Get Current User for Infopath and set file name - PART II

In Last Post, we saw that how we get the current users' profile in form open.
In this post, we'll see how to save the Infopath Form in Library with a predefined file name formed from the fields. In our case, we'll have it is:

productName_ExpectedDate_CurrentUser

1. So, lets get back to our ProductRequestForm.xsn:



2. In browser forms by default, we have the options on the top to Save, Save As.., Update, PrintView,etc:


When you say Save, it gives you a pop for file name:


This is something you dont want if you are to save the file with predefined name.

3. In the Infopath Form (in design mode), Go to Tools -> Form Options -> Browser and uncheck Show toolbar at top of form and Show toolbar at bottom of form and check refresh the form before submitting it if form data might change during processing



4. Now we'll come on the Save and Cancel buttons we'd put on the form before. What we want here is on click of the save button, we want the file to be saved with the format as mentioned by concatenating the form field Data. For this we had to write some rules. Before that, we'll create a Submit Data Connection. Go to Design Tasks -> Data Source -> Manage Data Connections... -> Add... to open the Data Connection Wizard.

     a. Choose Create a new connection to: Submit data


     b. From Destination, choose To a document library on a Sharepoint site


     c. Here, Enter the full Library URL and click on the formula builder: 'fx' button and from the Main data source, choose filename field


     d. Name your connection as SetFileNameSubmit and click Finish to have the submit connection ready.


5. Now we'll come on to Save button and set some Rules.
Right Click the Save Button -> Button Properties... -> Rules -> Add..., give a name for the rule, say, SaveFileName and click Set Condition... to open a Condition Filter Dialog and set the query as below:



This is to ensure that the user has entered the right values before the save could proceed. As can be seen, if any of the one query is not satisfied, the save button wont proceed

6. Now, if everything is fine and the query is fulfilled, then we would like to add the Save form and close action. However, before this could be done, if you remember, we had just made a Submit data source and had chosen fileName field to be the name of the file. But for this, there has to be some value in that field before it could be used as a fileName.
Lets go ahead and add a Set a field's value action.


In "Field:" text box, select fileName field from the Main data Source and in "Value:" text box, choose the 'fx' (formula builder). Enter a formula to concatenate the fields' values:
concat(products,"_",expectedDate,"_",CurrentUserName) like this:



NOTE: the Underlined field are result of select from Insert Field or Group... from Main Data Source


7. Click Ok, to come back on the main Rule Dialog. Now there is a catch here that has different ways of going about. When we save the form, its all ok and the form is saved with desired name. But if someone reopens the form and change the values of the fields involved in file naming, infopath is not intelligent enough to understand this and rename the file. Instead, it creates a new copy with newer values. For this:

     a. Either we lock the fields that are dynamically forming the fileName on the first Virgin Save so that the consequent modifications ensures that these fields are not changed and hence the file name.
          OR
     b. We knock off the old file through Querying with CAML either in Library's Item Event Handlers or some other place that you find more feasible.

I choose to lock the fields after the file is saved and hence we created a field in the Main data source called IsFormLocked. We'll go ahead and set this field value to TRUE or 1 and then set Conditional Formatting on the controls to disable on open if they found value of this field as TRUE or 1. This will ensure that the values are never changed


8. Now add two more Actions to
   a. Submit using a Data Connection and choose SetFileNameSubmit connection we just created.


9. Finally add an action called Close the Form.
Your action list for this rule should look something like this:


10. Also set simple Close the form action for Cancel Button.



11. Now, in each of the controls'properties (those involved in setting the file name), set a Right Click the Control -> Conditional Formatting... -> Add... -> , set a Query like below to disable the control:


you would need to repeat this for controls mapped to each of these:products, expectedDate, CurrentUserName.
NOTE: for textbox and Datepicker, it would be read-Only

12. Also, if you rememeber, we had also made a section that had an error message in Red, we'll show this section when Button Save Query is not fullfiled. Or in other words, hide the control when Query is fulfilled.


13. For this go to the Section, Right Click -> Conditional Formatting... -> Add... and set the following query and select Hide this Control:


14. Now click on the Design Task -> Design Checker to see if there is any error. you might see one message saying Data connection contains parameterized query. Well, its nothing. its only saying that one of your receive connections needs a parameter and if you still remember, its the one that consumes UserProfileService.asmx

15. Now, i guess, we are good to go. Save the form and Publish it to SharePoint Library. I published it to a new document Library called Product Request Form Libary. You can do it to an existing library also. In any case, make sure the library is same as the one you entered in the textbox in the create new submit data connection wizard. The submit connection that we named here as SetFileNameSubmit

NOTE: Make sure that in Settings -> Form Library Settings -> Advanced Settings in Browser-enabled Documents section, Display as a web page is selected.

16. Now create a new Form item:


17. You'd see form open in browser like this:


fill in the appropiate details and see the error message go away.

18. Finally when you click save, you'd see the form item with the file name in the desired format as below:


      So, in these two post, we saw how can we get current users' identity when form opens and also, how to give you form, a predefined file name.