On the right, on the Form tasks pane, click Design this form .

1. Use a Sample Form Template There are several sample form templates included with InfoPath 2007. You may be able to use these forms as they are, without making any customizations. This is the simplest way to get a robust form ready for distribution quickly. Use InfoPath 2007 to create custom forms or convert existing Microsoft® Office Word 2007 documents to forms, and then distribute them using Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007 or Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. Recipients of forms can complete and submit them electronically even if they don’t have InfoPath 2007 installed. 1 Start InfoPath 2007. On the Getting Started dialog box, select a sample (for example, Status Report). If the samples are not visible, on the left under Design a form, click Customize a Sample. Topics in this guide include: • Create a New Form Template • Use a Sample Form Template • Design Your Own Form Template • Import a Form from Word • Customize an Imported Form Template Create a New Form Template Create electronic forms for gathering information efficiently and reliably. InfoPath 2007 provides a variety of controls, such as drop-down lists, check boxes, and buttons, that ensure that the information you collect is consistent and accurate. 2 On the right, on the Form tasks pane, click Design this form. In InfoPath 2007, all published forms are based on form templates. Your first task is to create a form template. Once you’ve created the template, you can publish it to make the forms available to your users. There are several ways to create form templates: 3 You have the option of customizing the form or using it as it is. To use it as it is, on the File menu, click Save, and then give the template a name and click Save again. • Use a sample form template and customize it to your needs. • Design your own form template. • Import a document that you currently use as the source for your paper forms.

2. 4 On the right, on the Design Tasks pane, click Design Checker. This checks the template to make sure there are no design and compatibility problems. Note All of the data in a form—whether it is data a user can select in a list or box, or data the user types in a field—is stored in the form’s data source. A data source consists of fields and groups that organize the form data, much like files and folders organize data on your hard drive. The table below describes the available data sources. 5 Click the Save button. The template is now ready for publishing. Design Your Own Form Template If you don’t want to use the sample templates and you don’t have a template to import, you can design your own form template. It is beyond the scope of this guide to show you how to design form templates in detail, but the fundamental process follows. For additional information on designing form templates, go to http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/infopath/CH100341121033.aspx. 1 Start InfoPath, and on the File menu, click Design a Form Template. 2 Select the data source to use and whether you want the form template to be browser compatible, and then click OK. See the table to the right for information about data sources.

3. 3 Create the layout using tables, and add controls to the tables. This form consists of a table with no special fields or form controls. Typically, this form would be printed and distributed to the appropriate personnel. Each respondent would then complete the hard copy form and return it to the person who distributed it. With InfoPath 2007, this form can be converted to a form template, and then forms based on this template are distributed electronically. The recipients complete the form and return it electronically, without a single paper form ever being printed. 1 Start InfoPath 2007, and then on the Getting Started window click Import a Form. Import a Form from Word 2007 Use the import wizard to convert Word 2007 documents to form templates. InfoPath 2007 intelligently converts fields and tables into a structured form, and Word 2007 form fields are converted to the equivalent InfoPath 2007 controls. After the conversion, the Design Checker helps you identify elements that may need additional adjusting. In this process, we convert the sample Word 2007 form shown below. Tip If the Getting Started window is not open, on the File menu click Design a Form Template, and then in the Design a Form Template window, click Import.

4. 2 4 In the Import Wizard, click InfoPath importer for Word documents, and then click Next. When you see the note that the form was successfully imported, click OK. The form template opens in InfoPath 2007, where you can customize it if you choose. Tip To find converters for other file types, such as .pdf, click the Search for form template converters on Office Marketplace hyperlink near the bottom of the dialog box. 3 Browse to the Word document you want to import, click Open, and then click Finish. Note If the document you are importing has restricted permission, you must have Full Control access to the document. If you have only Read or Change access, an error message will appear when you attempt to import the document. Customize an Imported Form Template InfoPath 2007 correctly identifies and converts many fields when you import a form. But you may have to do some adjusting to get things just right. For example, you may need to reposition some of the controls or change some of the control types.

5. This section provides examples of some customizations: Change a Text Box to a List Box • Reposition controls • Change a text box to a date picker • Change a text box to a list 1 Right-click the control you want to change to a list box. 2 On the menu, point to Change To, and then click Drop-Down List Box. Reposition Controls • To reposition a control on a form template, click the control to select it, and then drag it to the new location. You can also use the Cut and Paste commands or CTRL+X and CTRL+V. Change a Text Box to a Date Picker 1 Right-click the control you want to change to a date picker. 2 On the menu, point to Change To, and then click Date Picker. 3 Right-click on the newly-inserted list control, and click Drop-Down List Box Properties. Tip Use this same method to change one type of control to any of the other control types on the menu.

6. 4 In the Drop-Down List Box Properties dialog box, click Add. 6 When you have finished, click OK. The image on the left below shows a sample form after importing. After a little additional formatting, the finished form template on the right is easier to use and more attractive. Notice the list and the date picker icon. The red asterisks indicate required fields. 5 In the Add Choice dialog box, in the Value text box, type the name of the first list item, and then click OK. Repeat this for each item you want to appear on the list. To change the order of the list items, select an item and on the right, click the position buttons.

7. Publishing a Form Template Publishing the form template makes individual forms based on that template available to your users. Once you have finished designing your form template, you can publish it to either Outlook 2007 or SharePoint Server 2007. When your users complete their forms, all of the accumulated form data is available to you for reporting and analysis in either SharePoint Server 2007 or Outlook 2007, depending on the publishing method you choose.