Hosting InfoPath as an XML Editor in Another Application

The Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 form editing environment can be hosted in a custom Windows application. This feature, also referred to as the hostable editor, allows developers to integrate the InfoPath form editing environment into line of business applications. Developers writing traditional COM-based applications can use the InfoPathEditorObject object that is available by referencing IPEDITOR.DLL, and developers writing Microsoft .NET–based applications can use the Microsoft.Office.InfoPath.FormControl assembly, which provides managed types based on the COM interface. This latter FormControl object contains the same functionality as the InfoPathEditorObject object, but the types and their associated members are different. The MSDN article, Hosting the InfoPath 2007 Form Editing Environment in a Custom Windows Form Application, focuses on the FormControl object and how to incorporate it into your custom .NET-based applications. The download associated with the article contains a custom application that provides .NET functions for replicating the InfoPath form editing environment through the use of COM IOleCommandTargets.