Universal Data Connection v2.0 Reference and Schema

Article
10/16/2013

The Universal Data Connection (UDC) file format has been used by FrontPage since Office 2003 to store data connection information used by Web parts. The UDC v1 file format is documented in the Office 2003: XML Reference Schemas.

Unlike the ODC format used by other Office applications, which stores information about database connections, UDC files can store information about several different types of data connections, and can be extended to store information about arbitrary types.

There are two versions of the UDC file format used by Office 2007 applications. InfoPath uses the v2.0 format which is described in this document.

UDC v2.0 Example

The following example of a UDC v2.0 shows how the basic structure of the UDC file is similar to previous versions.

<?MicrosoftWindowsSharePointServices ContentTypeID=”0x010100B4CBD48E029A4ad8B62CB0E41868F2B0”?>
<udc:DataSource MajorVersion="2" MinorVersion="0" xmlns:udc="https://schemas.microsoft.com/office/infopath/2006/udc">
    <udc:Name>Submit to HTTP</udc:Name>
    <udc:Description>This UDC file describes an HTTP Submit connection for InfoPath</udc:Description>
    <udc:Type MajorVersion="2" MinorVersion="0" Type="XmlSubmit"/>
    <udc:ConnectionInfo Purpose="WriteOnly">
        <udc:UpdateCommand>
          <udc:Submit>http://www.example.com/postTarget.aspx</udc:Submit>
        </udc:UpdateCommand>
        <udc:Authentication />
    </udc:ConnectionInfo>
</udc:DataSource>

UDC v2.0 Schema Reference

Global Properties

File extension: *.udcx or *.xml

XML Namespace: https://schemas.microsoft.com/office/infopath/2006/udc

Content Type ID: 0x010100B4CBD48E029A4ad8B62CB0E41868F2B0

The Processing Instructions

Name	Type	Description
MicrosoftWindowsSharePointServices	Processing Instruction
MicrosoftWindowsSharePointServices/@ContentTypeID	Attribute	Must be 0x010100B4CBD48E029A4ad8B62CB0E41868F2B0

The DataSource Element

<udc:DataSource MajorVersion="2" MinorVersion="0" xmlns:udc="https://schemas.microsoft.com/office/infopath/2006/udc">
    <udc:Name/>
    <udc:Description/>
    <udc:Type MajorVersion="2" MinorVersion="0" Type=""/>
<udc:ConnectionInfo/>
</udc:DataSource>

Name	Type	Description
DataSource	Element	Container element
DataSource/@MajorVersion	Attribute	Must be 2
DataSource/@MinorVersion	Attribute	Must be 0
Name	Element	Display name for the UDC file
Description	Element	Description of the UDC file
Type	Element	Connection type
Type/@MajorVersion	Attribute	Optional: should be 2 if used
Type/@MinorVersion	Attribute	Optional: should be 0 if used
Type/@Type	Attribute	Type of the data connection. One of the following values: SharePointList SharePointLibrary Database XmlQuery XmlSubmit WebService
ConnectionInfo	Element	Connection-specific information

The ConnectionInfo Element

<udc:ConnectionInfo Purpose="WriteOnly">
    <udc:WsdlUrl/>
    <udc:SelectCommand/>
    <udc:UpdateCommand/>
    <udc:Authentication/>
</udc:ConnectionInfo>

Name	Type	Description
ConnectionInfo	Element	Container element
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	Attribute	Determines whether the connection is for query or submit. Possible values: ReadOnly WriteOnly ReadWrite
WsdlUrl	Element	Fully-qualified URL to the WSDL for a Web Service
SelectCommand	Element	Details of the query connection
UpdateCommand	Element	Details of the submit connection
Authentication	Element	Server-specific authentication information

The SelectCommand Element

<udc:SelectCommand>
<udc:ListId/>
    <udc:WebUrl/>
    <udc:ConnectionString/>
    <udc:OperationName/>
    <udc:ServiceUrl UseFormsServiceProxy=""/>
    <udc:SoapAction/>
<udc:Query/>
</udc:SelectCommand>

Name	Type	Description
SelectCommand	Element	Container element
ListId	Element	GUID for a SharePoint List connection
WebUrl	Element	URL to the Web site containing the SharePoint List
ConnectionString	Element	Database Connection string
ServiceUrl	Element	Web Service Service URL
ServiceUrl/@UseFormsServiceProxy	Attribute	Determines whether the Web Service connection should use the Forms Service proxy
SoapAction	Element	Web Service SoapAction
Query	Element	Specific query or URL – used by multiple connection types

The UpdateCommand Element

<udc:UpdateCommand>
<udc:OperationName/>
    <udc:ServiceUrl/>
    <udc:SoapAction/>
    <udc:Submit/>
    <udc:FileName/>
<udc:FolderName AllowOverwrite="1"/>
</udc:UpdateCommand>

Name	Type	Description
UpdateCommand	Element	Container Element.
OperationName	Element	Web Service operation name.
ServiceUrl	Element	Web Service Service URL.
ServiceUrl/@UseFormsServiceProxy	Attribute	Determines whether the Web Service connection should use the Forms Service proxy.
SoapAction	Element	Web Service SoapAction.
Submit	Element	Specific query or URL – used by multiple connection types.
FileName	Element	Default file name for a SharePoint Library submit.
FolderName	Element	URL to the SharePoint library to submit to.
FolderName/@AllowOverwrite	Attribute	Determines whether to overwrite a file in a SharePoint library if it already exists.

The Authentication Element

<udc:Authentication>
    <udc:UseExplicit CredentialType="">
        <udc:UserId/>
        <udc:Password/>
    </udc:UseExplicit>
    <udc:SSO AppId="" CredentialType=""/>
</udc:Authentication>

Name	Type	Description
Authentication	Element	Container element.
UseExplicit	Element	Contains plaintext username and password to be used on the server for authentication.
UseExplicit/@CredentialType	Attribute	Describes how the contained credential is to be used. Possible values: Sql NTLM Kerberos CD Basic Digest
UserId	Element	UserID to use for authentication.
Password	Element	Plaintext password to use for authentication.
SSO	Element	Specifies an Office single Sign-on Application definition to use for authentication.
SSO/@AppId	Attribute	The application name from SSO.
SSO/@CredentialType	Attribute	Describes how the contained credential is to be used. Possible values: Sql NTLM Kerberos CD Basic Digest

CredentialType Values

Value	Description
Sql	Credentials will be embedded in a database connection string for authentication against a SQL server.
NTLM	Credentials will be used to impersonate a Windows user.
Kerberos	Credentials will be used to impersonate a Windows user using Kerberos.
CD	The username will be used to impersonate a Windows user using Constrained delegation.
Basic	Credentials will be used to perform HTTP Basic authentication.
Digest	Credentials will be used to perform HTTP Digest authentication.

Required Properties by Connection Type

Web Service

Property	Value
DataSource/Type/@Type	WebService
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	ReadOnly SelectCommand element contains Web Service query settings. WriteOnly UpdateCommand element contains Web Service submit settings. ReadWrite Both SelectCommand and UpdateCommand are present.
ConnectionInfo/WsdlUrl	Fully-qualified URL to the WSDL for the Web Service
ServiceUrl	Web Service Service URL
ServiceUrl/@UseFormsServiceProxy	Determines whether the Web Service connection should use the Forms Service proxy
SoapAction	Web Service SoapAction

Database

Property	Value
DataSource/Type/@Type	Database
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	ReadOnly InfoPath determines at design time whether a database connection can support submit.
SelectCommand/ConnectionString	Database connection string
SelectCommand/Query	SQL query to perform

SharePoint List

Property	Value
DataSource/Type/@Type	SharePointList
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	ReadOnly
ListId	GUID of the Sharepoint list
WebUrl	URL to the containing site for the list

SharePoint Library Submit

Property	Value
DataSource/Type/@Type	SharePointLibrary
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	WriteOnly
FileName	Default file Name for a SharePoint Library submit.
FolderName	URL to the SharePoint library to submit to.
FolderName/@AllowOverwrite	Determines whether to overwrite a file in a SharePoint library if it already exists.

HTTP Post

Property	Value
DataSource/Type/@Type	XmlSubmit
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	WriteOnly
UpdateCommand/Submit	URL that specifies the target of the post.

XML File

Property	Value
DataSource/Type/@Type	XmlQuery
ConnectionInfo/@Purpose	ReadOnly
SelectCommand/Query	URL of the XML source to query.

The UDC v2.0 Schema

Copy the following XML schema and paste it into a text editor such as Notepad, then save as UDC20.xsd in order to use the schema for UDC file generation, reference and custom validation. In Visual Studio 2005, this schema can provide Intellisense autocompletion if copied to the Visual Studio schema cache, typically located at <drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Xml\Schemas.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<xsd:schema targetNamespace="https://schemas.microsoft.com/office/infopath/2006/udc" xmlns:udc="https://schemas.microsoft.com/office/infopath/2006/udc" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
    <xsd:element name="DataSource">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:all>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Name" minOccurs="0" />
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Description" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Type" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:ConnectionInfo" minOccurs="0"/>
            </xsd:all>
            <xsd:attribute name="MajorVersion" type="xsd:integer"/>
            <xsd:attribute name="MinorVersion" type="xsd:integer" />
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="Name" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="Description" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="Type">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:attribute name="MajorVersion" type="xsd:integer"/>
            <xsd:attribute name="MinorVersion" type="xsd:integer"/>
            <xsd:attribute name="Type" type="xsd:string"/>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="ConnectionInfo">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:all>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:WsdlUrl" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:SelectCommand" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:UpdateCommand" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Authentication" minOccurs="0"/>
            </xsd:all>
            <xsd:attribute name="Purpose" type="xsd:string"/>
            <xsd:attribute name="AltDataSource" type="xsd:string"/>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="WsdlUrl" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="FileName" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="FolderName">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:simpleContent>
                <xsd:extension base="xsd:string">
                    <xsd:attribute name="AllowOverwrite" type="xsd:boolean"/>
                </xsd:extension>
            </xsd:simpleContent>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="SelectCommand">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:all>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:ListId" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:WebUrl" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:ConnectionString" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:ServiceUrl" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:SoapAction" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Query" minOccurs="0"/>
            </xsd:all>
            <xsd:attribute name="Type" type="xsd:string"/>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="ListId" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="WebUrl" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="ConnectionString" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="ServiceUrl">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:simpleContent>
                <xsd:extension base="xsd:string">
                    <xsd:attribute name="UseFormsServiceProxy" type="xsd:boolean"/>
                </xsd:extension>
            </xsd:simpleContent>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="SoapAction" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="Query" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="Submit" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="UpdateCommand">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:all>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:ServiceUrl" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:SoapAction" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Submit" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:FileName" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:FolderName" minOccurs="0"/>
            </xsd:all>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="Authentication">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:all>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:UseExplicit" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:SSO" minOccurs="0"/>
            </xsd:all>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="UseExplicit">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:all>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:UserId" minOccurs="0"/>
                <xsd:element ref="udc:Password" minOccurs="0"/>
            </xsd:all>
            <xsd:attribute name="CredentialType" type="xsd:string"/>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
    <xsd:element name="UserId" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="Password" type="xsd:string"/>
    <xsd:element name="SSO">
        <xsd:complexType>
            <xsd:simpleContent>
                <xsd:extension base="xsd:string">
                    <xsd:attribute name="AppId" type="xsd:string"/>
                    <xsd:attribute name="CredentialType" type="xsd:string"/>
                </xsd:extension>
            </xsd:simpleContent>
        </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
</xsd:schema>

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