I'm creating a form for users of our organization to submit. Users will go into the intranet SP site, open and complete the form, then submit (or save it).
We want end users to be able to edit the data in the form up to a point. We don't want end users to be able to see other user's submissions or data.
Managers will need to have the ability to see the data in Excel-type "views" (different views for different managers) of the data, rather than having to open each InfoPath form one by one to review the data. This allows for report-type views of the collection of data.
I know InfoPath forms can either be opened in SP form libraries (as a web or filler form), or SP lists (create list connection in InfoPath to the SP list, then edit the form and publish).
My question is, which method should I use? Both seem to be very similar. With the form library, users open the form, click submit, and the form gets saved to the library.. and fields in the form can be promoted to the same SP form library for viewing the data in Excel-type views. With the list, users open the form, enter the data, and click save. The data shows up in the list, and again, can be viewed in an Excel-type format for review purposes. In the list option, alternatively, you may create a button on the form and have the form 'submit' to a document library (ahh, even more confusion!).
I've searched and read up on the main differences between lists and libraries, but am still unsure which I should be using. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it.