Forms Processing with InfoPath

The Microsoft platform closest to Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (VSTO 2005) and Adobe PDF for document processing is InfoPath, a forms design and data entry product that ships as a stand-alone product and with Office 2003 Professional Enterprise Edition. Microsoft has many platforms for forms processing solutions, including Windows Forms, ASP.NET Web Forms, and the Visual Basic 6 forms engine (formerly code-named Ruby). InfoPath uses XML to represent both the layout of forms and the data in them, and can validate input from users and route the resulting XML through business processes and corporate applications.

Microsoft has a number of server-side components to support processing of InfoPath forms and the resulting XML data. For example, Windows SharePoint Services, the Web hosting platform of Windows Server 2003, includes a Form Library component for distributing forms and receiving captured data. BizTalk Server includes XML data synchronization and routing features, and Microsoft partners such as K2.net and Captaris have extended these features to support workflow for document processing.