Introduction to InfoPath programming environments

Microsoft Office InfoPath supports several programming environments for customizing a form template with programming code. Determining which programming environment is best for you depends on the programming language that you or your organization prefers and the development environments and tools that are available to you.

In this article

Scripting code

Managed code

Compatibility considerations

Scripting code

The Microsoft Script Editor (MSE) is the default integrated development environment for InfoPath if the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0 are not installed on your computer when you install InfoPath. When you work in MSE, you can use either Microsoft JScript or Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) to create custom business logic for a form template.

You can open MSE from within design mode by pointing to Programming on the Tools menu, and then clicking Microsoft Script Editor, or by pressing ALT+SHIFT+F11. When you open MSE from within InfoPath, the MSE code editor appears and the form template's default scripting file (with either a .js or .vbs file name extension, depending on the scripting language for the template) opens in the code editing window.

Note: If you do not see Microsoft Script Editor on the Programming menu, you must select JScript or VBScript as the scripting language for the form template. Find links to more information about setting the scripting language for a form template in the See Also section.

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Managed code

If the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0 are installed on your computer when you install InfoPath, then InfoPath uses the Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) programming environment as the default integrated development environment. When you work in VSTA, you can use either Microsoft Visual Basic or Microsoft C# to create custom managed code for a form template. For specific information about working in this development environment refer to the documentation that is installed with VSTA.

An additional development option is available if Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and InfoPath are installed on the same computer. You can download and install Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System, which enables you to create and design form templates that use managed code from within the Visual Studio 2005 development environment. For more information about using Visual Studio to create InfoPath projects, see the documentation that is installed with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the 2007 Microsoft Office System.

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Compatibility considerations

Only the C# and Visual Basic .NET languages are supported in browser-compatible form templates. Form templates with JScript or VBScript scripting code are not browser-compatible.

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