InfoPath Dev

Hi all, I have a SQL Server database and Infopath 2003. 

I need to grab data from the database and display it in a 7 page report, some of which comes

from the database but I also need to be able to insert large sections of text where I have full

text, rich text editing, i.e. insert a cover sheet, bolding, page breaks,  etc.

Is Infopath the right tool for the job or should I try Word, Crystal Reports etc.

 any ideas appreciated, thanks in advance.

I think InfoPath would be a good solution. You could create the template pretty quickly.

You definetly can merge these seperate data elements and put them into a consistent (7 page) document. You can also abstract it so that the user can verify or input the required elements as easily as possible and then they can switch to the print view that formats it all and has the extra verbiage etc. You can build a wizard type interface which at the end produce the final document.

With Word you would have a bit more options for printing and formatting possibly, but you have a given template so you do not really need a lot of options.  The challenge there would be incorporating the SQL data and how it could be represented.

I do not believe you can have Rich text entry into an existing report in Crystal Reports but I may be wrong.

You may want to look at web services for accessing your SQL data for best perofrmance and if you need to query multiple tables.  Also an Active Directory Web Service would allow you to identify the form user and pull there contact and organizational data from AD.

Thanks Clay, I am proceeding with an Infopath Form.

is there a tutorial or any other info on how to create a Wizard type interface you mentioned?

thanks for the help.

You would want to document what the steps would be and then create each view and navigation to step through the process.

If you would like some specific help with the flow or architecture you can purchase some support credits and I could assist you directly.

I am familiar with both the manufacturing and healthcare industries and the QA/Audit process so I believe I could give you some good advice and best practice information from similar projects/environments. 

http://www.qdabra.com/products_all.asp?cat=12