Sean Cull

SNTT: Examples of accessing data on Xpages

Sean Cull — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:30:00 +0100

There are several ways of getting at the data on an Xpage. I wanted to understand this better so I have created this example which gives examples of

getComponent( "element name").getValue();
getComp onent("element name").getSubmittedValue()
currentDocument.getItemValueString("back end field name / data source name")

The key learning for me has been that the getSubmittedValue method will only work if the "Do not validate or update data" property is set. If it is not set then the value returned is null even though the name would suggest that it returns the "submitted value".

This means that in the case of a document which is not new you may need to test for both the existing value and the submitted value if you are using a two stage drop down as described by Tim Clark. The code I have used in a recent project is :

// the submitted value is not available
// until on onchange event has occurred
var keyvar : String;
var combo4SV = getComponent("comboBox4").getSubmittedValue();
var combo4 = getComponent("comboBox4").getValue();
if(combo4SV === null){keyvar = combo4} else {keyvar = combo4SV};
@DbLookup(@DbName(), "vpeepsbyorgname", keyvar, 2)

There is also a similar example listed under "Combining getValue and getSubmittedValue" in the Redbooks Wiki: Building Domino Web Applications using Domino 8

I have also found the following links useful :

You at Notes Wiki
Embedding Contextual Data for Client-Side Logic in XPages
Paul Hannan

xpage_field_values.nsf

SNTT: Using OpenNTF Xpages Wiki with multiple domains

Sean Cull — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:30:00 +0100

I have been working on a public facing OpenNtf Xpages Wiki for our Delivery Toolkit suite of products and wanted the Wiki to work with multiple domains e.g. if a user arrived via www.focul.net or www.deliverytoolkit.com then the wiki links would remain consistent.

The current wiki code ( 0.6 ) causes the internal wiki links to resolve to the domain which is configured as the host name on the server document.

Looking at the code in the xpWikiStyle SSJS library the links are absolute. Changing the following line produces relative urls which will honour the domain

url=@LeftBack(database.getHttpURL(),"/")+facesContext.getExternalContext().getRequestContextPath();

to

to url=""+facesContext.getExternalContext().getRequestContextPath();

so http://www.deliverytoolkit.com/Public/FDT/FDTWiki.nsf/home.xsp and
http://www.focul.net/Public/FDT/FDTWiki.nsf/home.xsp both work.

Using facesContext.getExternalContext().getRequest().getHeader("Host") to get the domain should also work if a computed domain is required

The project entry is here

SNTT : Adding Google Analytics to the OpenNTF Xpages Wiki template

Sean Cull — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0100

I have been working on a public facing OpenNtf Xpages Wiki for our Delivery Toolkit suite of products and I wanted to add Google Analytics.

It turned out to be straight forward once I had read a blog by Thomas Adrian who's Xpages based blog really looks the business - try out the search functionality.

Step 1 - copy the Analytics code from Google

Step 2 - disable the design inheritance for the wiki using application properties

Step 3 - open the prtBanner Custom Control

Step 4 - add an Output Script control to the Custom Control

Activate the Custom Controls Panel

Position your curson in the top left corner of the prtBanner and click

Select the "Output Script" Custom control from the "Other" Custom Controls menu

Switch to "Source" and you will see the Output Script represented by"scriptBlock1">.
You can move this to the top of the other custom controls as shown below.

Now paste your Google Analytics Script between the Script Block markers so that it looks like this

Save the Custom Control

SNTT: LotusScript t to remove the Prohibit Design Refresh flag from Forms and Views

Sean Cull — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:30:00 +0100

I recently had to replace the design on 130 applications with a new design. To do this I need to change the DesignTemplateName property ( property which for some reason is read only in LotusScript ).

I had tried the convert task but it kept bombing out trying to create folders for categories - a feature of its intended use on mail files I guess. To replace the template name I used this great little bit of code from Daniel Alvers.

Once I had changed the template and run the design task I found that some of the old design elements persisted because they had the "Prohibit Design Refresh" flag set. I wrote an agent to scan through all of the databases on a given server and remove these flags for databases linked to a named template. You can download the agent as a database or as a LotusScript text file.

The agent will ask for the template name and the server. A log of what it has done is added to a blank memo form

prohibit.lss

remove_prohibit_flag2.zip

A shout out for Andrews online Shop

Sean Cull — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 08:53:54 +0100

Andrew who works for me took a break from Notes a while back and set up a MySQL / PHP on-line shop with his wife selling Children's bedding, accessories and themed stuff.

The idea is that is is a one stop shop for a themed kids bedroom. Andrew is back into Notes again and his wife is now running the online shop.

The project says a lot about the power of MySQL / PHP but also a lot about the draw that Notes has for developers !

I have used the shop and would highly recommend it. http://www.restandplay.co.uk

End of Week 1 with the Nokia E72 and Lotus Traveler

Sean Cull — Mon, 7 Dec 2009 08:00:00 +0100

I've been using the E72 with Traveler ( 8.5.0.1 ) in anger for about a week now and I thought it would be useful to look back at the experience. I will try and update this further in another few weeks. My first impressions were previously recorded here.

The background to this is that I have come from a Blackberry Curve 8310, sent the Nokia N97 back after 2 days and am now trying the E72. I considered the Pre ( too new but played with one today and was impressed ) and Android ( too early but something to watch ).

I should say that I have found the review difficult to write. I had hoped to gush positively about Nokia's new Business Class Flagship phone but I have found it quite hard to use compared to my old Blackberry. It has some key advantages ( VOIP, Wifi ) over what I have had before but if I were supporting business users where ease of use and productivity were the key drivers ( rather than fancy features ) then I would worry about how those business users would find the Nokia E72 ( although it is streets ahead f the N97 in this regard )

Overall :

I think that the biggest thing I have noticed is that I probably took my old Blackberry too much for granted. It was an old model and didn't have WiFi but it worked well, the keyboard was great and it did the job with little fuss.

The Nokia has more potential in some areas, for example it has WiFi which is great for podcasts and faster web browsing. It also has VOIP which is a big plus except that I have an issue with the WiFi connectivity. The OVI Store should be an advantage but my experience is that it is pretty pathetic. The running costs of the Nokia with Traveler are substantially less than the blackberry with BES ( even ignoring the BES cost )

Would I recommend the E72 / Traveler to a corporate client over my trusty Blackberry ?

"Probably not" would be my current view, or at least not until someone in the in-house team has lived with that system for a few weeks and can take the Level 1 / 2 support calls.

"E72 withTraveler" Pro's

The third party running costs are substantially less than for the Blackberry. I have a free device, unlimited land line calls, 500 minutes of mobile calls and 500Mb of data per month for �35 over 18 months from Vodafone UK. If I was on a blackberry connected to a BES I would have to pay an additional charge to Vodafone and then to RIM for the BES licences. I must admit that the 500Mb is a slight worry but hopefully sensible use of WiFi should make it OK.

"E72 withTraveler" Cons

Traveler is not fully integrated into the E72. For example performing a text search on emails will not include Traveler emails - I can't find any way to search them. This is actually a BIG problem, for example when you want to find an airline reservation you can't just search for the email and it is practically impossible to find it otherwise ( unless you are folder orientated which I am not )

The home page only shows the last 1 or 2 subject lines meaning that you always need to click into the inbox to see what's there. A deeper multi-line view on the home page would be much better ( I think the BB did this )

You get some weird error messages from Traveler which I think are just plain misleading ( I could be wrong ). For example if there is a connectivity issue it reports that authentication failed. Other times it reports it cannot resolve the address of the Traveler server ( could be a carrier issue ). I spend a lot more time wondering if email is syncing than I ever did with the blackberry

I'm hoping that this is just me but I cannot see how to invite others to my meetings !

"E72 as a Device" Pros

> Its much more stable than the N97 ( 2.x )
> Never had a phone with wifi before - its great
> Never had a phone with VOIP before - its great ( see below on connectivity problems )
> The VOIP setup is quite clever in that the connectivity is policy based - you define your connections ( they call them destinations ) as Intranet, Extranet, etc.. and then you set the VOIP account to only use Intranet for example. This means that it will only use "free" resources rather than ones you get charged for but it does it in such a way that it can recognise several WiFi stations as intranet and a different set as Extranet. Unfortunately this only seems to be implemented for VOIP and not in other applications.
> The "Torch" function is cool although you need to be at the home page to trigger it ( see later about the home key )
> The form factor is nice and the build quality feels good
> The quick access buttons ( Home, Calendar, Contacts and Emails ) are useful

"E72 as a Device" Cons

> Please can I have a green button to Go and a red button to Stop. The phone looks great until you come to use it. Imagine handing the phone mid call to a colleague and saying please hang up when you are finished - I would wager that they will really struggle to know how to hang up - can you spot the keys that should be backlit red and green ?

There have been times when I have really struggled to answer or end a call - and I hope that is a reflection on the phone's design and not my mental capacity !

> Text messages, traveler emails, inbound calls, outbound calls and missed calls are all held separate views unlike the blackberry where you could see one chronological list of your activity.

> The keyboard is not great, I need to type with my fingernails rather than my fingers

> I keep trying to touch the screen - it is so funny watching my children ( 2 and 4 ) trying to use it - their natural instinct is to touch. I just accepted this restriction as a necessary trade off but having played with the Palm Pre today it does feel like the E72 is already a "legacy phone"

> Considering that the primary purpose of the phone is to make calls it is surprisingly difficult to use :
* The number keys do not stand out clearly enough
* You cannot hit the "off hook" button ( the one that should be green ) and dial a number You need to go to the home page and then start dialling
* To send a txt message you need at least 6 menu clicks from the person record

> The standard browser is OK but Opera works better in most regards. The show stopper with Opera is that if you go to type in a URL with r,t,y,u etc.. you get numbers and not letters. You can get around this but it is a real chew - this could obviously be an Opera issue rather than a Nokia issue. I haven't found a way to watch flash content on Opera yet although I can in the standard browser.

> The profiles settings ( General, Silent, Meeting etc.. ) seem pretty limited. For example I would like to be able to control connection to my wifi by profile. For example in the evening I would like to tell it not to look for Wifi signals - this doesn't seem to be possible although I think that it is in there somewhere.

> I have a problem where the Wifi drops out periodically. This effectively makes the phone absolutely useless for VOIP. This may be related to my Wireless Router from Draytec so I need to look into it further.

> The GPS is slow to update, this caused my wife and I to fall out briefly as she was trying to navigate using google maps. On the blackberry google maps worked great but on the E72 you have already driven past a junction before the system updates the location.

> The home key does not always take you home. There appear to be two desktops. the first is your home page with your widgets ( I don't think that technically they are widgets ) while the second is a "workspace". If you are composing an email in traveler and press home you go to the workspace and not the home page - which is generally OK but the torch doesn't work ( I really feel like I am nit picking now ) - the shortcuts / widgets on your home page, perhaps quickdials, can't be accessed either.

The Ovi Store

The OVI Store is worse than useless.

The E72 is not listed on the choice of phones with full keyboards.

I then find the E72 ( apparently they do not think it has a full keyboard unlike the E71 ) and I get this error message when I log in

You need some Nokia software to setup the voip system is it in the OVI store ? NO

You want some software to manage the downloading of podcasts - is it in the OVI store ? NO

I could go on and on with lots of examples but there is no point. The image below shows the recommended applications for the Nokia flagship business phone.

Issues with Vodafone

I live in an area of very good coverage for 2G and 3G - not in reality I'm afraid.

The 2G is passable - better than the last carrier but often only 2 bars
I get a 3G signal maybe 5% of the time and it disappears as soon as I touch the device

Comments on Applications

> The Gravity twitter client looks outstanding

> The Nokia podcast management software for S60 3rd edition does not work on the E72 ( no reason given other than that there is an issue with the digital signature ) so you have to use a third party application called escarpod - this is daft as podcasts are a mainstream business tool these days.

> The Escarpod podcast management tool looks really promising but I am not sure if it is meant to be fully automatic - it has an RSS reader ( which doesn't like "The Taking Notes Podcast" for some reason ) but I have to manually trigger it - might just be me and it is free so I am happy to work around some issues.

In the settings you also need to specify the connection to use. This has obvious benefits in controlling your data spend but the setting requires you to specify a specific connection rather than a class of connection like the VOIP settings do ( see above ) . The other thing is that to get the podcasts to appear in the media play application ( Escarpod also has its own player functionality ) you need to manually refresh the library as far as I can tell.

> I couldn't get the bundled WiPresenter application to work on bluetooth ( I have a Toshiba stack ) or Wifi and the documentation from the supplier is very limited. Shame as it looked promising.

> The multiscanner tool for extracting details from business cards via the camera is surprisingly good

> A password storage application would have been better in the bundle than some of the other apps included.

Nokia E72 early impressions

Sean Cull — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:46:57 +0100

I sent the N97 back at the start of the week and now I am trying a Nokia E72.

First impressions are good, much better than than the N97 but ergonomically my trusty Blackberry 8310 is better

Pros :

The E72 has SIP / VOIP so when I am in the office it rings just like an internal desk phone - Blackberry take note !!!!
It has WiFi
V's the N97 the keyboard is easier to use
V's the BB it has Lotus Traveller which works great apart from the unread count and marking all read function
It feels pretty robust
The business card scanning application works surprisingly well

Cons :

The keyboard is better than the N97 but a lot worse than the 8310 - strange because they are the same size. With the BB there is actually space between the good sized flat keys but the Nokia keys are flush with each other and they are also strangley raised so that I end up typing with my fingernails rather than my fingers.

Considering the primary function of the device is a phone the number pad doesn't really stand out enough

I keep wanting to touch the screen to do things - why can' we have the best of both worlds

There is no way to see a list of unread emails permanently on the screen - the blackberry shows the last 3 or 4 fairly well

The front screen is not really very configurable, it can be configured but its not great

The back feels as though it is sprung loaded so it flexes and feels

Anyhow, its still he first day so the trial continues. .....

Setting up VOIP / SIP on a Nokia E72

Sean Cull — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:26:04 +0100

Just set up SIP / VOIP using the native Nokia SIP client on an E72.

It is easy once you have a few settings and download a program so I thought I would write it up

1) you need the Nokia SIP Settings Application from here => http://www.forum.nokia.com/info/sw.nokia.com/id/d476061e-90ca-42e9-b3ea-1a852f3808ec/SIP_VoIP_Settings.html
note that you need the S60 3rd Edition

2) It took me a while to find the settings application. Control Panel > Advanced VOIP Settings

2) It took me a while to find the settings application. Control Panel > Net Settings > Advanced VOIP Settings

3) there is a manual here but the only bit I used was figure 9 where the ok button is not revealed unless you include an "@" in the user name

http://sw.nokia.com/id/15c504c6-e984-4fd6-be4d-890d24be95c7/SIP_VoIP_Release_3_x_Settings_Application_User_Guide_v2_0_en.pdf

3) Then I put in the settings for my voip account from Gradwell

http://www.gradwell.com/support/howto/article/468

And it works, well so far I've only called my mum in Ireland but that went well.

p.s. and what is really cool is that turning over an E72 when it is ringing mutes the ring

Setting up VOIP / SIP on a Nokia E72

Sean Cull — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:26:04 +0100

Just set up SIP / VOIP using the native Nokia SIP client on an E72.

It is easy once you have a few settings and download a program so I thought I would write it up

1) you need the Nokia SIP Settings Application from here => http://www.forum.nokia.com/info/sw.nokia.com/id/d476061e-90ca-42e9-b3ea-1a852f3808ec/SIP_VoIP_Settings.html
note that you need the S60 3rd Edition

2) It took me a while to find the settings application. Control Panel > Advanced VOIP Settings

3) there is a manual here but the only bit I used was figure 9 where the ok button is not revealed unless you include an "@" in the user name

http://sw.nokia.com/id/15c504c6-e984-4fd6-be4d-890d24be95c7/SIP_VoIP_Release_3_x_Settings_Application_User_Guide_v2_0_en.pdf

3) Then I put in the settings for my voip account from Gradwell

http://www.gradwell.com/support/howto/article/468

And it works, well so far I've only called my mum in Ireland but that went well.

p.s. and what is really cool is that turning over an E72 when it is ringing mutes the ring

IBM, please do the right thing and allow developers to update straight from 7 to 8.5.

Sean Cull — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:52:01 +0100

I am doing some catching up on my certifications and have just realised to to upgrade to 8.5 I have to pass the 8.0 exams.

I think this is unfair and not really in IBMs interest because :

>> IBM is actively encouraging customers to go straight to 8.5

>> Web development in 8.5 is a whole new beast almost making 8.x web development an obsolete choice in new applications

>> Composite Apps were buggy in 8.x and had limited uptake, 8.5 is much better, why force people to learn the buggy system

>> DB2NSF is not being expanded any further

>> Its an extra $200 to spend per developer that neither the developers not IBM get value from ( unless this is a profit making exercise )

The syllabus for the exam is

Description: Covers IBM Lotus Notes Domino 8 material as it relates to these competency areas:

Composite Applications
Design and Development Enhancements
Domino and DB2 Integration
Programming Enhancements
Web Services in Domino Applications

So IBM, do the right thing and allow developed to go straight from 7 to 8.5. There is a new script requirement for advanced developers anyhow so it still requires a significant commitment from the developers.

Requirements :

http://www-03.ibm.com/certify/certs/14003105.shtml

T-mobile, your in denial

Sean Cull — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:32:22 +0100

T-Mobile posted me a return package for the N97 today. The reason code says is all.

Grumpy old man post : Nokia N97 is not so impressive, give me back my blackberry

Sean Cull — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:02:27 +0100

It seems like I am becoming a bit of a grumpy old man on twitter and now this blog but here you go :

Update : back on the blackberry 8310 : the N97 has gone back, I was getting there slowly with the phone ( mostly because it was cheap ) but the coverage was the killer in the end

I got a Nokia N97 to try at lunch time today. By 14:00 I was ready to throw it out the window, it has been an awful experience. For those who don't know the N97 is Nokia's flagship iphone beater.

The N97 has some attractive features such as the keyboard, radio, Notes Traveler but when it was launched a few months ago it was horrendously buggy. A recent upgrade in the firmware to 2.x was meant to have made it much more stable.

Maybe I am expecting too much as it is a while since I had a true smart phone ( I have been a Blackberry Curve user for a few years ) but there are just so many things that don't work and I expected more from a prestige phone. In hindsight the blackberry is just soooo easy.

Firmware 2.x
> There is no way to show the new email count from traveller on the front screen There is but it shows 200 unread even after I have marked them as read
> it is one click to the traveller inbox but then it is 5 clicks to get back out as you exit via the nokia messaging system / SMS messages etc..
> You cannot easily get it to recognise that wifi is faster than 2G/3G for browsing
> It has crashed twice
> It has run out of memory once
> The keylock switch has refused to unlock the keyboard requiring a battery reboot
> it keeps dropping the WLAN connection
> sometimes its a double click for a menu and others its a single click for a similar menu
> The browser experience is not great - it tries to be better than the blackberry in being much richer but in practice I much prefer the simple blackberry browser
> message that traveler is not compatible with this operating system ( S60 5th edition )
> the auto rotate feature does not work It does but it is disabled by default

Firmware 1.x
> The automatic update over the air would not recognise that version 2.x of the firmware was available ( the phone is 0 days old )
> the tone dialling doesn't work on telephone tone menus

And some other ones :

> The FM radio won't even try and work without a headset lead plugged in ( its the aerial )
> You can't just hit the green phone button and dial unless it is an existing contact
> I have no t-mobile 3g signal in an area supposedly with an area of very good coverage

> I can't find an easy way to automatically bar data when roaming - the blackberry can do this and in Northern Ireland it is too easy to roam by accident along the border
> Nokia just transferred me to a specialist team assuring me that they were open : they were closed : hopefully they will ring me tomorrow - they did at 09:30 - thanks

More
> the OVI store won't work on wfi only slow gprs
> there is no decent free twitter client that seems to work with the touch screen ( although gravity is very nice at �8 )

I have 7 days to decide if I like it. Its such a pity. As an existing t-mobile customer I get a great deal - �30 for unlimited everything and a free phone. Unfortunately they don't do the E72 yet so I might end up going to vodafone.

For this amount of mucking about I would much rather be an early adopter on android but the equivalent of the Motorola Droid isn't in the UK yet.

Oh well, the kids are home from school , time to put life back into perspective before catching up with work again later after a very frustrating day !

Grumpy Old Man

Application Debug Mode

Sean Cull — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0100

A while back someone asked what was my best tip for Lotus Notes development - this is it - it is used in every single application I have developed in at least the last 5 years and it was passed on to me by my cousin ( thanks Martin )!

Most Notes forms will have hidden fields on them and those fields are really useful when it comes to understanding what is going on in an application. You can access the values in three ways :

1) use the document properties
2) change the "hide when" properties
3) - my tip - programmatically change the "hide when" properties

I used to hide the individual fields but a better way is to change the "hide when" attribute of a section rather than the individual fields ( thanks Ewan ). The hide when is linked to a notes.ini / environmental setting but you could also use a profile document.

You can then extend this functionality for other uses such as :

Disabling "on error" statements whilst debug mode is active so that you can see where code is falling over
Allowing extra action buttons to appear
Making parts of the form configurable.

In FoCul we actually have two versions of Debug mode. We have one which we call "Administrators Debug Mode" which reveals information to help our customers debug problems and then we have a second more powerful version called "Developers Debug Mode" which has more functionality.

Applications have a password protected agent which turns the Debug modes on and most applications automatically cancel it when they are opened. We also have the custom toolbar buttons shown above.

The hide when on the section is

By using an environmental variable we can troubleshoot the applications on users computers without having to worry about ACL settings.

Even IBM doesn’t think Traveler is the right way to spell Traveller

Sean Cull — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:04:39 +0100

If you are looking to download Travel(l)er 8.5.1 from Partner World you will find that searching on Traveler only brings up 8 and 8.1

To get travel(l)er 8.5.1 you need to search on part number CZ5SYML

Balsamic Wire Mockups - a days work

Sean Cull — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:01:59 +0100

I've been working on a concept for new Notes application. I've used Balsamic a few times before but this was the first time I have tried to sit down and flush out a scheme in a day.

The results are below, its obviously still at concept stage but a day with the client and a day with Balsamic has left me with something that I can use for a reality check with the client and then put a fixed price against. I find that the process of working through the screens gives me the discipline to look through the users eyes and see both what they need to capture but also what they need to contend with in terms of its usability. The usability will be key in this case because the business process is quite demanding.

It has felt like quite hard going at times, I wish Balsamic had the equivalent of subforms for some of the elements so that if they were changed in one place they would change everywhere - e.g. the navigation bar. Each mesh diagram is essentially a totally separate image so when you add an extra tab into one you need to go back and add it to the others. Having said that it will still be a lot easier to change it as a Balsamic than it would be with Notes and probably even more so if your were using another development platform .

Installing 8.5.0 FP1 on Ubuntu Server

Sean Cull — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:54:36 +0100

I have been upgrading a development server running on Ubuntu 8.04 from 8.5.0 to 8.5.0. FP1 ( yes I know that it is not supported )

The standard install for the fix pack does not work and gives the following errors :

@ts13-001:~/Desktop/linux$ cd domino
@ts13-001:~/Desktop/linux/domino$ sudo ./install
[sudo] password for :
[: 160: TOOLS/NLS/-E: unexpected operator
[: 160: tools/nls/-e: unexpected operator
[: 160: tools/nls/-e;1: unexpected operator
.: 1: -e: not found

after much hunting about I came across this fix by Matt Schmandt

Domino 8.5 can be installed on Ubuntu 8.04 but you need to perform an extra step.

From the command line run "sudo su" and then run "./install".

#Example
sudo su
./install

Once I tried this everything worked fine. Next time I might look at Roverex which was suggested by Johann Echanarr.

"Roverex is a derivative Ubuntu distribution that has been created to integrate IBM Lotus Software with Ubuntu, specifically Lotus Domino Server, Lotus Notes Client and Lotus Symphony.
Roverex is an open source project so anyone that want to contribute is welcome, any feedback/testing will be appreciated and right now there's need for a Spanish/Italian translator, so please send an email to roverex-dev at roverex dot org to be part of our Roverex community.
IBM Lotus Domino Server and Lotus Notes Client provide a secure email, scheduling, calendaring, messaging/chat platform and an application development server.
IBM Lotus Symphony is an Office open source alternative suite that is intuitive and easy to use, which ensure access to documents well into the future with new standard file formats (ODF), and save existing investments with support for Microsoft� Windows� and Office file types.
Running IBM Lotus Software on Ubuntu lowers maintenance costs and with open standards enables easy integration and maintenance in a heterogeneous IT environment.
Its uniqueness is its simplicity.
Enjoy!
The Roverex Team"

8.5.1 - I’m impressed by the way that IBM is listening behind the scenes

Sean Cull — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:51:46 +0100

I have been very fortunate to have recently become involved in the the Design Partner Program. It has been an interesting and somewhat confusing time to join because the program is moving towards the release of 8.5.1 at a great pace and there is a huge amount of stuff that has already happened.

As with any project of this scale ( and particularly being a newbie ) it is always possible to find things that could be better but by far the biggest thing that has impressed me is the way in which IBM is prepared to listen to its Design Partners, not just for 8.5.1 but also for 8.5.x and beyond - imagine a scene where IBM Engineers pitch ideas to customers and business partners, taking polls and actively looking for feedback on open mic conference calls.

Over the last few days you will have seen some pretty clued up people beginning to blog about 8.5.1. They are not only very clued up on the technical aspects of the release but also have good insights into where IBM can best add value to organisations and end users. They are all working closely with IBM to ensure that Notes is as good as it can be and for each person that does blog there are quite a few others that are not able to blog.

Why am I blogging this ? Well I am genuinely really impressed ( and pleasantly surprised ) at what I have seen. The Lotus Knows Idejam was really impressive but it has also been good to see that there are other long established collaborative processes already in place.

I am not sure why people don't blog about the process ( as opposed to the secret content ) more. I guess that the Design Partners have been instructed not to release any IBM confidential information and the existence of such successful collaboration between IBM and its customers must be seen as confidential ;-)

simple xpages thing - what am I doing wrong ?

Sean Cull — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:07:58 +0100

update : This now works fine under 8.5.1 Beta ( CD8 ) out of the box so the problems has gone away

OK, this should be trivial, what am I doing wrong ??

I can't get the post save event to run an agent but I can run it via a button.

I have an Xpage here >> http://www.seancull.co.uk/Public/Examples/agenttest.nsf/simplexpage.xsp

which is very simple. It is bound to a form with a single field and has two buttons. There is a post save event which should run an agent which also creates a new agent log document. i.e. TWO documents should be created. The agent log document does not have a form name when displayed in the view.

New documents appear in the view.

When I press the button to runt he agent a new formless document ( i.e the agent log ) is created - great

When I save the document the back end agent does not run - i.e. no formless ( i.e. agent log ) document

I am doing something really stupid - what is it ?

some screenshots of the setup and the code is at the end

update - screen shot of button properties as mentioned by Graeme below - although there is a workaround I still don't understand it the problem is me or xpages ?

My name is Sean and I like Twitter.

Sean Cull — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:11:30 +0100

It has taken a long time for me to become a convert to Twitter but three examples in the last few days have shown me how powerful it is.

1) Suppliers on Twitter
Our web site went down. The nameservers were not reachable and the supplier Dotster.com had no error messages on its status board. Its ticket system was also down

Searching for Dotster on Twitter quickly showed that many other people were having the same problem and that Dotster had an active twitter account. I was able to report the problem via twitter and Dotster was able to update me when the system was fixed.

2) Nokia N97 Lens Scratch
I was really looking forward to getting a Nokia N97 but needed more information on its voip capability and some reported design faults that create lens scratches. Googling these problems, especially the voip one, brought up loads of waffling dated posts whereas searching on Twitter brought up some excellent links that allowed me to make an informed decision to wait a while.

Why were the twitter links more useful than google - 2 things - they were recent and they were concise

3) The Notes community and help for Xpages
I am very concious of not wanting to over do this one but on a couple of occasions after banging my head against a wall for some time I have asked about a problem on Twitter and got some really good help about this new technology - it is also great to leave a search on "xpages" running in tweetdeck and watch stuff as it comes up.

So why did it take me so long to try Twitter ? Well I thought it would be a real distraction and I thought that everyone would be posting lots - the truth is that some people post lots ( and I mean lots Bruce ) and some hardly post at all, there seem to be very few that post an average amount ( I guess that should be median amount). If you are not on Twitter get yourself on and post as much or as little as you want - I tend to be a voyeur more than a poster but no-one minds.

And the downside ? Just my inclination to want to rant - it is very tempting when DDE crashes but hopefully that won't happen too much ( the ranting I mean, the DDE bit is too much to hope for just now - see I'm doing it again ! ).

Should you be trying Xpages ?

Sean Cull — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:38:17 +0100

Let me start by saying that Xpages is really cool and very powerful. It has absolutely captured the enthusiasm of the Lotus developers Community ( don't worry admins you have DAOS ) and it has great potential.

But... should you start using it YET ?

The key word is yet. I have two hats on, the first is a geek and the second is a professional Notes developer. The geek in me loves to play with new stuff while the professional developer is responsible for robust code delivered on time and to cost.

If you are wearing a geek hat I would highly recommend that you "play" with xpages

If you are a professional developer charged with exploring new options or quantifying the risks of using new options then the answer would also be to try it.

If you are professional developer responsible for delivery of work on tight time scales and to tight costs then I would urge caution. While the geek in me loves Xpages the development process is fraught with bugs and the trials of being an early adopter. In my opinion DDE 8.5.0 is not a suitable tool for working to tight times and costs - it is too buggy. I am hopeful that 8.5.1 will be better but I have no information on that.

I would also say that if you are a customer of a development shop ( mine included ) you should make sure that it is very clear who pays for lost time through platform bugs and difficulties. Individual developers should also be careful what they promise to their bosses !

Will I continue to use it ? - absolutely - but only on internal projects at this time. I am also increasingly grateful for the gifted early adopters out there who are easing the way with blogs articles and examples.

Just my thoughts from the coal face, Sean