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Given by Yuping Zhu, Geoffrey C. Fox at CPS616 Web Technologies on Spring 98. Foils prepared April 12 1998
Outside Index
Summary of Material
| Lotus Notes is a Powerful Asynchronous Collaboration System |
| with a nice web interface |
| We describe its capabilities from the point of view of both user and developer |
| We show to develop different views of a database and forms to display output |
| Services such as the calendar are illustrated |
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Lotus Notes And Domino Server
Abstract
A groupware Model
Communication (I)
Communication (II)
Collaboration (I)
Collaboration (II)
Coordination
Domino Server
Domino Services For Web Applications
Domino Web Server
Domino Messaging Server
Domino News Server
Domino Advanced Services
Supported Internet Protocol
Domino Mail Server
Notes Workspace
Notes Workspace Overview
Logging On To Notes
When is Password Needed?
Workspace pages
Operations On Workspace
Database Page
Database Page Overview From Notes User View
Forms
The Main Topic Form From Notes User View
Developing Form (I)
Developing Form (II)
Developing Form (III)
A Form With A Few Fields From Web User View
Views
Using Views
Example with a few Views From Web User View
View Database By Topic From Web User View
View Database By Date From Web User View
Developing Views (I)
Developing Views (II)
Developing Views (III)
Developing Views (IV)
Calendar and Schedule
Setting Up a Calendar Profile
Creating An Appointment
Calendar Views
A Calendar View From Notes User View
Calendar View Of Two Weeks From Web User View
Calendar View of One Month From Web User View
An Event Entry From Web User View
Creating a Home Page
Creating A Simple Discussion Forum (I)
Creating A Simple Discussion Forum (II)
A Simple Discussion Forum From Web User View
Notes Applications Overview
Outside Index
Summary of Material
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| NPAC CPS 616 Web Technologies |
| http://www.npac.syr.edu/users/gcf/cps616lotusnotesapril98 |
| http://delaware.npac.syr.edu:9898 |
| April 1998 |
| Geoffrey C. Fox |
| Yuping Zhu |
| Northeast Parallel Architecture Center |
| Syracuse University |
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| What is Lotus Notes |
| Lotus Notes combines many technologies, it's not a single product. It integrates several capabilities to form a multi_function software. For example, Lotus Notes is a database, word processor, e-mail, news group and web server. It's one of the best solutions as a groupware infrastructure. |
| Model |
| Lotus Notes uses the Client/Server model of computing and it can be split into two pieces: The client, which is called Notes, and the server, which is called Domino. |
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| As a groupware infrastructure, Lotus Notes model defines three areas of technology: |
| Communication |
| It encompasses electronic mail (or e-mail) |
| Collaboration |
| It enables groups to share information in a public forum or workspace |
| Coordination |
| It involves the automation of business processes. (or workflow automation) |
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| Electronic Mail and Messaging |
| Electronic mail is implemented by a network of computers. When the originator of a message sends it, the first computer to receive it stores it, and then checks to see if the recipient is local to that machine, If not, the message is sent on in a chain-like fashion from computer to computer until the message arrives at the recipient's machine. This technology is sometimes called store and forward. When security issues are involved, one can encrypt the message. |
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| Lotus Mail Service |
| Lotus provides Mail Server in Domino Server and Mail client in Lotus Notes. |
| Domino Server may have access to the Internet, that means you can use Lotus mail to send/receive mail to/from people using other mail service. |
| With Lotus Notes, you cerate a mail memo, then click Send button to send it. The Domino Server stores all mailboxes of the users on that Domino Server. |
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| Shared Information |
| Collaboration relies on a public, shared workspace where information can be created and used by all of the members of a particular group. One of the most popular collaborative types is electronic discussion database, which is also called electronic forum. E-forums enable people to participate in an electronic discussion from different location as well as at different times. When you post a message to an e-forum, it is available for all the other participants to see. If someone answers your message, it's like a phone caller on a radio talk show, and his or her response is heard by all participants. |
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| Collaboration can be divided into synchronous collaboration and asynchronous collaboration. |
| Synchronous Collaboration |
| In this model, participants always present at the same time. When you send out information, you can receive very quick feedback from others. For example, NPAC's Tango provide such service. |
| Asynchronous Collaboration |
| In this model, participants don't need present at the same time. When you send out information, you may not get immediate feedback, it could be delayed a few hours or a few days. Lotus provides such service. |
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| Workflow Automation |
| In many cases, a job or task frequently is part of a large job. Workflow automation is the automating of the flow of work from one person or job function to the next, and the information is electronically passed between persons. |
| Management Report |
| As a very nice by-product of the workflow automation, one also can get information such as: how many items have been processed, how many are left, which items are unprocessed, how long dose each step in the process take and so on. |
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| Component |
| As Server, Domino includes two main parts: Domino Server and Domino Mail Server. |
| Domino Server is both Notes Server and Internet Server, because it serves both Notes clients and Internet clients. It ties the Lotus Notes application to the Internet protocols and standards, and lets any client participate in Notes applications using the Internet. As web application server, the Domino server delivers messaging and groupware application to web clients. |
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| Object store. In domino, the object store is database. It can manage and retrieve complex data types, including rich text, images, application objects and multimedia. |
| Central directory. In domino it's called Public Address Book where you store user names and e-mail addresses. It also manages server and database configuration, messaging routes and configuration, certificates and access control, replication schedule. |
| Security. Domino provides multiple layers of security, from basic server access to page and field-level read/write authority. Access to content is controlled by an access control list(ACL) . |
| Messaging and workflow. You can use this service to develop web applications for business communication and coordination. |
| Replication. Domino uses this service to synchronize information on all the servers throughout a corporate network. |
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| The Domino Web Server merges Web Server technology with Lotus Notes technology to let third-party Web browsers access data and applications stored in a database. With Domino, a user can: |
| Access the Domino server securely. |
| Access dynamic data and applications based on time, database queries, and user identity. |
| Create, edit, and delete document in a database. |
| Search a database. |
| View content in a database using navigation capabilities, such as the ability to expand and collapse views. |
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| The Domino messaging server can be accessed by following clients: |
| Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) clients. |
| Post Office Protocol v3 (POP3) /Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) |
| Lotus Mail Java clients. |
| Lotus Mail clients: implement POP3/SMTP and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). |
| Lotus Notes Mail clients: advanced messaging client with fully integrated calendar and scheduling, discussions, and basic workflow. |
| Lotus Notes Designer client: with advanced messaging and access to applications. |
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| The Domino news server enables the Domino server to support Internet standard news reader clients using the NNTP protocol. The server can also support NNTP server-to-server replication or newsfeeds, with other Internet standard news servers, including USENET. |
| A domino NNTP server lets users participate in private discussion groups or public USENET newsgroups using a Notes designer client, a standard NNTP newsreader or a web browser. |
| Each newsgroup is stored in a database. |
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| Server Clusters |
| A server cluster is a group of up to six Domino servers in the same domain connected by a local area network. |
| Partitioned Servers |
| A partitioned server lets you run multiple Domino servers on a single computer, You can run up to six Domino servers on one machine. |
| Billing |
| The billing feature enables a Domino server to track specific Domino activities.The billing server task collects this information and records the data for billing purpose. |
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| Application Development |
| ActiveX, CORBA IIOP, HTTP, Java |
| Directory |
| X.500 Hierarchical naming structure and interoperability, X.502 compliant format, LDAP |
| Security |
| SSL, X.509 certificate support/generation |
| Messaging |
| SMTP/MIME, POP3, IMAP4, X.400 MTA, MAPI |
| News |
| NNTP |
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| Domino Mail Server can manage both rich Notes™ mail and standard-based Internet mail while providing directory information to Notes workstations through the Public Address Book and to Internet users through the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). |
| For messaging, Domino supports LDAP, POP3, IMAP, SMTP and MIME. The Domino Mail Server can be used as the foundation of your Internet and Intranet messaging system. |
| Domino Mail Server provides mail routing for local area network and remote users. It has all of the attributes of other database, such as full text indexing. |
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| Components |
| Menu: Lets you choose Notes commands. (The commands on the menu sometimes change, depending on what you are doing.) |
| SmartIcons®: Let you choose Notes commands by just clicking an icon. |
| Workspace tabs: Let you change to different workspace pages to see the database icons on those database. |
| Database icons: Let you open Notes Database. |
| Workspace page: Lets you store database icons. |
| Status bar: Lets you change some setting, open your mail database, and see some current information about Notes. |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998 
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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| Notes is on the top of the local area network, and uses the underlying network infrastructure for communication protocol when a user on a workstation accesses a database or process on the Notes server. The way to logon Notes depends on how you have set up individual database. The system administrator creates a ID file for every user. If security is not enforced, you can starts up Notes on your local workstation without a user ID. But you do have to provide a valid and password protected user ID to use a workstation to access databases and processes on a Notes server, or to access databases on the local workstation that has access control security enforced. |
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| Open a database on which local security is enforced |
| Define local security for a database (using the Properties box for an existing or new database) |
| Change ID files |
| Access a Notes server for any purpose, such as open a database |
| Start up Notes when you have an Island location |
| Any other action which requires authentication between a user ID and a database or a server |
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| By default, Notes displays six tabbed workspace pages, plus the Replicator page, which is always the back page. In addition to the six default pages, you can define up to 26 additional pages, giving you a total of 32 workspace pages. Each workspace can hold up to 256 database icons. |
| The workspace pages are used to organize database icons in any way makes sense to you. Whichever configuration is desired, the user can add and delete their own workspace pages. But Replicator page cannot be deleted and database icons can only be placed on the page for the purpose of replication. |
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| Customize a Tab: Add or modify the name of the workspace page, change the color of the tab |
| Add a New Workspace Page |
| Delete a Workspace Page |
| Compact the Workspace |
| Move database icons around on a workspace page |
| Add a database icon to the workspace |
| Remove a database icon from the workspace |
| Open a database when the icon is already on the workspace page |
| Customize SmartIcons |
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| Component |
| Action bar: Contains buttons you can click to quickly perform some common tasks. The buttons on the action bar sometimes change, depending on what you are doing. Some database may not action bar |
| Navigation pane: Lets you open different folders and views |
| View pane: Lets you select and open documents |
| Preview pane: Lets you read the document that is highlight in the view pane without opening the document |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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| Forms are similar to their paper counterparts. It can contain static information which is the same on each instance of the form or fields which are allowed to vary from one instance of the form to another. Fields can include extended textual information. |
| You can have several forms in a database, each with a separate purpose and representing a kind of template. The template is similar in purpose to the definition of the structure of a relational table. In notes, different forms can have completely different formats, fields and purpose. That is to say, you can have different kinds of records in the same Notes database. |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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| Creating Database |
| Form are always created in the context of a Notes database, so first we have to create a new, empty database to house the forms, views and application. This can be done by starting from a workspace page and then using the File menu option: File | Database | New and selecting one of templates. |
| Creating a Form |
| From the menu, select Create | Design | Form, then move cursor to the top input area of the form and enter the form title and you can select a font and pick a size. |
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| Creating a Field |
| Move cursor a couple of lines below the Form title and type the word Field1:. Tab, then from the menu select: Create | Field. A dialog box will appear, then you should replace the name Untitled with the Field1Name in the Name field of this dialog box. |
| Testing the Form |
| First we have to give the form a name. Click on the drop down box in the Properties InfoBox title, Select from Properties, click on the basic tab. Under form name, enter the form name. Then from the menu, select: Design | Test Form, you'll be asked whether you want to save the form, Select: Yes, you'll see the form displayed. |
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| Adding More Fields |
| We can add more fields to the form. On the next two lines, enter the static text Field2:Tab and then followed a Create | Field with the name Filed2Name. Repeat those steps to create more fields. Field names must be unique within a form, and are not case-sensitive. |
| Testing Whole Form |
| Select the Create menu item, then select the option called your form name. You'll see a blank version of the form. Now you can enter the data into every field. After filled the form, close the form by selecting File | Close from the menu. Press : Yes when Notes asks if you want to save the new document. |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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| A view is a way to look at the data in the database. Each database may have several views. Views are created by the designer of a database. A user with Reader access to the database dose not have the ability to change the views in the database. |
| A view is really a predefined query that performs two tasks: |
| Selecting documents that meet specified criteria |
| Sorting documents for presentation to the user |
| The data is not duplicated in each of these views; the views only provide different ways of viewing or organizing your data. |
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| A view can be used to Open, Copy, Delete and Print documents. To perform an action on a single document, highlight the document and select the action from menu. |
| Every Notes database has at least one view. When a empty database is created by Notes, it also creates a default view. You can see a related subset of the documents in a Notes database using view. It is displayed in a tabular fashion with both rows and columns. The rows usually represent one document from the database. The information displayed in each column for that row is extracted from fields in the document or other document attributes, such as document creation date, last modified date or size. |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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| Setting Up the Database |
| Select a workspace page on which you want the icon to appear. Then double-click the database icon to open it. Click on the twistie next to the Design line to expose the design elements. Then click on Views and the default view, you'll see a view dialog box. |
| Refreshing Views |
| This is to make sure the information in the view up to date. And this can be done by using View | Refresh option from the menu. |
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| View Selection Formulas |
| If there is no formula, the view will display all documents in the database. If you want to selectively show only some of the documents in the database, you can make a selection formula. This is similar to the query expression in the Relational Database. This can be done by selecting the Formula radio button and enter the following line in the formula box: SELECT expression |
| Defining a Column in a View |
| Select the Define drop-down listbox at the top of the formula pane and select the item such as Creation Date, Size and so on. |
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| Selectively Display Information in a Row |
| Not all documents have the same fields in a Notes Database. You can selectively display different field for different document. This can be done by selecting Formula radio button and entering the following line in the formula box: |
| @If (condition; fieldName1; fieldName2) |
| This means, if condition is true, display fieldName1, otherwise, display fieldName2 |
| Column Properties |
| Open the Column properties InfoBox to change some properties |
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| Saving Information in a Column |
| Click on the Sorting tab to open Sorting Dialog, You can select one of the options to sort the column in the view |
| Defining More Columns |
| You can define one more column in the view. From the menu select: Create | Append New Column to add a column to the right of the first column, Create | Insert New Column to insert a new column to the left of the first column |
| Moving, Coping and Deleting Columns |
| From the menu using Edit | Cut and Edit | Paste to move Column, using Edit | Copy to copy Column, using Edit | Cut to delete Column |
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| The calendar and schedule features of Notes are integrated into the personal mail database. The features in the mail database include: |
| Calendar view lets you view appointment and events using Two Days, One week, Two Weeks, and One Month formats |
| Calendar Profile form lets you set scheduling options, such as default length of appointment and access for other people to view your free time |
| Calendar Entry form is used to create personal appointment, meeting invitations, events, reminders, and anniversaries |
| Invitation form is used to accept or decline meeting invitations and to request to reschedule a meeting |
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| Choose Actions | Calendar Tools | Calendar, then you can do: |
| Delegation Profile: This is used to allow other users to read and edit your calendar and e-mail |
| Scheduling Options: This allows you to set a default duration for your appointments and meetings, to turn on alarm, and to automatically set alarms for certain types of calendar entries |
| Free Time: This allows you to restrict access to other people who want to view your free time and to set which times are considered valid time |
| Advanced calendar Options: This allows you to configure automatic calendar features, to set default calendar types, and to enable conflict checking |
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| Open your mail database and chose Create | Calendar Entry to create a new calendar entry. You can choose from the following types: |
| Appointment is used to create an appointment with yourself |
| Invitation is used to create a meeting appointment, invite others, or reserve a meeting room |
| Event is used to record single-day or multiday events |
| Reminder is used to remind yourself of a task or appointment without reserving any time |
| Anniversary is used to create yearly events, such as holidays and birthdays |
| Then you can choose the date and time |
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| You can use Calendar views to see your schedule using four calendar types: Two Days, One Week, Two Weeks and One Month. The view is similar to the interface of Lotus Organizer or your notebook planner. Choosing View | Calendar and selecting a type to choose which view type you want to see. |
| You can change your schedule using drag-and-drop. If you want to move an appointment, simply click on the entry in the calendar view and drag it to the view day. Notes will automatically move the entry, check for time conflicts and send reschedule notices to meeting attendees if necessary. |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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| Choose Create | Web Page |
| Enter a page name in the field provided |
| Enter a page title in the field provided |
| Select the "Make this page the home page" box |
| Press TAB to move the cursor to the design area of the page |
| Enter text for the first line of your home page |
| Press Enter several times to move the cursor down the page |
| Enter the context of the home page |
| Click the Save Page button on the action bar |
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| Choose File | Database | New, the new Database dialog box appears |
| Select Local in the server field |
| Enter a title for your discussion forum database |
| Select Discussion R4.6 from the list of template at the bottom of the dialog box |
| Click OK. The "About Discussion" Document appears |
| Press ESC to close this document, the main view of the discussion database appears |
| Click New Main Topic to create a discussion topic in your discussion forum |
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| Enter a category in the field provided for your first discussion page. Each time a user enters a category, it becomes part of the list of category choices for subsequent users |
| Enter a title |
| Enter a message |
| Click the Save button on the action bar |
| Press ESC twice to return to the Notes Designer workspace |
HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
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HTML version of Basic Foils prepared April 12 1998
Full HTML Index
| Lotus Notes is an extremely useful tool. Some things are best accomplished with Notes, but others may be best left to other system. |
| Applications best for Notes |
| Tracking, Broadcast, Discussion, Approval, Workflow, Prototype/Proof-of-Concept, World Wide Web-Related, Object Libraries, Imaging-small-scale, Information Warehouses, Executive Summaries |
| Things to avoid using Notes |
| Real-Time Needs, Heavy reporting Needs, Relational Data, Large Numbers of Users Accessing the same Document |