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IBM Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
Basic product usage information and programming language reference information.
Application Design
Welcome to the Application Design section of Domino® Designer Help.
URL commands for Web applications
You have a variety of options for programming a Web site. You can directly manipulate objects such as documents or views in an application using Domino® URL commands. Adding Domino URL commands as HTML in forms gives users shortcuts for navigating databases and performing other tasks quickly.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs
CGI is a standard for connecting external applications with HTTP servers. CGI programs allow you to do some background processing on a Web page. To run CGI programs, place them in the default cgi-bin directory or in a directory that has execute access. Because Domino® does not maintain access control at the file system level, scripts must include access control measures to prevent unauthorized use.
CGI variables
When a Web user saves a document or opens an existing document, the Domino® Web server uses CGI variables to collect information about the user, including the user's name, the browser, and the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address.

IBM Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
Basic product usage information and programming language reference information.
- Accessibility and keyboard shortcuts
  Accessibility features assist users who have a disability, such as restricted mobility or limited vision, to use information technology content successfully.
- Application Design
  Welcome to the Application Design section of Domino® Designer Help.
  - Introduction to Domino® Designer
    Welcome to Domino® Designer. Domino Designer is an integrated application development environment that lets developers and Web site designers create, manage, and deploy secure, interactive applications.
  - Planning an application
    Before you begin any design work, create a plan for how users will access and use your application. At the minimum, your application plan should address these questions:
  - Creating an application
    All Domino® applications begin with a Domino database. Domino databases are the containers for your application. Databases hold the data, logic, and design elements for your application. Your Domino application can be made up of one or more Domino databases.
  - Designing pages
    Pages and forms are similar in certain ways. A page is a database design element that displays information. Pages can be used anywhere in your application that you have text, graphics, or an embedded control, such as an outline, to present to the user. A page or form can contain the following:
  - Designing forms
    Forms, like pages, display information. Everything that can be done with a page can be done with a form. What sets forms apart from pages is that forms can be used to collect information. A form provides the structure for creating and displaying documents, and documents are the design elements that store data in the database. When a user fills out the information in a form and saves it, the information is saved as a document. When a user opens the document, the document uses the form as a template to provide the structure for displaying the data.
  - Designing fields
    A field is the part of an application that collects data. You create fields on forms, subforms, or in layout regions. Each field stores a single type of information. A field's field type defines the kind of information a field accepts, such as text, numbers, dates, or names. When a user, either in a Notes® client or a Web browser, creates a form, fills out the information in the fields, and saves the form, the data in the fields is stored in an individual document. The contents of the fields can then be displayed in documents and views or can be retrieved for use in formulas. A field can be used on a single form, or you can create shared fields for use in multiple forms in a database.
  - Designing framesets
    A frameset is a collection of frames and can add structure to your Web site or Notes® database. A frame is one section, or pane, of the larger frameset window and is independently scrollable.
  - Designing views
  - Designing navigation for an application
    You can use the following navigational tools in your application:
  - Adding automation to applications
    Automation in an application speeds up repetitive tasks, handles workflow, updates information, performs calculations, runs programs, and checks for errors.
  - Developing applications using third-party tools and WebDAV
    As you are developing an application, you may want to supplement the tools provided with Domino® Designer with tools of your own choosing. For example, you may have a favorite graphics editor you use to design images for your application, or you may have a favorite HTML editor that you want to use to design pages. You launch and use third-party tools from within Designer.
  - Connecting to enterprise data
    Incorporating back-end data into everyday business processes maximizes the value of a Domino® Designer application. Designer includes a range of technologies for the security and control of business processes, forms routing, and approvals management. With enterprise integration technologies, you can incorporate traditionally difficult-to-reach data into your business applications.
  - Including Java™ applets in applications
    Applets are self-contained Java™ programs that can run in your Domino® application. Java applets are often used to add animation to Web applications. Although Java applets are mostly used for Web applications, you can also include them in the following elements of a Domino application:
  - Including Java™ servlets in Web applications
    A servlet is a Java™ program that is run by the Domino® Web server in response to a browser request. Servlets provide a convenient way to add powerful functionality to your Web application. In some ways, servlets act like CGI programs, but they are more tightly integrated with the server and can take advantage of special Java classes. For example, a servlet may connect to a relational database or enterprise system and get data in response to a Web browser request.
  - Including XML in Designer applications
    Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a standard for creating markup languages that describe the structure and meaning of data in a document. XML separates the content of a document from its presentation and provides a common format for transferring data across the World Wide Web (WWW) or company intranet. The result is a technology that makes data available regardless of the proprietary systems involved.
  - Including OLE objects in applications
    Using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and OLE tools lets you extend the capability of Domino® Designer. OLE technology lets you integrate data from other applications, such as spreadsheets, graphics tools, and other data sources, into your application.
  - Creating a workflow application
    Workflow applications let you automate tasks. These tasks most often involve automatically sending mail messages or automatically routing documents, such as tracking orders and project plans to be reviewed. All projects need one or more people to complete a series of tasks and can benefit from workflow applications because they guide the project through these tasks automatically. Workflow applications reduce overhead and errors, speed processes, and track the status of a project. For example, a workflow application might automatically send a document in a publishing company from writer to editor to proofreader to production. At each stage, an individual is responsible for specific tasks related to that document. Once the task is complete, the workflow application ensures that the individuals responsible for the next task are notified and receive the data they need to execute their part of the project.
  - Domino® Designer templates
    The templates described in the following table are available with Domino® Designer and are specifically intended for use by application developers.
  - Importing to and exporting from views
  - Developing applications using MAPI
    Domino® Designer Release 6 and later supports the messaging application program interface (MAPI), which allows mail integration between Domino and a MAPI-compliant messaging application, such as Microsoft™ Outlook, Microsoft Office applications, or user-written C++ programs.
  - Features to avoid using in Web applications
    Developers creating applications specifically for the Web, or for the dual purpose of serving Notes® and Web clients, should review the following tables for features that are not supported on the Web.
  - URL commands for Web applications
    You have a variety of options for programming a Web site. You can directly manipulate objects such as documents or views in an application using Domino® URL commands. Adding Domino URL commands as HTML in forms gives users shortcuts for navigating databases and performing other tasks quickly.
    - Domino® URL Commands
      A URL command combines a specific URL with a command that manipulates an item such as a document or view. Adding Domino® URL commands as HTML in forms gives users shortcuts for navigating databases and performing other tasks quickly.
    - URL commands for opening servers, databases, and views
    - URL commands for opening framesets
    - URL commands for opening agents, forms, and navigators
      The following commands open agents, forms, and navigators in a database. Hidden design elements are hidden from the server too; you can't use Domino® URL commands to access documents in hidden forms.
    - URL commands for opening resources
      The following URL commands open resources, design elements that allow you to import, store, and deploy a variety of file types in an NSF application. Resources are widely used with Web applications and applications designed for use with WebDAV.
    - URL commands for creating, deleting, editing, opening, and saving documents
      The following commands manipulate documents in a database. Hidden design elements are hidden from the server too; you can't use Domino® URL commands to access documents in hidden views.
    - URL commands for opening documents by key
      The following commands allow you to open a document by using the key value of the first sorted column of a view, such as a document name, or to generate a URL to link to a document by key. Hidden design elements are hidden from the server too; you can't use Domino® URL commands to access documents in hidden views, unless you've hidden the view by surrounding its name in parentheses, rather than using the Hide tab in the Properties box.
    - URL commands for opening pages
      The following command will open a Web page using its name or UNID.
    - URL commands for opening attachments, image files, and OLE objects
      The following commands open files and objects within a document.
    - URL commands for searching for text
      Search-related URLs are available for performing view, multiple-database, and domain searches. Typically you define a URL that displays an input form -- either a customized search form or the default search form -- to let users define their own searches, but you may also define a URL that performs text searches without user input. Both input and results forms may be customized.
    - Using Next and Previous buttons or hotspots with Start and Count parameters
    - URL commands for required authentication
    - URL commands for processing SSL certificates
      The following commands automate the request and receipt of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates stored in a database.
    - URL commands for setting user preferences in Web applications
      In a Notes® application, many settings -- such as how a date or time value is formatted or defaut language preferences -- are set through a user's operating system. Users can modify the settings according to their preferences. In a Web application, the formats are determined by the settings that are installed with the browser. The URL command OpenPreferences allows users of browser applications to select display formats that apply to applications on one server or all the servers in a domain.
    - Managing multilingual input in a single database
      The charset=[MIME charset name] argument can be added to any URL command to return the requested form or page in the specified character set, regardless of the preferred language setting in the browser. The server does not generate the charset=[MIME charset name] argument automatically. It must be built into the application.
    - Perl Scripts
      Domino® supports programs written in Perl. Perl programs have file names that end with .pl. Place Perl programs in the cgi-bin directory. By default, Domino looks in directories that are included in the server's PATH statement for a Perl interpreter named perl.exe. To override this default, define an environment variable (PERLBIN) that gives the name or absolute path of the perl interpreter -- for example, c:\perl5\bin\perl.exe.
    - Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs
      CGI is a standard for connecting external applications with HTTP servers. CGI programs allow you to do some background processing on a Web page. To run CGI programs, place them in the default cgi-bin directory or in a directory that has execute access. Because Domino® does not maintain access control at the file system level, scripts must include access control measures to prevent unauthorized use.
      - CGI variables
        When a Web user saves a document or opens an existing document, the Domino® Web server uses CGI variables to collect information about the user, including the user's name, the browser, and the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address.
      - Creating a field with the name of the CGI variable
        When a field is named after a CGI variable, Domino® copies the field value from the CGI environment and places it in the field. This feature is useful in computed-for-display fields and for determining "hide when" conditions.
      - Example: Using the DocumentContext property in Web agent scripts
        This script uses the Print statement and the CGI variable remote_user to display "User =" and the Web user's name. The script sets the DocumentContext before executing the rest of the script. The variable assumes a text list.
      - Table of CGI variable names
        Domino® captures the following CGI variables through a field or a LotusScript® agent. You can also capture any CGI variable preceded by HTTP or HTTPS. For example, cookies are sent to the server by the browser as HTTP_Cookie.
- Application Management
  Welcome to the Application Management section of Domino® Designer Help.
- Domino® Query Language
  Domino Query Language (DQL) is a facility running in Domino core allowing for a terse shorthand syntax for finding documents according to a wide variety of complexity of terms. It leverages existing design elements without the need to write detailed code to access them.
- Composite Applications - Design and Management
  Composite applications are a key element in a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and contextual collaboration strategy. The ability to create and edit composite applications lets you easily integrate different types of components and technologies.
- DB2® Access views
  Domino® Designer includes two types of design elements to assist you in managing data contained in DB2® enabled Notes® databases:
- Programming Overview and User Interface
  This section contains general guidelines and examples that show where to use Java, LotusScript, and the formula language.
- Formula Language
  This section documents the formula language.
- LotusScript® Language
  Welcome to the LotusScript® Language section of Domino® Designer Help.
- LotusScript/COM/OLE Classes
- Java/CORBA Classes
  This section documents the Java/CORBA classes.
- Lotus® Connectors
  Lotus® Connectors provide native access to a wide variety of DBMS products, ODBC, the platform File system, Enterprise Resource Planning systems, and Transaction Processing systems.
- Javadoc™ for Domino® Designer related APIs
  As part of providing additional Java™ reference documentation, Domino® Designer ships with a help plugin that contains Javadoc™ for additional Domino Designer related APIs.

CGI variables

When a Web user saves a document or opens an existing document, the Domino® Web server uses CGI variables to collect information about the user, including the user's name, the browser, and the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address.

To capture this information in a Web application:

Create a field with the name of a CGI variable.
Create an agent whose script contains a CGI variable as a DocumentContext property.