How can I use InfoPath to get KPIs in my library?

This post is an extension of a previous post about creating and using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in a SharePoint library, based on a calculated column. The follow-up question is, “Can I use InfoPath to set KPIs in SharePoint?”

The answer is “Yes, but... it takes a little bit of work.”

The problem is that neither SharePoint nor InfoPath is set up to enable users to simply click a couple of buttons and make KPIs magically work. (Sometimes, a calculated column can be a better choice. Read about that solution here.)

We can work around this deficiency, though, by:

1. creating a SharePoint column to display pictures
2. finding or uploading KPIs we want to use
3. creating an InfoPath field to store a link to our KPIs
4. promoting the InfoPath field to the SharePoint column  

In this post, we will use SharePoint 2010 Enterprise and InfoPath 2010, but it should work the same way with SharePoint and InfoPath 2013. 

The Best Way To Get A Correlation ID Error Out of Your ULS Logs

One constant in the SharePoint world is that there are always multiple ways to do almost everything.  I can't recall the number of times I've heard someone in a meeting say "there's many ways we can skin that cat" when asked how to do something in SharePoint.  I'm not real well versed in cat skinning, but I get the point.

I work with clients and customers all over the world.  It's interesting to see all the different ways and free tools used to figure out what that pesky correlation ID that popped up is trying to tell us.  There are definitely a lot of ways to skin that particular cat.  The one I use unequivocally in every situation is merge-splogfile.  This is definitely not a brand new concept but it is new to most of the SharePoint professionals I speak with.  I'm not the first to blog about it but since it is still relatively unknown with those I speak with, and this blog has good viewership, I feel compelled to share.

New White Paper: Cost-effective, Enterprise-ready SharePoint Extranets



A SharePoint extranet gives an organization’s employees, partners, vendors, and clients access to the specific information they need, when they need it.

In fact, the same things that make SharePoint a great intranet platform also make it a great extranet platform. But there is a problem.

While SharePoint is built for collaboration and contains built-in collaboration tools, IT professionals who attempt to implement SharePoint as an extranet quickly find out there are many hurdles to overcome.

In SharePoint, Microsoft’s extranet platform does not provide an easy way to: 

•      Deploy an extranet

•      Secure an extranet

•      Manage an extranet

•      Empower users to solve simple login issues or perform simple administrative actions for themselves

•      Facilitate simple user-friendly access

A new white paper, “Providing Enterprise-ready and Cost-effective Extranets with SharePoint,” examines the kinds of business problems a SharePoint extranet can help an organization overcome and explains a way to overcome extranet hurdles, making extranet management and use secure, easy, and affordable.