Understanding Dynamic Forms in SharePoint - Native Forms vs. Customized Forms

Introduction

Before we dive into this topic, I want to help those of you here for SharePoint forms. You can find resources to address your specific business challenge.

To keep this content fresh and updated, I want to share three great SharePoint form customization resources. These are by Vladi Gubler, the CTO at Infowise.

• If you're looking to enhance your forms with intuitive layouts, sleek styling, and cutting-edge AI tools, don’t miss Introduction to Layout and Rules on Smart SharePoint Forms, How to Style Your SharePoint Forms, and Generate SharePoint Forms with AI. These posts explore practical techniques and new technologies. They help turn your SharePoint forms into easy-to-use, attractive, and AI-powered solutions. These solutions are great for any organization that wants to improve its workflows.
• Powerful dynamic forms: your modern business solutions start with powerful yet easy-to-use forms created directly in your browser without a single line of code.
• Pre-configured business solutions: browse our growing library of pre-built forms and business solutions, install them in your own environment, and then use and modify them for free.

SharePoint native forms vs. custom SharePoint dynamic forms

In the context of SharePoint, a form is a page or document that contains fields for user input, such as text boxes, dropdown lists, and checkboxes. A dynamic form is a form that can change its appearance or behavior in response to user input or other events. For example, a dynamic form might hide or show specific fields based on the values entered by the user, or it might enable or disable certain buttons based on the user's permissions. Dynamic forms can be created in SharePoint using various tools, Microsoft's apps such as Power Apps, Microsoft Forms, custom code, and third-party tools like our own Ultimate Forms.

Out-of-the-box SharePoint forms may not always be the best solution for businesses, depending on their specific needs and requirements. SharePoint native forms are fairly basic and do not have many customization options. They can be sufficient for simple data entry and retrieval tasks but may not provide enough flexibility or functionality for more complex or sophisticated use cases.

For example, SharePoint basic forms may not offer the ability to hide or show fields based on user input or other conditions or to use custom layout templates. They also do not provide many options for customizing the appearance or behavior of forms, such as adding custom buttons or actions. As a result, businesses that need more advanced or dynamic forms may need to look for alternative solutions, such as Infowise Ultimate Forms or other third-party add-ons.

However, it is also worth noting that SharePoint native forms can be a good choice for businesses that do not require a lot of customization and need an essential solution for collecting and storing data. In these cases, using SharePoint native forms can be a quick and easy way to start with SharePoint and may be a more cost-effective option than other solutions.

Adding dynamism to SharePoint Forms with Infowise Ultimate Forms

Infowise Ultimate Forms is an add-on for SharePoint. One of its leading capabilities is allowing users to create dynamic custom forms within SharePoint. It provides a range of features that can be used to customize the appearance and behavior of SharePoint forms, including the ability to:

• Expandable form sections based on user input
• Conditionally display and hide columns and other form elements based on status, user role, or user inputs
• Set up cascading lookup columns to show filtered options
• Auto-fill form fields using dynamic rules, streamlining form updates
• Embed formatted help sections to guide users
• Create custom validation rules for every scenario
• Control the form design easily with simple-to-use options
• Set up forms with easy configuration and NO CUSTOM CODE

By using Infowise Ultimate Forms, users can create dynamic forms that are more interactive and tailored to their specific needs. This can improve the usability and effectiveness of SharePoint forms and make it easier for users to enter and update data.