InfoPath to Excel or CSV
Every field of every form in one table: a row per form, a column per field. It is the shape a migration to a SharePoint list, Dataverse, a database or a records system usually wants, and Formhaul builds it from the forms in one go.
How the table is laid out
Columns follow the order of the template's schema, so they match the order of the form. Each column is named after its field. When two fields share a name in different sections, the section goes in front, as in Employee/Name and Manager/Name. The first columns are the form's file name, the file's date, and the template version it was saved with.
Fields that are in the forms but not in the template (left over from an older version, say) are added at the end of their section, so nothing is dropped.
| File | RequestDate | Employee/Name | Items[1]/Description | Items[1]/Cost | Items[2]/Description | Items[2]/Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loan-0412.xml | 2019-03-15 | Ana Silva | Laptop | 1250.00 | Docking station | 189.99 |
| Loan-0413.xml | 2019-03-18 | Raj Mehta | Projector | 640.00 |
Repeating tables and sections
A repeating table is spread over numbered columns in the main table (Items[1]/Cost, Items[2]/Cost and so on, as many as the fullest form needs). That keeps one row per form, which is what most people want in Excel.
Each repeating group also gets a table of its own with one row per item: the form's file name, the item number, and its fields. That is the better shape for loading into a database, and it is the only place a repeating group nested inside another one is complete. In the CSV export these are separate files; in the Excel workbook they are separate sheets.
What goes in each cell
- Dates and times exactly as the form stored them (
2019-03-15,2019-03-15T14:30:00). In the Excel workbook, fields the schema types as dates and numbers become real dates and numbers. - Rich text as plain text, with line breaks kept.
- Check boxes as the stored value, usually
trueorfalse. - Attachments as the file name and size. The files themselves are saved in a folder per form.
- People pickers as their display name, account and type in three columns.
The CSV is UTF-8 with a byte order mark so Excel shows accented names correctly. A value that starts with = + - or @ gets an apostrophe in front so a spreadsheet does not treat it as a formula; numbers like -12.5 are left alone.
Doing it
- Drop the template and the forms on the converter.
- Open the Field table tab to check the columns. It shows every form on screen.
- Export, with CSV tables or the Excel workbook ticked.
The free export includes the first ten rows of each table. The licence includes all of them.