* Dr. Internet columnist Steve Blass helps a reader figure out if InfoPath forms will work with Mozilla and MySQL
If we publish online forms with Microsoft’s InfoPath, will people with the Mozilla browser be able to use the forms? How difficult is it to publish InfoPath forms to a Web server so they can be used online?
If we publish online forms with Microsoft’s InfoPath, can people with the Mozilla browser use the forms? How difficult is it to publish InfoPath forms to a Web server so they can be used online?
Microsoft InfoPath is part of Office 2003, so people who will use your forms will need to have Office 2003 with InfoPath.
When InfoPath is on a user’s computer, Mozilla should be able to open InfoPath as the helper application when the user opens an InfoPath form. Publishing forms to a Web server can be as easy as clicking the Publish button in InfoPath if the Web server has the Front Page extensions installed, or can be reached through Windows networking.
When designing a form, decide whether to tie the form to a data source, such as an MS-SQL database. InfoPath will refuse to connect to MySQL and other databases, even if you try to front-end them with Access using Open Database Connectivity.
If you tie the form to a database data source, make sure the appropriate access permissions are in place to let the form submission data be delivered to the database. In any case, an XML file containing the submission is stored to the Web server location of the original InfoPath form.
Blass is a network architect at Change@Work in Houston. He can be reached at dr.internet@changeatwork.com.
