Don't settle for just one: Adding multiple default rows

Since I realize not everyone has installed the Beta yet (you can do it!), I figure it's time for a trick everyone can play with, even those still using InfoPath 2003.

Starting with more than one row in a repeating table

You may want to do this if you have a form where you know everyone's going to fill out at least five rows, or maybe some people will even print our your form before typing in their answers (I never!). You might even want to have five rows exactly, and then disable adding or deleting rows (in Repeating Table properties), but still use a repeating table to get the data structure you want.

Regardless of your scenario, here's how to do it:

Open the form in design mode
Click Default Values on the Tools menu
In the data source, select the group that's bound to the row of the repeating table
Click the down arrow next to the group name
Select "Add another row below"

You can even specify different values for the columns of each row using the bottom of that dialog. And of course this works for any repeating item in your data source, not just those bound to repeating tables.

Keyboard trick!

Save yourself a few clicks by typing the "Insert" key instead of using the menu. Each time you type "insert" it will add another row. Those two clicks per row can really add up when you have a lot of rows! If you type it a few too many times, you can also use the "Delete" key to remove the offending rows.

Got your own tricks to share?

As usual, if you've got your own tips in this area, or a cool reason to use this trick, please leave us a comment for the team to see and the community to gain.

Enjoy,

ned