InfoPath Dev

In InfoPath 2007 I am creating a form that pulls data from a SQL 2008 database using the default query.  I can create the form linked to the data base as a main data source.  I can add 2 additional tables linked to the base table my form is connected to.  That all works, and next I go to add a custom SQL view that one of our developers has written and link it to one of the tables with a relationship.  Finally, I hit “next” and then “finish” in the Data Connection Wizard and as soon as I hit the finish button I get a dialog box that tells me “Microsoft Office InfoPath has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.” and asks me to send the information to Microsoft.  I have tried this on multiple computers and logged in with the highest permission account in the company, and neither made a difference.

Myself and several others have looked through all information the box provides, and looked up the fairly generic Office error the crash generates in the event log, and have been unable to find any details as to what is causing this crash every time I try to use this, or almost any other SQL view in InfoPath.  Anyone else encountered this issue while using SQL views to pull data from a SQL database?  Or have any suggestions on where to look to fix this?

Any information is appreciated as this is the final hurdle between us and a major improvement in the life of our users.

Thank you,

J

Sure sounds like a bug when it tries to infer the schema from the view. Maybe it's the view and maybe it's the schema that is being returned.

I'm guessing you aren't going to like me saying this, but we see hundreds of forms here annually and the database-backed forms are the most costly too maintain.

The best practice is not to tightly couple your form to a SQL database or anything for that matter. Create an XML form and map it to SQL using a generic Web service or BCS.

Save time and money - that's the key. Database-backed forms will come back to bite you time and time again.