InfoPath Dev

Hi, I was wondering if there is a tool out there that will tell if a new InfoPath form revision is compatible with old, other than publishing it and having old forms blow up?

InfoPath/SharePoint 2010/2013

There is!!! You can actually use InfoPath for this. :)

Save one of your already filled out forms down from SharePoint. Then, with your form open in design mode, go to File > Advanced Form Options and look for the preview settings. In the center of that dialog, you can browse for a file to preview with - and then preview your form - it will open with your already created XML file.

Here's a blog post - it is from an older version, but has screenshots. http://www.infopathdev.com/blogs/hilary/archive/2009/03/13/first-do-no-harm.aspx

EDITED TO ADD: The filler is better at upgrading schema than the browser, so sometimes I set versioning to Do Nothing for existing XML in the Versioning settings prior to previewing, so I can see if I have any schema changes that may cause trouble in the browser.

 Well darn,

I tried that and everything looked like it was going to work. I previewed it in InfoPath and is looked great.

So, I did a publish and bang!

When the web page tried to open the existing xml link, it broke saying: 

Schema validation found non-datatype errors.

Click Try Again to attempt to load the form again. If this error persists, contact the support team for the Web site.

Click Close to exit this message.

I have an even more important form I need to publish and now I'm totally gun-shy.

Ray

NOTE:

I tried opening the xml link in the library in SharePoint and it opened fine. Problem is, is that it has to open as a web page as most employees do NOT have InfoPath on their workstations.

Thanks Hilary, 

I tried setting versioning to "Do Nothing for existing XML" in the Versioning settings and it broke the way I expected it to.

It even gave a "useful" error as well! :)

I will begin adding that procedure to any forms I modify.

Thanks,

 Ray

It is really helpful - and yah, the error message in the browser is NOT much use.