Customize Form Templates Using InfoPath

Perform the following steps to use InfoPath to customize the form templates that are used by Project Center forms and notifications. You can then apply the templates to a specific project on a Project Center Server.

1   You must be a Project Center administrator to perform this procedure.

About InfoPath

InfoPath is an application included in Microsoft Office that enables you to create and deploy electronic forms using a drag and drop interface without having to know XML. When you create a template form in InfoPath, the data is saved as industry standard XML, but you don't need to know XML to use InfoPath to design a template or fill out a form. InfoPath provides a way of creating and editing templates for forms that can be saved as .XSL style sheets, which Project Center uses to render your custom forms.

1   This procedure assumes you have a working knowledge of InfoPath. Refer to the InfoPath Help if you need more information.

To customize form templates using InfoPath

1.	In Windows Explorer, go to the folders created in the Copy the Form Templates that are Supplied with Project Center to a New Folder procedure to modify the copies of the form templates.
2.	Locate the .XSN file of the form template you want to modify.
3.	Right-click on the file and select Design to open it in InfoPath.
4.	In InfoPath, drag and drop new form fields onto the form from the Data Source selector (located on the right side).
5.	When you are finished modifying the template, click File, Save as Source Files. 1   If the error message InfoPath cannot save the following form: form_name.xsf Access is denied appears, check the permissions on the Templates share, usually located on the Project Center Server machine in C:\newforma\templates and ensure that the Everyone group has at least write permissions. Next, check the folder permissions on the folder that contains the form files and ensure that the group to which you belong has write access.
6.	Once the file is saved, click File, Publish to publish the form. When you publish a form template, the Publishing Wizard adds the publish location and processing instructions to the form template so that users can open forms that are based on this form template. 1   You must click File, Save as Source Files and then File, Publish for the modified forms to appear in Project Center.
7.	Generate the form in Project Center to view it. Modify it again if necessary.
8.	Repeat this procedure as necessary to modify any other Project Center form templates.
9.	Add the new form template style to a Project Center Server.
10.	Apply the new form template style to a project.

Tips

• If you are editing or adding a picture control to your template, it is a good idea to set the height and width to Auto on the picture control so the control automatically resizes based on the size of the picture. If you need to change the picture for the logo, see Customize the Company Name and Logo in the Default Form Templates.

• On some templates, there is a section around the logo that has conditional formatting to show and hide the logo based on certain conditions. For example, the logo won't appear if the template is being used in an email notification or if there is no URL available for the logo. You can get to the conditional formatting for a control by selecting the control and clicking Format, Conditional Formatting.

• By default, repeating sections get added to a template with the ability to allow users to insert and delete sections. Project Center does not support this feature, so you will need to disable it by selecting the repeating section and clicking Format, Repeating Section Properties. On the Data tab, clear the option to Allow Users to Insert and Delete Sections. You will also want to make sure the Show Insert Button and Hint Text checkbox is cleared as well.

• Custom header and footer controls from InfoPath are not transformed in the .XSL files used by Project Center. The customized header or footer will not display in the form generated from the .XSL file.

• Do not add additional footers to Project Center form templates, since the placement of the footer is driven by the data on the page. It is not based on page size settings.