InfoPath Dev

Hallo,

I would like to open an external URL in IE from infopath 2010 using VB code.

I looked here for a solution, and found a post with a javascript solution, which is

not applicable to infopath 2010. Therefore I am posting again.

I would like to find a VB way of doing it.

Basically, I just need to spawn an Internet Explorer session with a give URL from

my infopath form. Any suggestion is appreciated. I know how to place code in the

right spot, just need the command to spawn IE or open an URL.

Thanks,

Paolo Grigis

ABB Switzerland 

 Well, I am going to list here what I tried (and failed).

1) code:

Dim Explorer As Object
Set Explorer = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")

 fails with error: Name ' Create Object' is not declared

2) code:

 System.Diagnostics.Process.Start("iexplore.exe","www.google.com")

 fails with a System.Security.SecurityException error.

3) code:

 Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction.Shell("iexplore.exe")

 fails triggering a security exception.

 Will update here as I try more option and state whether they succeed or fail...

Hi Paolo,

qRules contains a command that does this. If nobody replies with code advice, you could install the free trial and use that command. We'd be more than happy to share the code for it (it's written in C#); maybe Hilary or Jimmy will respond with that ...

Approach 2 should work, and I reckon 3 would too.  The issue is that anything as invasive as starting other processes is going to require your form to be full trust (that's what those SecurityExceptions mean).  Please try again after setting your form to full trust.

You can also have windows open the url in the default browser by using Process.Start(url), but that will require full trust just the same.

 Thanks for your reply...  that's what I was afraid of.

When I set the form for full trust, I will need to install a security certificate or digitally sign the form.

This is not something I am very familiar with, so before I start, I have a few general questions.

In the case where I have several form, running on different computers and different users,

will I need to provide a different certificate for every form or for every machine or user?

Or will one certificate be enough to cover all the forms on different machines and users?

Thanks,

Paolo

 OK, let me explain what I did for future reference.

I managed to make this work with self-generated certificates. Obviously this

is not optimal, but is a solution I could implement right away...  Hope this may

be helpful for someone in the future.

I generated a certificate using the "Digital Certificate for VBA Projects" applications

from Office 2010. That would generate a certificate that is valid for 6 years but is

only recognized by the machine where is generated. I created my form template

using this certificate and exported the form. I would then go to the machine where

I need the form to run and open the exported form. I get a security warning message,

and from there i would click on the link to view the certificate, examine the details and

look for the "export certificate" button. Clicking that opens a wizard - on the second

page I selected as the destination for the export "Trusted Root Certification Authorities".

Next time I open the form, the security warning comes up again, and now I can click

on "trust all documents from this publisher". Done - from now on it works with no

security warning and the form runs as full trust. Just repeats this for every machine

where the forms need to run.