InfoPath Dev

I have a InfoPath form that is published to a document library.  Not a content type.  I know that If I publish a updated version of the form, it will break the existing forms. How can I keep all my existing forms and publish the new form without breaking the old ones?  Kind of a newbie here so be gentle.  I am on SharePoint 2013 on prem, using InfoPath 2013.

Well, whether the update will break existing XML depends on if you made certain changes to the schema. If you are not sure your changes will break existing files there are ways to test that - let me know & I can get you steps. Otherwise, you would need to switch your library to use content types. You could take the original (currently published form), publish it as a content type, and change the library to use content types. Then you can relink all the existing forms (this is pretty easy, there is a relink view in the library). Then, once that is done, you publish your updated form as a content type, and set that to be the default content type in the library. I can help you with more steps on this approach as well. :)

 Hilary, I did make several changes to both rules and fields to include the addition to one in SharePoint.  If there is a way to test to see if it will break, that would be great.  And if so, I would really like to know how to use the new form without breaking the old one using the content type method.  Thanks again for your help.

 v/r

 Sean

 

 To test existing XML, download locally, and then you can find under Form Options > Preview. I usually set versioning in the Form Options to not upgrade for this test as well, so if the schema changes involve anything that might cause a problem for existing data, I'll get an error when I preview. You can find more instructions here: https://www.infopathdev.com/blogs/hilary/archive/2009/03/13/first-do-no-harm.aspx

For setting up the library to use content types, first, get a copy of your currently published template (from the Library settings > advanced) and then republish it as a content type. You need to walk through the full publishing wizard for that. Once that is done, in your library settings, again under advanced settings, change the library to use content types. Select your newly published content type and set it to be the default. Then, back in the library, find the Relink view. There should be a relink all button - that will link your existing XML to the new default content type. At this point, after you've verified everything is working as anticipated, you can publish your updated form as a content type. In the library content type settings, you can set the new form template as the default content type, and then going forward, the existing XML will open with the content type they were linked to, and the new button in the library will use the new form.