My session at Collab365 about InfoPath Form Alternatives and the potential of PowerApps

1. Online Conference
June 17th and 18th 2015
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InfoPath alternatives and the
potential of PowerApps

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Maarten Visser
meetroo
Product Manager
Digital Workplace
Solutions for Office 365
Email : mvisser@meetroo.com
Twitter : @mvisser
Facebook : maartenvisser
FORMS BIO
Outlook Forms in 1999
SharePoint Forms using SP2001
InfoPath Forms (Service) in 2007
Custom forms and Third party tools

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17 years ago I build Outlook forms

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15 years ago Microsoft gave us List Forms

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InfoPath
• Patent June 2000 (XSLT gen)
• InfoPath released in 2003
– Multiple data sources
– Offline use
• InfoPath versions
2003, 2007, 2010, 2013

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What is InfoPath?
• Form Designer
• Form Filler
• Form Publishing
• Microsoft 'Specials’

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Form Designer
• WYSIWYG Form designer
• Drag and drop interface
• Large library of controls
• Rules for Formatting and validation
• Get data from data sources

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Form Filler
• Web client
• Embeded in SharePoint (Online)
• Desktop client
• Offline usage
• Mobile Support

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Form Publishing
• SharePoint List / Document Library
• File (XML) / email
• Database (Access / SQL)
• Webservice

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Specials
• Outlook/SharePoint Task Integration
• Custom Actions (Custom Code)

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Microsoft announced InfoPath was
discontinued on January 31, 2014

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February 2015
InfoPath support confirmed for SharePoint 2016
Office client & InfoPath Services support
confirmed until 2023

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February 2016
Standard support for InfoPath (Form Services)
SharePoint 2016 GA + 5 years = 2021
Extended support for InfoPath (Form Services)
SharePoint 2016 GA + 10 years = 2026

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So all those existing solutions are safe

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How should we build new Form Solutions?

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How should we build new Form Solutions?
Excel Online Services
Microsoft Forms
Access Apps Forms
Custom SharePoint forms
Open Source Solution
SharePoint Third Party Apps
Other services
PowerApps

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Excel Online Services
Pros
Everybody knows Excel
Data can be manipulated easily
Cons
Only useful for very basic forms
No design options
Not mobile friendly
Excel
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 0
Partly supported (it depends) 5
Not Supported 10

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Microsoft forms (forms.office.com)

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Microsoft forms (forms.office.com)

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Microsoft forms (forms.office.com)

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Microsoft forms
Pros
Free
Easy to use and fast
Responsive (mobile)
Cons
Only questionnaires
Forms
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 2
Partly supported (it depends) 3
Not Supported 10

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Access Apps Forms
Pros
Can handle relational data (SQL Server/Azure)
Easy-to-use and build
Powerful!
Cons
Limited design options
Not built for single lists or tables
No way to do workflow (linked list is read only)
Enterprise feature (Office 365 E3/ SharePoint Plan 2)
No Search
No Security trimming
Access
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 5
Partly supported (it depends) 4
Not Supported 6

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Custom SharePoint Forms
Pros
Very extensible and reusable
You can pick the technology you like
Cons
You need to be a developer
Maintenance (costs!)
Custom
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 6
Partly supported (it depends) 6
Not Supported 3

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OpenSource
OpenSource
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 4
Partly supported (it depends) 9
Not Supported 2

30. Online Conference
June 17th and 18th 2015
Data HTML
CSS
JavaScript
Browser jQuery
jQuery solutions
make changes
AFTER
the page has loaded
iCSR helps writing less CSR code
Client Side Rendering
iCSR.GitHub.io

31. Online Conference
June 17th and 18th 2015
Before & After Client Side Rendering is applied
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Third party solutions
• Nintex Forms (*)
• K2 SmartForms (*)
• Formotus
• KwizCom Forms (*)
• Infowise Ultimate Forms
• Dell Quick Apps
• PDF ShareForms
• SPForm
* OnPrem + SharePoint online App

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June 17th and 18th 2015
SharePoint Appstore

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Third Party Apps
Pros
Quick to learn
Most work on mobile devices
Cons
A third party tool will require licenses
Can be difficult to reuse / migrate
Thirdparty
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections Some
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage Some
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email Some
Database (Access / SQL) Some
Webservice Some
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code javascript
Supported 8
Partly supported (it depends) 6
Not Supported 1

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Online Services
And many more (combined) SaaS services could
help you build forms that post to SharePoint.
Online Services
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online) I
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 8
Partly supported (it depends) 5
Not Supported 2

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PowerApps

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PowerApps
PowerApps
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email
Database (Access / SQL)
Webservice
Specials
Task Integration
Custom code
Supported 13
Partly supported (it depends) 2
Not Supported 0

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Excel Forms Access Custom OpenSource Thirdparty Online Services PowerApps
Form Designer
WYSIWHG Form designer
Drag and drop interface
Large library of controls
Rules for Formating and validation
Data connections Some
Form Filler
Desktop client
Embeded in sharePoint (Online)
Mobile Support
Offline usage Some
Form Publishing
SharePoint List / DocLib
File (xml) / email Some
Database (Access / SQL) Some
Webservice Some
Specials
Task Integration Some
Custom code javascript
Supported 0 2 5 6 4 8 8 13
Partly supported (it depends) 5 3 4 6 8 6 5 2
Not Supported 10 10 6 3 3 1 2 0

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Q&A

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Stay tuned for more great sessions …