Can I create Sub-Forms on SharePoint?

Question

I would like to create a form that manages opportunities for my business.

The form would collect all relevent information like order date, time, etc.

But, within this form, I would like to have 2 subforms:

1. One that collects action items that will essentially be linked to a workflow that assigns people to actions
2. One that collects Guarantee information (basically, in some deals we would have multiple guarantees, and I'd like to have an option to "Add more")

What I need is to be able to add multiple items to one "Parent" list, using a child's list, and the child list is linked to the parent using a unique ID assigned to it through a manual entry field on the Parent List. Ideally, if the Parent Item ID is 1234, I would want this 1234 to automatically be populated in the children's items as I will be using this list to also do analysis.

For me, this would be solved by creating "sub-forms". Is there such a thing in SharePoint?

Answer 1

To my knowledge, the short answer is "no". Out of the box SharePoint does not have anything satisfying what you are asking for.

BUT, SharePoint is a highly flexible and programmable, if you know or have someone who can develop in SharePoint. With SharePoint APIs pairing with a variety of web technologies, you can virtually do anything you need in SharePoint. There will be some differences and choices to be made depending if you are using SharePoint online or on-premise, but research into the following models. There are tons of other info about this topic that goes beyond this post.

CSOM:

CSOM, which stands for Client-Side Object Model, is a web services-based API of SharePoint. It allows access to SharePoint data and features from remote clients. CSOM was introduced in SharePoint 2010 and greatly enhanced in SharePoint 2013.

JSOM:

Access information in the host web using the Javascript Object Model, you need to use an SP.ClientContext.get_current() for normal use. New SP.ClientContext('url...') for specific SPSite. Note this works cross-SPSite in 2013.

SSOM:

Server Object Model is the most extensive API set available for SharePoint 2013. The core assembly is Microsoft.SharePoint.dll which is installed in the Global Assembly Cache. The Server Object Model will be executed in the server side & it provides rich set of classes in representing & manipulating SharePoint objects. Must be deployed on same farm.

REST:

The REST Services in SharePoint offer nearly the same functionality like JSOM. Furthermore, it is easier to use for a developer not coming from the SharePoint world since REST interfaces are standardized. This makes the choice of technology easier than for JSOM.