InfoPath first. You don't need SharePoint and you don't even need Visual Studio to utilize the majority of InfoPath. You might be able to accomplish your goals right there without even delving into anything else.

If that is not enough start looking at the other things. You will need advanced programming (Visual Studio) if you are trying to customize the form experience for the user, adding functionality that is not available directly in InfoPath. Start looking down this path if you run into roadblocks with how you want your InfoPath form to work.

You will need SharePoint if you need a delivery mechanism, forms storage, tracking for the users. Start looking down this path if the forms start being complicated to manage on a file share (or if you need extra functionality like change tracking etc).

In general - start with Infopath and progress to the other things based on your needs. Programming is for the form (singular) experience, SharePoint is for the forms (plural) experience. Note also that they are not mutually exclusive - usually you end up needing both.