InfoPath Dev

Hi,

I have a BCS connection to an Oracle database with an External Content Type (ECT).  I created an External List in SharePoint 2010 from the ECT, but when I try to use the External List as a data source in InfoPath 2010, and select which fields should be displayed on the form, none of the Decimal data type fields are showing up in the list to choose from.

I was told that InfoPath doesn't handle decimal data types coming over from SharePoint. 

Seeing as how I probably need to convert the Decimal data types to some other data type, where should try to do the data conversion?  Do I do that in the BCS model?  Is there a way to modify the schema even though it's an External List?

I'm not sure about how to get these fields to start showing up in the pick list of fields in InfoPath, and I'd appreciate some tips on any work-around you might know of.

Thanks!

William Holt

 I found on this InfoPath Dev forum that "you can use a web service or .NET shim to mediate between the data source and the external list"

Located here:

http://www.infopathdev.com/forums/t/17826.aspx

So, I guess my question would be now, does anyone have a recommendation on how to accomplish the recommended web service or ".NET shim" to convert the decimal type to something like a string before it reaches the external list?

Wow, you did some real sleuthing to find that post!

There should be an easy way to do this ....

One idea would be to create a view in the database with string data type columns...

Another idea would be to use SharePoint Designer to map the BCS column values or set their default data types - have you looked into that?

If you had SQL on the back end (or could map to it from Oracle) I would recommed just using Qdabra's DBXL Web Service to query the value and display in the list. It's inexpensive and can save you the time of writing a Web Service plus it has a ton of other features. Free download from Qdabra's site. Disclaimer: Qdabra pays for this free forum but there are no other Web Services out there for InfoPath.

 Thank you for the tips, Patrick! This may be a dumb question, but if I created the view, then how would I make sure that my external list has the freshest data?  Would the view refresh periodically, or would I need to schedule that?

Thanks again,

William