Workflow dynamically pulling data from InfoPath form control fields

Question

When a user fills out my form, they're to choose who their manager and advisor is from a dropdown list. At the end of the form, two textfields are autopopulated with that same manager and advisor. When the form is submitted, the specified manager and advisor are to be notified in succession to open the form and choose an approval status (Pending, Approved, Rejected), and re-save the form.

What I'm trying to achieve: I'd like the workflow to pull the specified manager and advisor and use that information within the workflow. Is there a way to dynamically have the workflow interact with form field values?

EDIT: I'm using Visio to first graphically design my workflow, then I was going to add the logic to it once imported to SharePoint designer. So, firstly, shouldn't I need to add the correct Workflow symbols together within Visio? If so, which symbols do I need to grab the user-selected approver from the form field?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes there is - you can just publish the InfoPath form fields to your SharePoint library, then the values of the fields would be available for your workflow:

Of course you will still need to code some logic to convert your text-based field to a real user who can be notified.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure Visio doesn't support those kind of workflow operations. It's more about designing a high-level workflow. Download sharepoint designer 2010 - it's free, and it is a far more powerful tool for designing workflows and it will let you do what @moontear suggests.

Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2010 (32-bit)

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=16573