Microsoft Office InfoPath is a new application in the Microsoft Office system that streamlines the process of gathering information by enabling teams and organizations to easily create and work with rich, dynamic forms. The information collected can be integrated with a broad range of business processes because InfoPath supports any customer-defined XML schema and integrates with XML Web services.

Click here to play the Microsoft Office 2003 InfoPath Demo.

Click here to open the Microsoft Word doc of general InfoPath frequently asked questions such as how will InfoPath be licensed, who should use InfoPath, etc.

Click here to open the Microsoft Word doc of answers to 80 of the most frequently asked technical questions about InfoPath.

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  Product Highlights

Gather Information More Efficiently and Accurately
InfoPath provides an efficient and accurate way to collect the information needed to make better-informed decisions. Use it to:

• Create rich, dynamic forms with little or no custom programming or scripting, saving valuable development time and expense.
• Ensure the information being gathered meets the organization's business criteria so that data is more accurate.
• Gather information that is consistent and matches the needs of the team or organization.

Share Information Across Business Processes and the Organization
InfoPath enables teams and organizations to easily reuse and repurpose the information that they collect. The information can then be used across business processes and the organization.

• Integrate information with the organization's servers and databases because InfoPath supports industry-standard XML using any customer-defined schema.
InfoPath is designed to integrate with any organization's business processes with its support for XML Web services and database interoperability.

Manage Information More Flexibly
InfoPath gives teams and organizations more flexibility in dealing with rapidly changing business conditions. Use it to:

• Create and modify forms easily to adapt to changing business needs.
• Work with forms the same way you work with documents. For example, you can save forms to your computer and work with them while not connected to a network.
• Use powerful client functionality, including rich-text formatting, AutoCorrect, tables and picture support, and spelling checker.
• Capture all essential information by inserting repeated sections and optional fields as a form is filled out.

Take Advantage of Existing IT Investments
IT professionals can use existing investments to ease the cost of deploying InfoPath.

• InfoPath provides end users with a familiar Office user interface, which helps minimize training costs.
• New forms solutions can be silently and automatically installed and updated to ensure that the latest form is always available.