SharePoint Integration

Re: Using Multiple People Pickers in Infopath and Promoting to SharePoint creates multiple AccountIds

PattyM — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:11:54 GMT

This worked perfectly - and it made sense. Thank you for your help!

Note: Would be great (if it is possible) in a future iteration of InfoPath, the AccountId can be promoted as a people field in Sharepoint.

Re: Using Multiple People Pickers in Infopath and Promoting to SharePoint creates multiple AccountIds

Anson Hidajat — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:39:59 GMT

Yup that's what I was thinking. Hopefully that will work for you!

Re: Using Multiple People Pickers in Infopath and Promoting to SharePoint creates multiple AccountIds

PattyM — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:27:29 GMT

Let me make sure I understand. :-)

1. Unpromote the AccountIds
2. Create and promote 4 temp fields in InfoPath to hold the People Picker AccountIds
3. Set each temp field=it's associated People picker
4. In the Sharepoint Workflows, use the temp fields to populate the sharepoint people fields?

Re: Using Multiple People Pickers in Infopath and Promoting to SharePoint creates multiple AccountIds

Anson Hidajat — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:11:36 GMT

Seems like you're on the right track with the "backup" field. I would start with create 4 additional temp fields, one for each of the people pickers and copy the accountid fields to these. This way you can differentiate between all different people picker fields.

Promoting people picker fields can be sticky and may behave in unexpected ways sometimes...

Using Multiple People Pickers in Infopath and Promoting to SharePoint creates multiple AccountIds

PattyM — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:17:33 GMT

We have created a form which contains 4 different multiple people picker controls (example: Assigned, Backup, OriginatingContact and ShippingContact.) When we promote the AccountIds of these controls to the associated SharePoint list, the AccountIds have the same name (ie, AccountId.) We are then trying to use these AccountIds to populate associated Sharepoint created people fields with presence using workflows. There are 4 workflows - 1 for each AccountId.

Issues:
- In the Sharepoint list there are 4 fields all named AccountId and there is no easy way to differentiate. In Sharepoint, is there a way in Sharepoint to tell which AccountId is associated with which Infopath people picker?

- Each workflow reads an AccountId and then popluates the associated Sharepoint people field. This seems to work but when the user updates a picker selection using the form or creates a new record using the form - it appears that the form wants to populate a different account id at random.

Example:
User selects joesmith on the InfoPath form from people picker control Backup and submits.
Sharepoint BackupWorkflow copies Accountid1 value joesmith to sharepoint field BackupId. (all looks good at this point)

User goes in an changes the Backup selection to fredsmith.
BackupWorkflow copies nothing to sharepoint field BackupId
BUT now ShipWorkflow populates ShipContactId using the AccountId1 value.

Alternatively,
User creates another record using form and populates the Backup ffield with the value henryjames.
BackupWorkflow copies nothing to sharepoint field BackupId
BUT ContactWorkflow populates ShipContactId using the AccountId1 value henryjames

It seems like the workflows are confused by the AccountIds since they all have the same name AND it appears that the order in which the user enters the people picker names in Infopath determines which AccountId is being used. I say "appear" and "seem" because it is look random to use.

Since we see InfoPath forms using multiple people picker controls with Sharepoint all the time, there is probably a simple answer and we are just not understanding something critical. Any and all help is appreicated!

(Note: also posting on http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/newthread?forum=sharepoint2010customization)