[Resolved]: Quick way to troubleshoot error "Data Object does not exist" in the InfoPath forms in SharePoint Online.

Introduction

We performed the migration of the InfoPath forms from SharePoint On-Premises to the SharePoint Online environment using InfoPath designer for a Postal and Parcel company based out of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We updated all the data connections as per the online version. But, when we work with a large form, it contains a lot of rules and actions. And, In any of the rules/actions, if it has any of the invalid data connection then, it becomes difficult for us to troubleshoot/identify the error.

Issue

• We faced one issue "The DataObject does not exist" while migrating the form and in this blog, we will learn a quick way for the steps to perform for troubleshooting this type of error in the InfoPath forms. 
• We encounter the below error while previewing or publishing the form.

Solution 

• To troubleshoot this issue, we need to find this data object error and  then we can update it or remove it from the form as per requirement. 
• Here, we will work with the manifest file, and then we will troubleshoot it from the InfoPath Designer.
• This is an easy way to find the rule/action which contains the "data object does not exist error".   

Steps to find and troubleshoot this type of errors.

Step 1:

• Open the “Publish” menu and click on the “Export source files” button as shown below. 

Step 2:

• Select a folder to export the source files and click on “OK”. 

• Now navigate to the “Extracted” folder and open the “manifest” file with any text editor. 

Step 3:

• This manifest file is an XML file and it contains all the rules, actions, and views where these data objects are used. 
• So we can find our data object here as shown below. 
• It will show us an XML tag that contains the “caption” property and this is the name of our rule. 

Step 4:

• Once, we found the rule which uses the detected data object, we can simply look for that rule/action in the InfoPath designer by navigating to the "Managed Rules" section. 
• There are many ways to search for a rule, one of the way is to find our data object inside the "Rules Inspector" which is inside the "Data" tab from the top ribbon. 

• Now we can modify it and can update it as per our requirement.

 

Conclusion

This is how we can troubleshoot errors quickly in the InfoPath form. I hope this will help you. Have a Good day! 

If you have any questions you can reach out our SharePoint Consulting team here.