Web browser compatibility in InfoPath Forms Services

Author: mety Labels::



InfoPath Forms Services is a server technology that allows users to fill out Microsoft Office InfoPath forms by using a Web browser. Users don't need InfoPath installed on their computers to fill out an InfoPath form, nor are they required to download anything extra from the Web. All users need is access to a browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, or Firefox.

Web browsers that are compatible with InfoPath Forms Services


Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
Note If a specific browser version is not listed in the following table, it is not supported. For example, there is no support for older browsers, including Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 5.5.x, Internet Explorer for Macintosh, and versions of third-party browsers that are earlier than the ones that are listed in the following table. Although it is possible that browser-enabled forms may function correctly in these browsers, browser-enabled forms have been tested only with the browser versions that are listed in the following table.
The following table shows the specific browsers that are compatible with InfoPath Forms Services.
BrowserWindows1Unix/LinuxMacintosh
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (32-bit)Full support iconNo support iconNo support icon
Windows Internet Explorer 7.0 (32-bit)Full support iconNo support iconNo support icon
Firefox 1.5Full support iconFull support iconFull support icon
Mozilla 1.7Full support iconNo support iconNo support icon
Netscape 7.2No support iconFull support iconNo support icon
Netscape 8.1Full support iconNo support iconNo support icon
Safari 2.0No support iconNo support iconFull support icon
1Includes Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows 2000.

InfoPath features that are supported in InfoPath Forms Services

Most InfoPath controls and features work identically regardless of whether users are filling out a form in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or any other supported browser. However, the same form may appear differently in different browsers. These visual differences can be attributed to the way that the various browsers support Web technologies, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), cascading style sheets (cascading style sheets (CSS): Declarations, either embedded in a Web page or stored in a separate .css file that is linked to a Web page, that specify the appearance of particular HTML elements.) (CSS), and JavaScript (JavaScript: A scripting language that can be used to add functionality to a Web page or a Web site, or to enhance the look of one. JavaScript scripts can run on any type of client or server computer.).
In addition, there are some controls and features that are fully supported only in browsers that support Microsoft ActiveX (ActiveX: A set of technologies that enables software components to interact with one another in a networked environment, regardless of the language in which the components were created.) technologies, such as Internet Explorer 6.0 or Internet Explorer 7.0. In other browsers, these features may behave differently or have limited functionality.



Support for form controls

You can use the following table to determine whether a particular InfoPath control is supported by InfoPath Forms Services.
In some cases, even if the control is supported by InfoPath Forms Services, it may not work the same way in all browsers. For example, you can use rich text boxes in browser-compatible form templates. However, users only see the full range of rich text formatting options when they fill out the form in Internet Explorer.
Similarly, when users view a form in a mobile device browser, some controls appear differently than they do in a desktop browser, and some controls are ignored completely. For example, although you can use a file attachment control in a browser-compatible form template, this control will not appear when the form is viewed in a mobile device browser. For more information about optimizing form templates for use on mobile devices, refer to the See Also links at the top of this article.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 controlDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Text boxFull support iconFull support icon
Check boxFull support iconFull support icon
ButtonFull support iconFull support icon
Expression boxFull support iconFull support icon
List boxFull support iconFull support icon
Drop-down list boxFull support iconFull support icon
Repeating sectionFull support iconFull support icon
HyperlinkFull support iconNo support icon
Option buttonFull support iconNo support icon
Optional sectionFull support iconNo support icon
Repeating tableFull support iconNo support icon
File attachment controlFull support iconNo support icon
Date picker 1Partial support iconPartial support icon
Rich text box 2Partial support iconNo support icon
ActiveX controlNo support iconNo support icon
Bulleted list controlNo support iconNo support icon
Choice groupNo support iconNo support icon
Choice sectionNo support iconNo support icon
Combo boxNo support iconNo support icon
Horizontal repeating tableNo support iconNo support icon
Horizontal regionNo support iconNo support icon
Ink picture controlNo support iconNo support icon
Master/detail controlNo support iconNo support icon
Multiple-selection list boxNo support iconNo support icon
Numbered list controlNo support iconNo support icon
Picture controlNo support iconNo support icon
Plain list controlNo support iconNo support icon
Repeating choice groupNo support iconNo support icon
Repeating recursive sectionNo support iconNo support icon
Scrolling regionNo support iconNo support icon
Vertical labelNo support iconNo support icon
1Although you can use date pickers in a browser-compatible form template, the calendar icon and pop-up calendar appear only in supported versions of Internet Explorer. In other browsers, the date picker appears as a text box, but the date formatting options are still supported.
2You cannot enable embedded pictures or specify partial rich-text formatting options for rich text box controls in a browser-compatible form template. Also, the full range of rich text formatting options are available only in supported versions of Internet Explorer. It is possible for users to edit text in a rich text box in any supported browser, but formatting options are unavailable, including changing the text color and applying character formatting.

Support for business logic features

You can use business-logic features in your form template to help prevent data-entry errors and to automate actions in the user's form. When you use InfoPath features like data validation (data validation: The process of testing the accuracy of data; a set of rules you can apply to a control to specify the type and range of data that users can enter.), conditional formatting (conditional formatting: The process of changing the appearance of a control, including its visibility and read-write state, based on values entered into the form.), and rules (rule: A condition or action, or a set of conditions or actions, that automatically performs tasks based on events and values in the form.), you can define conditions and actions that automatically perform tasks that are based on events, such as the opening or closing of a form, or on values that are entered into your form template.
The following table shows the level to which specific InfoPath business logic features are supported by compatible browsers.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Formulas 1Full support iconFull support icon
Data validationFull support iconFull support icon
RulesFull support iconFull support icon
Conditional formatting 2Full support iconPartial support icon
User rolesNo support iconNo support icon
1Except xdXDocument:get-Role, Position, and Last functions.
2In mobile device browsers, some conditional formatting features are supported, such as hiding controls based on conditions that occur in the form. However, it isn't possible to use conditional formatting to alter the appearance of a control based on conditions in the form. For example, you can't use conditional formatting to change the color of text in a control.

Support for security-related features

The following table shows the level to which specific InfoPath security features are supported by compatible browsers.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Domain security levelFull support iconFull support icon
Full-trust security levelFull support iconFull support icon
Restricted security levelNo support iconNo support icon
Digital signatures 1Partial support iconNo support icon
Form design protectionNo support iconNo support icon
Ability to disable Save, Print, and other commandsFull support iconFull support icon
Information Rights Management (IRM) No support iconNo support icon
1Digital signatures are not supported in browser-enabled form templates that are rendered in mobile device browsers. In addition, in desktop browsers, it is not possible for users to digitally sign an entire form. However, you can design the form template so that users can digitally sign one or more sections in the form. To do this, you must enable digital signatures for a section control. Also, although users can view digital signatures for a form in any supported browser, they can digitally sign the form sections only in supported versions of Internet Explorer.

Support for data connections

A data connection is a dynamic link between a form and a data source (data source: The collection of fields and groups that define and store the data for an InfoPath form. Controls in the form are bound to the fields and groups in the data source.) that stores or provides data for that form.
The following table shows the level to which InfoPath data connections are supported in browser-enabled form templates.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Query data from an XML file or a URL that returns XMLFull support iconFull support icon
Query data from a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services list or libraryFull support iconFull support icon
Query data from a Microsoft SQL Server databaseFull support iconFull support icon
Query data from a Microsoft Office Access databaseNo support iconNo support icon
Query data from a Web service Full support iconFull support icon
Query data by using data connection files in a Data Connection LibraryFull support iconFull support icon
The following table shows how the level to which InfoPath features for submitting forms are supported by compatible browsers.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Submit data as an e-mail messageFull support iconFull support icon
Submit data to a SharePoint library 1Full support iconFull support icon
Submit data to a Microsoft SQL Server databaseNo support iconNo support icon
Submit data to a Microsoft Access databaseNo support iconNo support icon
Submit data to a Web service 2Full support iconFull support icon
Submit data to a Web application that accepts HTTP POST submissionsFull support iconFull support icon
Submit data by using data connection files in a Data Connection LibraryFull support iconFull support icon
1Data can be submitted to a SharePoint library, but data cannot be submitted to a list.
2 You cannot configure the submit data connection in a browser-compatible form template to allow users to submit change information along with their form data to a Web service that accepts a Microsoft ADO.NET DataSet. Change information consists of the modifications that a user makes to the data stored in a database. The database uses a Web service to connect users to the database. ADO.NET can use change information to determine how to update the data in the database.

Support for form-filling features

The following table shows the level to which InfoPath features that are related to filling out forms are supported by compatible browsers.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Submit featureFull support iconFull support icon
Save feature 1Full support iconNo support icon
Print featureFull support iconNo support icon
Merge data from multiple formsNo support iconNo support icon
Export data to Microsoft Office ExcelNo support iconNo support icon
Export data to WebNo support iconNo support icon
Ink supportNo support iconNo support icon
Offline supportNo support iconNo support icon
Find and replace textFull support iconFull support icon
AutoComplete feature 2Full support iconNo support icon
Spell checkingNo support iconNo support icon
AutoSave, AutoRecover, or crash detection featuresNo support iconNo support icon
Custom task panesNo support iconNo support icon
Add-in menusNo support iconNo support icon
1In a browser-enabled form, users can click the Save or Save As buttons to save their forms to a SharePoint library. However, they cannot save their forms to a location on their computers. In addition, users who view forms in a mobile device browser do not see the Save or Save As buttons.
2In browsers other than Internet Explorer, the AutoComplete feature is unavailable, even if the Enable AutoComplete check box is selected for the control.

Support for view-related features

The following table shows the level to which InfoPath view-related features are supported by compatible browsers.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Multiple viewsFull support iconFull support icon
Read-only viewsFull support iconPartial support icon
Print views Full support iconNo support icon
Word print views 1No support iconNo support icon
Print multiple views at once 2No support iconNo support icon
Print page breaks, headers, or footersNo support iconNo support icon
1Microsoft Office Word print views are not supported in browser-enabled form templates. You can publish a form template to InfoPath Forms Services without removing the Word print view. However, when users print the form, the Web browser ignores the Word print view settings.
2The Print Multiple Views functionality is not supported in browser-enabled form templates. You can publish a form template to InfoPath Forms Services without changing any options in the Print Multiple Views dialog box. However, when users print the form, the Web browser uses a read-only view of the current view for printing purposes rather than printing multiple views.

Support for programming features

Developers can use the InfoPath managed code object model to create custom business logic in browser-compatible form templates. When deployed to a server running InfoPath Forms Services, this business logic runs in both a browser and in InfoPath. The following table shows the level to which InfoPath programming features are supported by compatible browsers.
Full support icon = Full support Partial support icon = Partial support No support icon = No support
InfoPath 2007 featureDesktop browsersMobile device browsers
Managed code 1Full support iconFull support icon
Scripting 2No support iconNo support icon
COM add-insNo support iconNo support icon
1In a browser-compatible form template, managed code must be based on the InfoPath managed code object model that is provided by the Microsoft.Office.InfoPath namespace. A subset of the members of the Microsoft.Office.InfoPath namespace provides features, such as Information Rights Management (IRM), that are not supported on the server. For more information on which object model members are supported and which are not supported, refer to the See Also links at the top of this article.
2Any code that is written in VBScript, JScript, or the InfoPath 2003-compatible object model provided by members of the Microsoft.Office.Interop.InfoPath.SemiTrust namespace is not supported on the server.


0 comments |

Labels

Powered by Blogger.

I made these pages for me and my friends to help solving the problem we face regarding Computer & internet, if anyone wants me to answer a question or find out about some information please send me email and I will try to reply.*P.S. some of the article I wrote and the other I found on the internet I posted them in sprit of learning and shearing, please forgive me if you found something you don’t want to be in my blog, email me and I will delete them. Thank you for your interest in my pages.امل نجم Amal Nagm

banner 1 banner 2