Publishing forms

[Guest]

I've designed a new form in Outlook that has 4 fields to be filled in. I got
the form designed and published to my personal folder for testing. However,
when I open the form, fill it in and send it to myself, the information in
the 4 fields does not show up. What am I doing wrong?

This form will eventually be used by multiple people so I think I'll need to
move to the Organizational Library, correct?

Thank you!

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Did you remember to click the Edit Read Page button and create a read layout that uses controls bound to the same OUtlook properties as your compose layout?

FYI, there is a newsgroup specifically for Outlook forms issues "down the hall" at microsoft.public.outlook.program_forms or, via web interface, at http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...spx?dg=microsoft.public.outlook.program_forms

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the information on the separate newsgroup. I'll post there from
now on.

Unfortunately, I'm still confused. I now have the 4 fields on both the
Compose and Read page, but it's still not working. Is that right?

Once I have the fields in the correct place, I've been selecting Publish,
Personal Folders. And, when I try to 'use' the form, I go to Forms, Choose
Form. And, I see the fields to type in, but when I send the message they are
not there.

Do I need to save as a template also? instead?

I'd like to start over from scratch...how do I delete what I already have?

Sorry for the basic questions...I am stumped...and frustrated!

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Did you check to make sure all the controls are correctly bound to Outlook fields? If not, Outlook can't store the data because it doesn't know where to put it. Look on each control's Value tab, on its Propeties dialog.

Saving a form as an .oft template file is a good idea, because that gives you a backup copy of the form. But it's not the copy you'd use to send messages. You need to use a published form for that.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

Sue -

Still no success. Properties are set for everything. All 4 are
User-defined fields I created...does that make a difference?

Could it be an issue with what permissions I have? I thought that might
only come into play when I tried to save the form to the Organizational Forms
Library.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Sorry, but I don't know what you mean by "properties are set for everything."

Did you publish to the Personal Forms library? You said "personal folder" below.

Try displaying the All Fields page on the form and running it. Does the data you enter show up on that page both before sending and on receipt?

Permission are not an issue.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

What I mean by "properties are set for everything" is that I've checked the
Properties for each Control and I think they are bound to the correct fields.

When I go to All Fields, each of my user defined fields shows up, but
nothing is in the "Value" column.

I did publish to the Personal Forms Library.

Still stumped...any other suggestions on what to try?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The symptoms suggest that the controls are not in fact bound to the right fields. You can test that by running the form and entering data in the All Fields page, then check to see if the same data shows up in the controls.

It's also not clear from your description whether this is a problem for the sender, the recipient, or both.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

Sue - thanks for continuing to help me work through this!

This is a problem for the recipient only. Sender can see fields just fine.

This is the process I'm using to open/use the form: tools, forms, choose
form, find form name in Personal Forms Library, enter data in my 4
user-defined fields, enter e-mail address, and send. I've been sending to
myself since I'm still testing this and when I receive the message no field
or data show up. It's basically a blank message with my signature attached.

How do I verify that the controls are indeed bound? I've been going to
tools, forms, choose form, and then Design this form. Then, on the
user-defined field, right click, choose properties. On the Value tab, where
it says Choose Field, I have the name of my user defined field (e.g.
Description).

When I go to the All Fields tab while in Design View, should there be
something listed in the 'Value' column?

Thanks again for any suggestions on where to go next.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

In form design mode, you need to click the Edit Read Page button to display the read layout, then use the Value tab on each control's Properties dialog to check what field is bound to that control.

My guess is that you forgot to bind controls on the read layout and did it only for the compose layout.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

I checked both Compose and Read and all fields are bound.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

But is each control on the compose layout bound to the same field as the matching control on the read layout. (I realize this might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people gloss over that issue.)

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

I checked the Properties on both Read and Compose and they are identical.

On the Properties Dialog for each control, I have:

DISPLAY TAB:
-Name: Type (was TextBox1, etc. but I changed it to match my fields)

VALUE TAB:
-Choose Field: Type
-Type: Text
-Property to Use: Value

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Look on the (Properties) page in design mode. IS the "Send form definition with item box" checked? If so, uncheck it and republish.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

The "Send form definition with item" box was checked, so I unchecked,
republished, but still no luck. I can see the fields and enter information
when composing, but when I receive the message, it's totally blank.

I tried to create this form on my home computer as well and am having the
same issues. so, I must be missing a step or a setting somewhere.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Did you increment the version number before you republished? Be sure to do that so you can know for sure which version of the form you're using. You are publishing to the Personal Forms library, right?

After you add a version number, try this:

1) Create a new item using the published version of the form.

2) Confirm that it has the right version number.

3) Fill in the data and send to yourself.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

One other odd thing...and I have no idea how this happened, but a few of the
test messages in my Inbox have a different icon next to them. It looks like
a paper with a push pin attached. Not the standard envelope. I can't see my
user defined fields on these e-mails in the Preview Pane, but when I open the
message, I CAN see them AND edit all of the information. I do not want the
recipient to be able to edit the information and really need them to be able
to see the information in the Preview Pane.

 

[Guest]

I added the version number...hadn't done that before. When I open a form,
how do I know what version it is? Can I save version 2 with a new name? Or
is there some other way to check the version?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

When I open a form,

how do I know what version it is?

Form | About This Form

Can I save version 2 with a new name?

Yes, but that means any items previously created with that form won't use the new version.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

One other odd thing...and I have no idea how this happened, but a few of the
test messages in my Inbox have a different icon next to them. It looks like
a paper with a push pin attached. Not the standard envelope.

Not odd at all. This is normal, expected behavior for a custom form if you didn't set an icon for it on the (Properties) page in design mode.

I can't see my
user defined fields on these e-mails in the Preview Pane, but when I open the
message, I CAN see them AND edit all of the information.

This is also normal, expected behavior. The preview pane will never show custom fields in version earlier than Outlook 2007.

I do not want the
recipient to be able to edit the information and really need them to be able
to see the information in the Preview Pane.

You can minimize the likelihood of their editing the information by making the controls on your compose layout read-only.



--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers