InfoPath Dev

No, it doesn't. Granted this form is still in development (so not published) but if I close and re-open and then Preview I get the "not a valid xsn" error. I can go re-configure the drop-downs then it works again.

It will be a pain once I duplicate the fields the 25 or so needed times...

Oh wow - I figured it did since the template I uploaded still works when I re-open it. You may just have to add these fields to your list.

Unfortunately that is not an option. This form is already HUGE and very near the column limit in SharePoint. I can barely afford to add the 25 additional columns needed for 25 error codes. If I added the fields used just to filter the codes it will be 100 more (4 drop-downs x 25 slots for storing errors), which I know won't fit. :-(

Other than the bug this way works best by far, since filters 1 - 3 are only used to help the tester sort through the hierarchical list of the many codes (selecting the actual codes is someone else's project, and not something I have control over). During the few months this is under development I may investigate using Auto Hotkey or similar to reconfigure the parts that don't save every morning.

Hello to anyone still reading this forum. :-)

I started this particular thread in the summer of 2019 but got pulled onto numerous other projects, then once this one was re-started I was instructed to investigate Power Apps. in the end I came full circle back to Infopath to perform the desired functions, and after re-familiarizing myself with Hilary's suggestions and her example was able to get the exact functionality I needed. The menu "tree" has been reduced from four to three levels, but for all entries there is only column used for the defect code. The Level 1 and Level 2 parts of the menu tree are bound only to xml variants and don't consume a column but still aid in navigating the 58 possible menu codes.

So all is good and working as desired right now. No problem, right? Except one, and that's the exact same bug described earlier in this thread. When saving and closing the file then reopening only the Level 3 menu drop-down- which is bound to an actual column, retains its configuration. The Level 1 and 2 xml-bound drop-downs retain nothing and have to be reconfigured every single time.

While not a "killer" issue it's a huge inconvenience because every time the file is re-opened to make a tweak I have to reconfigure 60 of these bound entries. I guess I am just checking in to see if anyone has come across a fix or work around for this particular Infopth bug.

Thank you for reading!