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When designing a new form based on an existing XML document, you can work with the form in the same way as when you design a new, blank form, including inserting and laying out controls, inserting and modifying fields (field: An element or attribute in the data source that can contain data. If the field is an element, it can contain attribute fields. Fields store the data that is entered into controls.) and groups (group: An element in the data source that can contain fields and other groups. Controls that contain other controls, such as repeating tables and sections, are bound to groups.) in the data source (data source: The collection of fields and groups that define and store the data for an InfoPath form. Controls in the form are bound to the fields and groups in the data source.), adding data validation (data validation: The process of testing the accuracy of data; a set of rules you can apply to a control to specify the type and range of data that users can enter.) and conditional formatting (conditional formatting: Changing the appearance of a control, including its visibility, based on values entered into the form.), and publishing the form.

Note  When you design a form based on an existing XML document, Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 creates a data source based on the information in your .xml file. The more detailed your XML document is, the more detailed the resulting data source will be.

1. On the File menu, click Design a Form.
2. In the Design a Form task pane, click New from XML Document or Schema.
3. On the first page of the Data Source Wizard, click Browse.
4. In the Open dialog box, browse to the XML document you want to base the form on, and then click Open.
5. On the next page of the Data Source Wizard, click Next.
6. On the next page of the Data Source Wizard, do one of the following:
   • If you want to include an additional XML document or XML Schema in your form, click Yes, click Next, and then repeat steps 3 through 5.
   • If you are finished adding XML documents or XML Schemas to your form, click No, and then click Finish.
7. In the dialog box that appears, do one of the following:
   • To use the values in the XML document to create default data for your form, click Yes. The values stored in the XML document will become the default values for the fields in your form.
   • To use only the structure of the XML document and not its values, click No.
8. To begin adding controls to the form, right-click a field or group in the Data Source task pane, and then on the shortcut menu, click the control you want to insert.

Note  The information in this topic may not apply if you are working with a form designed using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 without the service pack installed.