InfoPath is easy... really!
Almost every InfoPath form solution consists of 5 core components: 1. Form template, 2. Views, 3. Controls, 4. Rules, 5. Data sources and connections. But despite reading about these components, as a beginner, you would still find it quite difficult to use reference material about InfoPath to combine the 5 core components to create useful solutions. And the latter is exactly what InfoPath 2013 Cookbook teaches you to do; step-by-step, from the ground up.
A simple and pleasant learning journey
InfoPath 2013 Cookbook was specifically written with the needs of beginners in mind. The pace is slow and then picks up after you have learned the basics of InfoPath in chapters 1 through 6 and have reached chapters 7, 8, and 9, in which you not only learn techniques you can apply repeatedly to different types of InfoPath solutions, but also get step-by-step guidance to put together sample functionality in InfoPath forms you can actually use in/for your own business.
InfoPath 2013 Cookbook consists of 121 recipes (tutorials). Each recipe consists of 3 sections: 1. A short description of what you are trying to achieve, 2. A step-by-step outline of the solution, and 3. A discussion section that expands on what you have learned. Both the solution and the discussion sections contain explanations for what you are doing and why you are doing what you are doing, so that you understand the logic behind the steps and your actions.
A couple of recipes come with exercises you can do to further explore InfoPath on your own, and questions you can answer to test your knowledge. The answers to questions can be found in the Appendix, where you will also find a handy table listing all of the InfoPath functions used in recipes throughout the book, so that you can easily find examples of how to use InfoPath functions in formulas.
InfoPath is not SharePoint
InfoPath 2013 Cookbook is not a book about SharePoint, but rather a book about InfoPath. However, many of the solutions and techniques taught in InfoPath 2013 Cookbook can be applied to forms that are created specifically for SharePoint. And because the solutions and techniques taught in InfoPath 2013 Cookbook are 100% codeless (the book contains mathematical formulas, but no code instructions), you do not have to be a programmer to use the book and you will have an extra advantage when designing SharePoint List Forms for which code cannot be written.
Do you really need this book?
InfoPath 2013 Cookbook serves beginners in two ways: 1. It teaches the basics of InfoPath, and 2. It provides guided implementation of over 70 often-requested solutions that make use of popular form controls.
InfoPath 2013 Cookbook makes your life easier in that all of the thinking to come up with solutions has already been done for you. But if you are someone who likes to think about and find solutions all on your own, then this book is probably not for you.
If you already own InfoPath 2010 Cookbook, you already know how to work with InfoPath 2013. And if you already know how to use InfoPath, you do not need this book.
New in InfoPath 2013 Cookbook compared to InfoPath 2010 Cookbook are:
- 20 new recipes
- Bonus recipes above and beyond the 121 base recipes the book contains
- Questions and answers
- More exercises
- Expanded discussion sections
- A table listing InfoPath functions used in recipes
