I'm currently working to give users a graphical means of providing a weekly update to a higher level organization. Each member will fill out an InfoPath browser form at a lower level, and the contents will then write to a centralized SharePoint list that pulls all comments together and makes one large weekly report.
What works: The SharePoint list is configured with a column for weekly update comments. The InfoPath form contains a repeating table that allows the user to enter comments which are then posted to the SharePoint list. Multiple comments go on multiple lines of the table. When the user submits the form, the comments are merged and dropped into the SharePoint list. I can also display existing merged comments in a single text field on the form when the user selects the appropriate program.
What doesn't work: There's a possibility a user will need to update comments throughout the week, so I'm looking to retrieve and display current comments for that program and give the user the opportunity to update/add/delete comments. With the way it's set up now, I can open the form and choose a program, which then shows the existing comments (if any). However, they're squished together thanks to the merge that occurs on submit; aside from the delimiter I slap between each row's data as I write it to the list, there's nothing to tell rows apart. I'm thinking there's a way to retrieve the data from the list, tokenize the contents based on the delimiter, and place each token into a separate row of the IP form's repeating table. The end result should be a view of all existing comments (one per row in the table) if any exist or a blank repeating table with one row if none exist.
Does anyone have experience with this sort of approach?
Many thanks,
AP