Replace Infopath Forms

These questions and answers came from our recent webinar with “Replace InfoPath Forms with NITRO Studio.”

We are looking to get you the information you need to be successful in building applications on SharePoint and Office 365. See webinar recording and other information here.

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Q: Can you set/change permissions on a list item based on a status?
A: Yes, this can be done using the Item Permission action in NITRO Workflows.

Q: Is it possible to print forms locally directly from the application?
A: Yes

Q: Your product looks very similar to Nintex Forms. In what ways is your product different/better?
A: Crow Canyon’s forms are easier to configure and have many features like permissions and validations that are generally required in applications.

Q: Does your product have action rules, where selecting a value in one field can populate another value in a different field?
A: Yes, it does. To be more specific, it requires a little bit of configuration- the forms allow you to handle a field value change event and then does things like changing values in other fields.

Q: Does it involve JavaScript to complete such an action?
A: Only in advanced cases… there is built in UI for simple cases

Q: Can you create multiple portal sites? One for each department?
A: Absolutely, that is the idea of the portal. All connected to same backend!

Q: What kind of training documentation is there to get up to speed quicker?
A: This is a host of information: https://www.nitro.studio/support/

Q: How do you handle the 5000 item limit on a list?
A: We can use a combination of indexing and view filtering to handle large lists.

Q: Can it generate a custom unique ID or number, say a unique invoice number?
A: Yes

Q: Is there a migration tool for when we move to SharePoint online. So let’s say I have a form in SharePoint 2013 on-premises and I want to migrate that form to SharePoint online?
A: We have same product in on-premises migration it’s easy. We are currently building tools to export and import settings, to be released in next week.

Q: Can actions do any calculations?
A: Yes, there are many functions that you can incorporate into the actions such as addition, subtraction, adding business hours, splitting values, etc.

Q: Can the form have rules or warnings to warn someone that a field needs to be filled in.
A: Yes, any column on a NITRO form can have validations based on length, pattern, or value.

Q: Can you link multiple lists together?
A: Yes, using either lookups or associated items.

Q: Child lists?
A: Yes, using either lookups or associated items.

Q: Does it have built in save to pdf function?
A: Yes, using Print Manager.

Q: Which workflow its uses? SharePoint?
A: We have our own workflow engine that runs in Azure.

Q: Is there an on-premises version of this software?
A: Yes

Q: Can NITRO be used outside of SharePoint? Infopath was able to be used in SharePoint or stand-alone. We are looking for a replacement in the stand-alone mode.
A: No, currently NITRO Studio cannot work outside of SharePoint.

Q: Are the forms responsive by default, i.e. mobile friendly?
A: Portal forms are responsive by default, with NITRO backend site forms, a user can choose between classic/modern. Modern is responsive.

Q: Can I create multiple input forms for the same list giving each a name. and then create links to the form via link with the form name as the parameter?
A: Yes, we support multiple forms on same list, each with separate URLs but saving data.

Q: Can you connect to external DB’s? SQL Azure AWS ? Read/write etc? Also accessing external APIs?
A: In on-premises NITRO yes.

Q: Is the portal a SharePoint site?
A: Yes, but it shows data from some other SharePoint sites. It is designed as easy to use interface for end users and giving them limited access to data in backend site.

Q: Is the responsiveness based on custom SharePoint design?
A: Based on resolution of screen, we adjust the form controls, by reducing number of columns, text moving over input controls etc.

Q: How are the printout templates made?
A: You can use HTML and Rich Text Controls in Print Manager.

Q: Can there be multiple portals for different audiences?
A: Yes, multiple portals can write info to the same site and even the same list.

Q: Can it show a user’s previously submitted forms?
A: Yes