How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 (How to Do Everything) [Paperback]

David McAmis (Author), David McAmis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072231270 | ISBN-13: 978-0072231274 | Publication Date: February 27, 2004 | Edition: 1

Tap into the power of the newest member of Microsoft’s Office suite. Learn to use InfoPath’s robust set of tools to capture information that’s locked away in document-based forms. Quickly create forms and data-gathering applications that use XML to separate form and content. This “raw” information can then be integrated into back-end systems, providing an end-to-end solution for data capture in the enterprise.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Use this amazingly practical and powerful Microsoft Office application like a pro with help from this all-inclusive guide. You’ll learn how to design and customize electronic forms and easily integrate form data into a wide variety of systems and applications. Create simple to complex forms and master the built-in formatting options including layout tables, borders, color schemes, and more. Filled with step-by-step essentials and real-world examples, this book shows you how to take full advantage of InfoPath’s key features so you can save time and streamline the information-gathering process.

• Learn the basic components of an XML document
• Complete, print, save, and distribute electronic forms
• Customize existing forms and create new ones effortlessly and accurately
• Work with forms from both a developer’s and a user’s perspective
• Connect and submit data to existing databases and Web services
• Insert graphics and hyperlinks to improve form appearance and functionality
• Use layout tables, views, and color schemes to organize and display business data effectively
• Ensure data quality by using built-in validation features

Davis McAmis is an IT consultant, journalist, author, and expert in business intelligence and information management. He has written seven best-selling books including Crystal Reports: A Beginner’s Guide, and is a regular contributor to several computer magazines and trade journals.

About the Author

David McAmis (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia) is an IT consultant, journalist and author. His work has appeared in computer magazines and trade journals, and he is a regular contributor to: Access-Office-VB Advisor, Advisor Expert: Exchange & Outlook, Component Advisor, Developer's Review, E-Business Advisor, Enterprise Development, Exchange/Outlook Magazine, Internet.au, Intranet Design Magazine, Outrage and Visual Basic Programmer’s Journal. McAmis works as an IT consultant for C3 Consulting, a Sydney-based consulting firm implementing business intelligence solutions across large-scale ERP systems. Prior to joining C3, McAmis served as Consulting Services Manager for Brilliant Training & Consulting, an IT services provider serving the Pacific Rim. He has also held the position of Vice-President of the BridgeBuilder Company, a software training and consulting company in North America. He is an expert in the field of business intelligence and is a frequent conference speaker.

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (February 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072231270
• ISBN-13: 978-0072231274
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,136,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David McAmis is a solution architect, consultant, author and educator with over 14 years of experience with BusinessObjects technology, working with clients in the US, Australia, Thailand, Korea and Hong Kong.

David is considered to be an expert in the field of business intelligence. He has developed an impressive reputation with the SAP BusinessObjects range of products and has written over twenty computer books, with six focused on SAP BusinessObjects technology.

As the Technical Director at an SAP BusinessObjects Gold Partner he fulfils the roles of enterprise architect and Business Intelligence (BI) Evangelist and brings to bear experience across a wide number of platforms, databases and ERP systems (including SAP, JD Edwards and Baan) to deliver innovative solutions for common business problems.

David has travelled the world educating developers and end-users on the benefits of business intelligence and information management. Over the course of his career, he has instructed over 2,000 students in the use of the SAP BusinessObjects suite of Business Intelligence tools. He is a certified trainer and teaches courses on behalf of SAP as well as on-site training courses.

He is an SAP Certified Application Associate (times 4) for Crystal Reports, BusinessObjects Enterprise, BusinessObjects Web Intelligence and BusinessObjects Data Integrator.

David has written over 600 articles for computer magazines and trade journals and is a recognized expert in business intelligence and information management. His books on Crystal Reports are consistent best-sellers and he is a frequent conference speaker.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars User Manual Regurgitation, July 10, 2004

By 

Jason Bascom (Woodinville, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 (How to Do Everything) (Paperback)

I have found nothing in this book that isn't available for free online or in downloads from Microsoft. I wonder why so many computer book authors feel that a re-editing and repackaging of free, widely available product usage advice provides ample reason to ask a customer to shell out money? It's a false promise. Even the "how to do everything" angle is frankly no more than a re-presentation of applications that Microsoft describes just as well for free (and with code) online.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars How To Sell Screendumps to Anybody, October 10, 2004

By 

Peter Naus "Spd Rdr" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 (How to Do Everything) (Paperback)

Do buy this book if you've never heard of XML and you don't really want to know what it is or what it does.
Don't buy this book if you want to know how repeating sections differ from repeating tables, or if you want to understand all the data validation options.
Although this book does offer some simplified explanations of what Infopath does, it is as light on useful examples as it is heavy on screendumps. Simply repeating what's displayed on the screen is not terribly enlightening, and it's even worse when the text and the screendumps are continually 2 or 3 pages apart.
Shocking spelling and simple grammatical errors detract from the little genuinely useful information presented, and make the whole book's pace seem rushed and incomplete.
If you don't really like Microsoft, but you have to learn Infopath, find another book!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Jack of all trades and master of none, June 10, 2005

By 

B. Yelverton "bonbayel" (Upland, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 (How to Do Everything) (Paperback)

I started working through this book with high hopes but soon got very frustrated. Although the author probably does get through almost everything you can do with InfoPath, you have to do a lot of pushing and shoving to figure out how to do it. The author assumes that you have a project you will be working on with accompanying database or Web service, so you can follow along. The downloadable files included a couple of xml files, but no database. There were no specific instructions for finding a usable webservice to try things out.

Most of the book explains things that any slighty advanced user of Office applications could figure out on their own. I am not sure the author really knows who he is writing for. Since he explains all about XML in a single chapter, he must assume the user is new to that, but somehow also knows all about web services. A book like this has to aim at fairly elementary level, with actual examples to work through, rather than "you can" do this or that.

I have definitely learned a few things reading the book, but mostly through figuring them out on my own.