Building a K2 Process with InfoPath and SmartObjects

k2eric — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:04:00 GMT

InfoPath is a powerful forms technology that allows users to build rich forms without having to write code. In the videos below I show you how you can use an InfoPath form as the user interface for both initiating a K2 process and delivering tasks within that process. I also show you how you can externalize your form data into a SQL database, without writing any code, using K2 SmartObjects. Externalizing data is important when capturing business data that needs to be securely stored and easily reported on. A K2 InfoPath process does not require that you externalize your data. A standard InfoPath form using data stored in the main data source is also supported along with a combination of the two where some data is in the form and some data is external. It is also important to note that you can have multiple InfoPath forms associated to a single K2 process. You can even have tasks within an InfoPath integrated K2 process that use other form technologies like for example ASP.net.

In the first video I take you through building the InfoPath form and the basic K2 process.

How to K2: Building a K2 Process with InfoPath and SmartObjects Part 1

In the second video I show you how to extend the process to save a read-only copy of the InfoPath form into SharePoint. I also deploy the process and show you the end user experience of final solution.

How to K2: Building a K2 Process with InfoPath and SmartObjects Part 2

The third video shows an alternate approach to designing an InfoPath process using the K2 designer for SharePoint which is hosted with in the browser.

How To K2 : SharePoint

Building a K2 Process with InfoPath and SmartObjects