Powering Office 2003 with XML

SCRIPTING OVERVIEW

• Inserting today's date in a form field when the form is opened
• Performing complex calculations using form data
• Preventing the user from closing a view if a certain field is blank
• Performing certain kinds of data validation that are difficult or not possible using other validation methods
• Displaying one view or another based on data in the form when the form is loaded
• Adding an element to the data source if it is not already present

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• The scripting language. InfoPath supports two scripting languages, VBScript and JScript. You need to know the syntax and elements of at least one of these languages.
• The Document Object Model (DOM). The DOM provides an interface between the script and the data source (XML document). In a script you use DOM objects, methods, and properties to access the form's data.
• XPath. This is a vocabulary designed for identifying specific elements in an XML document. When you use the DOM to manipulate the data source, you will often use an XPath expression to identify the part of the data source to be acted upon.
• The InfoPath object model. InfoPath exposes its own object model that script code uses to access InfoPath components, such as task panes, controls, and views.

SETTING THE SCRIPTING LANGUAGE

1. With the form open in design mode, choose Tools''Form Options to display the Form Options dialog box.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. In the Script Language section of the dialog box, select the desired language from the drop-down list.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box.

THE SCRIPT EDITOR

• The Document Outline on the left side of the screen, which lists all of the procedures and functions in the current form (only a single one in this case). Double-click a procedure or function name in this window to display it for editing.
• The editing window in the middle of the screen, which displays the form's script code. If more than one form is open for design (as in the figure), each one's code is on its own tabbed page in this part of the screen.
• The Project Explorer at the top right of the screen, which lists the open forms. In the figure there are two, Template1 and Template2.

INFOPATH EVENTS

Form-Level Events

• OnLoad. Occurs when the form is opened, either when creating a new form from a template or when opening an existing form that has been saved
• OnSwitchViews. Occurs when the user switches views
• OnVersionUpgrade. Occurs when the version number of the form being opened does not match the version number of the template in use
• OnSubmitRequest. Occurs when a form is submitted

Data Validation Events

• OnBeforeChange occurs when the change has been made but not yet accepted or finalized. Code in this event procedure can examine the new data value and, if it doesn't meet the form's requirements, reject it and keep the old data value.
• OnValidate occurs after OnBeforeChange, when the change has still not been finalized. It is like OnBeforeChange in that code examines the data value to see if it is acceptable. It differs from OnBeforeChange in that it does not offer the ability to automatically roll back the data to the previous value. Rather, it lets you display a validation error message to users to prompt them to fix the data.
• OnAfterChange occurs when the change has been accepted and finalized. It is typically used to perform calculations or other updates to the form based on the new data. Strictly speaking, this event really isn't used for data validation but rather to initiate some action after the data has been accepted.

1. Display the Data Source task pane.
2. Right-click the element that you want the event associated with and select Properties from the pop-up menu to display the Field or Group Properties dialog box.
3. Click the Validation and Script tab (see Figure 6-2).
4. In the Script section, pull down the Events list and select the desired event: OnBeforeChange, OnValidate, or OnAfterChange.
5. Click the Edit button.

The OnClick event

1. Right-click the button and select Button properties from the pop-up menu to display the Button properties dialog box.
2. Click the General tab (see Figure 6-3).
3. Select Script in the Action list.
4. Enter the button's caption (the text displayed on the button) in the Label field.
5. Click the Microsoft Script Editor button.

Event Procedure Arguments

THE INFOPATH OBJECT MODEL

USING THE OBJECT BROWSER

1. Be sure that Selected Components is selected in the Browse list.
2. Click the Customize button to display the Selected Components dialog box.
3. Open the Other Packages and Libraries node. If Microsoft Office InfoPath 1.0 Type Library is displayed in the list, select its check box, and click OK. If it isn't, continue to the next step.
4. Click the Add button to display the Component Selector dialog box. Depending on your system, this dialog box may take a moment or two to load.
5. On the COM tab, scroll down and click the Microsoft Office InfoPath 1.0 Type Library entry.
6. Click the Select button to move the library to the Selected Components list.
7. Click OK to return to the Selected Components dialog box. Microsoft Office InfoPath 1.0 Type Library is now listed.
8. Click OK to close the dialog box and return to the Object Browser.

SCRIPTS AND SECURITY

DEBUGGING SCRIPTS

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Choose Tools→Internet Options to display the Internet Options dialog box.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. If present, clear the check next to the Disable Script Debugging option.
5. Click OK.

function XDocument::OnLoad(eventObj)
{
debugger;
}
Sub XDocument_OnLoad(eventObj)
Stop
End Sub