Chris Whisonant Blogs

Don't forget to update transaction logging format in 8.5

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

For Domino 8.5 + there is a new notes.ini setting to create i/o optimized transaction logs for platforms with a block size different than the default 512 bytes.

The notes.ini variable is: Create_R85_Log=1. With notes.ini variables, also make sure you&os;re using the Configuration Document to set these instead of directly in the notes.ini.

BleedYellow Connections Maintenance Scheduled

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

Just a quick note that we are planning some Connections server maintenance the morning of September 24 (tomorrow).

In the meantime, feel free to read over this. :)

BleedYellow Connections Maintenance Scheduled

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

Just a quick note that we are planning some Connections server maintenance the morning of September 24 (tomorrow).

In the meantime, feel free to read over this.

Re: Google-proof Domino Trivia!

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

In response to: Google-proof Domino Trivia!

Wondering if anyone else wants to give this a whirl? I had never noticed this until David pointed it out to me. Try your hand at his Domino Trivia! Beuller? Beuller?

Having told you where to get Domino Fixlists.. can someone now explain DB2 Fix Packs to me?

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

I was working on an ODBC/DECS/DB2 integration and was Googling for an error. Turns out I got a big chuckle at this technote.

Question After upgrading your server to DB2 UDB Version 8.1 FixPak 10 (also known as Version 8.2 FixPak 3), you will encounter...

I think that&os;s all you need to read. Does anything stand out to you?? So are DB2 8.1 FP10 and DB2 8.2 FP3 the same release?? That&os;s hilarious! And I thought there was confusion sometimes with Domino...

How Do I Find Info On Notes and Domino Fixpacks?

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

After the release of Notes and Domino 8.5 Fixpack 1, there has been some concern expressed over customers and partners not being able to see the fixes at the devWorks fixlist site. If you go there currently, you can see the following releases listed:

Notice that there are not any SPR&os;s listed as fixed for 8.0.2 FP1, 8.0.2 FP2, 8.0.2 IFR1, 8.5 FP1, or 8.5 IFR1. But there is a way to see what you need for your upgrade planning. You need to navigate to a somewhat hidden "notices" view at this URL: http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/r5fixlist.nsf/Notices?OpenView (and also via the Notes Client here). From here you can see this listing:

Clicking through, you can get the SPR&os;s fixed in 8.5 FP1 here. Actually, this information was relayed to us via a devWorks article that was updated in January. This release notice document for 8.5 FP1 is very helpful to me. I tend to prefer this better than navigating through an old view design and having multiple click-throughs to get to what I need to see. This release notice details all of the SPR&os;s fixed in FP1 and many of them have links to a technote detailing the issue. All in one place! I do hope that the fixes are loaded into the main view so that searching for fixes is a little more managable, but I really like this method.

Another Notes Client Goodie for 8.5.1

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

Another great addition for Notes Client usability is an easier way for users to create hyperlinks! Finally there is a quick way to do this! Previously, you would have to go through several menu levels or remember ALT+C+H+L and then fill in a properties box that may be confusing for the casual user. But in 8.5.1, this should be easier to accomplish.

After selecting the text you would like to use for the link, you can either choose the Create > Hyperlink menu item:

Or you can choose a toolbar option:

This will then bring you the following dialog when you&os;re creating a new memo:

This will be a welcome improvement for Lotus Notes users!!

Disclaimer: Notes 8.5.1 is still in Beta and therefore subject to change between now and it&os;s ship date.

Some Notes Client Goodies for 8.5.1

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

There are two quick things I would like to highlight with the Lotus Notes 8.5.1 Client that&os;s currently in beta.

First of all is the ability to resize table columns from the rich text editor. I love using the "Copy Selected as Table" from within views and then pasting the table into a new memo. Then I like to do some formatting - which would always involve resizing the columns. With 8.5.0 and earlier, when I would want to do this I would have to open the Table Properties and then resize each cell width. Lotus Notes 8.5.1 now allows you to just click on the column separator and resize it via dragging. Very cool!!

The second thing is related to view navigation. How many of you have ever had calls from users who say "MY EMAIL HAS DISAPPEARED! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!" Only to find out they just inadvertently pressed the "end" key and it navigated the view all the way to the right past the visible text. With Lotus Notes 8.5.1, the home and end keys (currently) will navigate to the top and bottom of the view (this is to be more consistent with other Windows navigation behavior).

Disclaimer: Notes 8.5.1 is still in Beta and therefore subject to change between now and it&os;s ship date.

Are your users able to do too much in Notes?

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

A little known ECL setting for Domino is "". Adding this in as an entry to the ECL will allow you to control exactly what the workstation user can do with code signed as himself and running on the workstation. More information can be found here. Recently I have seen where -Default- has allowed all of the methods (please, do NOT have your ECL configured this way!!!) and when it was previously removed in testing the users were prompted to add ECL entries for themselves when opening folders (or doing other such things). The solution is to grant the proper rights first and then to begin the process of revoking rights for -Default- and "No Signature".

And if you haven&os;t looked in a while, please go review your ECL (carefully, don&os;t just go revoking people and make sure the account you use has access to modify the ECL within the ECL so that you don&os;t have users receiving those prompts!)

Folder Unread Marks for iNotes in 8.5.1!

2009-11-10T07:06:57-00:00

This blog post from the Notes Design Blog by Mary Beth Raven states that unread marks will now work for iNotes folders with 8.5.1 (along with automatic inbox refreshing)! This is something that I&os;ve been wanting to see since I first used iNotes in Domino 6.0. Actually, back at both Lotusphere 2003 and 2004 the company I was working for was told by IBM that this would be coming with DWA 7. I even posted an idea for this.

Thanks to IBM for finally enabling this. I can say that this was one of the reasons that iNotes wasn&os;t rolled out as the only mail option for many people at that time. This will be a big success as now iNotes users can get the most out of their email and use rules more effectively since they will now know in which folder that new email lives.