InfoPath Dev

>> When someone clicks "Add a new..." (in the repeating table) it takes longer and longer to render in InfoPath. (as the form grows) I've tried splitting the different sections into views, but still over time the response of the Form gets painfully slow. Tried connecting to SharePoint Lists as the data source instead of SQL ...

I've used InfoPath to merge the data into one xml file. (not completely cleanly- but I can address that later) I opened the XML file with excel and that allows you manipulate the data- pretty cool. But, so what? Now I want to produce reports, charts, etc. Any suggestions on products that do this well?

I've got a repeating table that I would like to sort a number of ways, maybe by date, alphabetically by one of the fields, etc. What is the best way to go about this? Can it be done while the form is being filled out? Or should it be done once the form is submitted (some kind of validation)? Thanks!

What I've done to solve this problem is: in the- DATA CONNECTION WIZARD: in the File Name: (box) Insert Formula (Fx) button: Type: concat(field, now()) or 'concat(field, today())' FIELD = some field in the document verify the formula, continue. This is your "time stamp"

So is it possible to determine whether the document is checked out and if it is - open it in a particular view?