Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides built-in workflow templates to automate approval, review, and archiving processes. With Office SharePoint Server 2007, you can also create, maintain, and analyze custom workflows, enabling you to streamline your collaborative processes. Electronic forms provided through InfoPath Forms Services are an integral part of such workflows. These InfoPath designed electronic forms make it easy to collect and validate information that drives your business processes. And you can collect and validate this information right from the Microsoft Office client applications you use every day.

Browser-based forms with InfoPath Forms Services

InfoPath Forms Services, which is part of Office SharePoint Server 2007, extends your reach to organizations that do not use Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 by allowing you to fill out forms in a common browser or even a HTML-enabled mobile device.

Fill out Business Process forms in a common browser or on a mobile device. View a larger image.

With Office SharePoint Server 2007, you can:

• Deliver your forms with a consistent user experience regardless of where they are used. Office InfoPath 2007 uses built-in controls to deliver easy-to-use forms with predictable behavior, mouse-over tips, and built-in data validation.
• Streamline your business process applications through InfoPath forms, which collect and validate the data driving your workflows.
• Use built-in collaborative workflow templates to streamline approval, review, and archiving processes. Or you can create your own custom workflows with Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to build interactive collaborative applications. These applications will automatically route documents for reviews or approval, send e-mail notifications to participants, and archive documents to meet retention policy requirements.

Loan application business process form and related document library and workflow template settings. View a larger image.

Integrated workflow and document information panel from within Microsoft Office client applications

With Office SharePoint Server 2007, you can initiate and interact with workflows right from within your Microsoft Office application. You can also collect and validate important document metadata via the document information panel. Office SharePoint Server 2007 helps you:

• Collect important metadata defined by the Windows SharePoint Services library via the document information panel. The metadata may include information such as workflow status, content deadline, routing information, or other properties related to the documents lifecycle.
• Create a custom document information panel that contains the rich capability of an InfoPath form, including external data connections, data validation, conditional formatting, business logic, and other controls.
• Deploy document templates with advanced document management capability built directly into a document in a way that is easy and straightforward for document authors.
• Initiate a workflow or set a workflow status right from your familiar Microsoft Office application such as Microsoft Office Word 2007.

View a larger image.

Custom workflow design with Office SharePoint Designer 2007

Office SharePoint Designer 2007 makes it easy to add business logic to sophisticated no-code composite applications with the rules-based Workflow Designer. With the Workflow Designer tool in Office SharePoint Designer 2007, you can use drop-down lists and check boxes to identify the events that trigger a workflow. You can then specify the actions and responses that follow and even identify the conditions under which other workflow events will occur.

View a larger image.

View a larger image.

• Can't find a way to create workflow in Sharepoint Designer