InfoPath Dev

I'm new to the forum and VERy new to InfoPath.

Here's the deal: we had a contactor at our company who created some stuff in InfoPath for us. he is gone now, and we need to move the data stored by his InfoPath app into a SQL database.

Unfortunately, no one here knows much about Infopath, but I have been tapped with the task of finding the InfoPath data and transferring it into a new SQl table structure we have for an application that has replaced the InfoPath stuff.

I have a very basic VB.NET application i wrote that can grab an XML file and insert the data into SQL.

What I really need to know is where to find the XML data files for the InfoPath stuff. Like i said, i am very unfamiliar with how InfoPath works. It is as simple as going to some folder and grabbing the XML file, or is InfoPath ingrained with SharePoint to the extent that the files can't be accessed directly?

How can I get the data out of InfoPath to move it to SQL (is there a better way than using my converter app to dump XML into the tables)?

Where can I find the InfoPath data?

Thanks for the help.

Since you are new to InfoPath and deciding to dump it anyway, I'd just do it with the convertor app. It's possible in InfoPath but you will probably be able to do it easier in VB.NET since that is your forte.

I'm not sure what data you are looking for - is it a secondary data source, or a "filled out" copy of the form with stored data that user input?

For secondary data sources (2DS), open the form in Design mode (Right-click the XSN and choose Design), choose Data Connections from the Tools menu, and click Modify on each of the data connections. In the wizard that pops up should give you some clues as to where to find the files.

If you want to be tricky, you can change the XSN extension to CAB and then extract the files. This can also be done by choosing Extract Form Files from the File menu when the form is in Design mode.

I hope this helps, let us know how things go!

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Matt Faus
InfoPath Dev Texas