Sharepoint Designer Form - Autopopulate from Database

Question

I wish to make a form using Sharepoint Designer which will have many fields. Based on the data entered in 1 field I would like to query an SQL database to autopopulate the other fields. This should be a one-time-job i.e. when the user exits and returns he will now be able to see the fields already filled in. Additionally it would be better if I can store the database login credentials in a separate config file which would be access by Sharepoint to make the connection.

Priyaranjan K S · Answer

If you want to retrieve data from Oracle  I can give you two options : 1. You will have to write a web service(say C#) that connects to Oracle .Deploy it .Connect to Oracle from Infopath using this Web service . The link in the earlier reply was connecting to SQL using the option 'DataBase' . But now you will have to connect to the Web Service Using the option 'SOAP Web Service' .Plz Refer the 5th screenshot in the previous reply link. This way you can connect to Oracle from Infopath. 2.Create a BCS Connection that connects to Oracle . This will give you an External Content Type. Create a SharePoint List based on this Content Type .Now the Oracle data will reside inside SharPoint and you can use Infopath to connect to that list . I would prefer the first approach . Thanks Priyan If you found this useful Please mark this as Answer

Hareesh Bahuleyan · Answer

Hi Priyan Thanks for the link. Infopath seems to be a good option. How should I go about this if the database that I have oracle based?

Priyaranjan K S · Answer

Hi Hareesh I Suggest you to use InfoPath form to get this done . It has better flexibility and provides better integration between SQL Server and SharePoint . You can open Infopath form from the corresponding SharePoint List ribbon . Please refer to this link : http://dataqueen.unlimitedviz.com/2012/03/use-a-sql-server-data-source-for-an-infopath-pick-list/ Thanks Priyan If you found this useful Please mark this as Answer