Workflows in Office SharePoint Server 2007
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 builds on and extends the workflow development framework in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. Workflow developers have access to the entire range of workflow development options in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, as well as using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 to create forms that can be hosted inside of Microsoft Office system client applications—such as Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, and Microsoft Office Excel—as well as on the server.
You can create workflows using the following two developer applications:
For workflows that include custom code and employ forms, use the Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) Designer in Visual Studio 2005.
If you use Visual Studio 2005, you can also use forms technologies, such as Microsoft ASP.NET, to create forms that can interact with and gather information from users. For more information, see Workflow Forms Overview in the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK.
For declarative, rules-based workflows that contain no code, and that are developed against a specific SharePoint site, use Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007.
For more information, see SharePoint Workflow Development in the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK.
In addition, Office SharePoint Server 2007 enables developers to use Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 to create forms that can be hosted both within Microsoft Office system client applications, and on the server. Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 gives you the ability to create symmetrical forms—forms that look and operate exactly the same way whether they are displayed in the Office SharePoint Server 2007 Web interface, or within a Microsoft Office system client application, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
For more information, see InfoPath Forms for Workflows.
The following figure shows the range of technologies you can employ to develop workflows for Office SharePoint Server 2007.
SharePoint Workflow and Development Tools
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See Also
Concepts
InfoPath Forms for Workflows
Workflow Association and Initialization Forms (Office SharePoint Server 2007)
Workflow Modification Forms (Office SharePoint Server 2007)
Workflow Task Forms (Office SharePoint Server 2007)