InfoPath Dev

I have linked an Infopath form to an Access DB. In the DB there is one main table and several look-up tables. I did this because certain entries in my main table are formatted so I can periodically upload info to R3 and aren't user friendly (employee number for example). The look-up tables translate the number to a proper name which displays in the Infopath form which makes it easy for people to use the form.

This works fine except that when people export the form to Excel, only the main table is exported. This leaves the user with a bunch of codes (employee, tax jurisdiction,...) that aren't very useful to them. Does any one know how I could have the lookup info be exported to Excel so the final report is user friendly? Basically I want the data in the Excel report to look like the info on the Infopath form I have developed.

Chris

Hello
Please read the Link below, this might be of a help to you
http://www.infopathdev.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=83

Hi Chris and welcome to our forum!
Export to Excel is limited to one table or all leaf nodes. This is because Excel is a flat table and InfoPath can't map multiple tables to one spreadsheet table, even though this is quite doable with SQL database, this isn't how Excel structures the data.

If you are trying to export secondary data source data, have you considered copying it to the main data source? Export to Excel will only export what's in the main data source and it also is limited to what's currently displayed in the view.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your responses guys. They are both pretty useful but I'm not sure which is the best solution.

Patrick, as I'm understanding your suggestion I should put the data from my look-up tables in my main table (add a column for names in other words). The only problem as I see it with this is that this will not work based on how my form is set up.

In the current form a person can select an employee's name, "Ted Jones" for example, in the "Employee" dropdown box. This dropdown is linked with the Look-up (not the main table) which then translates this to the employee number. This number is then put in the main table. This was done so the end user can see a proper name but when we upload the main table to SAP/R3 we only have employee Numbers since that is what R3 will accept.

If I add a column I will have many entries with the same name. The lookup only has unique employee names which helps the drop-down in Infopath make sense to people. Also if a person changes the employee name field, the employee number will stay the same. The way I have it now, when you change the name In Infopath the number is automatically changed via the look-up table.

Does this make sense? Is mapping the Form to Excel and option (you mention it in an earlier thread). I don't know what that entails, but perhaps that will meet the needs of the project. I would like the end user to be able to enter a code (like a Cost Center) which will then print up an Excel document with all the info they need on it. Can mapping accomplish this? Where can I learn more on mapping? Can a "Map" be stored on a Sharepoint site.


Chris