Home
HCL Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
This guide provides information on using HCL Domino Designer and programming language reference information.
Application Design
Welcome to the Application Design section of Domino® Designer Help.
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.

HCL Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
This guide provides information on using HCL Domino Designer and programming language reference information.
- What's new in HCL Domino Designer 12?
  The following features are new for developers in HCL Domino® Designer 12.
- 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.
    - Creating a single-use field
    - Creating a shared field
    - Field names and labels
      A field name is a required element. You assign a field name in the Field Properties box when you create the field. You an also create a field label outside the field. A field label is descriptive text you create that appears with or covers the field on the form, and helps the user understand the field. Label text might name a field -- for example: To, From, Author, Subject, or Date. Or it might describe a user action -- for example, "Enter a product name."
    - Field types
      The field's field type determines what type of information it can contain. You define the field type in the Field Properties box. The field types are:
    - Text, rich text, and rich text lite fields
      To collect, store, and display text in a field, create a text field, rich text field, or rich text lite field.
    - Number fields
      Use Number fields for numeric and currency data.
    - Date/Time fields
    - Names fields
    - Readers and Authors fields
      Reader and Authors fields allow you to control who can read and create documents created from a form.
    - Creating fields to display lists of choices
      You can create fields that present users with a list of choices. The list can be generated by a formula you enter or can be created by users who enter values. Enter lists and formulas for choice fields on the Control tab of the Field Properties box. If available for the interface style, you can select "Allow values not in list" on the Control tab of the Field Properties box to let users add their own words without changing the original list. Also, some of the interface styles have an option to "Allow multi-values" on the Field Info tab which let users select several choices in the field. Choice list fields can be editable or computed; however, most choice list fields are editable. The field types that present lists of choices are:
    - Generating choices for lists
    - Creating aliases for choices in a list
      You can create aliases for choices, so that if the word itself changes, any formula referencing the field still works. You can also create short aliases for long words to keep formulas more concise. Aliases are also useful if your application is to be translated, since only the choices themselves need to be translated and formulas don't need to be rewritten. Enter the alias using | (a vertical bar) followed by the alias. For example, A is the alias for All in this entry:
    - Password fields
      A Password field is a text field that maintains a user's privacy by displaying each character a user enters as an asterisk on the screen. The contents of the Password field are not secure, and the data is visible in the Document Properties box from the Notes® client. There are several ways to secure the contents of a Password field. If you are using the Password field as a method for securing an application, the best way to secure the contents of a Password field is not to save the contents after the entry is verified. This can be done using a formula that clears the field once it's been verified. You can use the input translation event or a LotusScript® QuerySave event.
    - Formula fields
      Formula fields are used to populate a subscription list, which works in conjunction with the Headlines.nsf database. The Headlines database is used as the home page of a Notes® client. The Headlines database includes a feature called subscriptions. Each database designer has the option enabling a database for subscriptions. When a user subscribes to a database (by choosing Create - Subscription), it triggers a server task that will notify the user whenever a document of interest is saved in that particular database. The criteria that the server looks for is contained in a formula field on the subscription form. Although users fill out the subscription form in the database they want to subscribe to, the subscription documents are stored in users' headlines databases (the default is headlines.nsf) on their local client.
    - Color fields
      A color field lets you display a color picker on a form. When the user clicks the down arrow of a color field, a color chart appears with two tabs. The user can choose a color using either tab.
    - Time zone fields
      A time zone field lets you display a drop-down list of all available time zones in the world, including the local time zone. Each time zone listed includes a partial list of the cities or locations found in that time zone.
    - Editable and computed fields
      You choose whether a field is editable or computed in the field properties box, when you create the field. If a field is editable, a user can enter or change the value of the field. If a field is computed, a formula calculates the field value. Users can't change the values in a computed field. Number, date/time, authors, readers, and names fields are usually computed. Text, rich text, and choice list fields are usually editable.
    - Hiding fields
      Use hidden fields to perform interim calculations or to store information you do not want users to see. In the Domino® Designer templates, hidden fields appear at the end of forms, preceded by the heading "Hidden fields."
    - Creating a field in a layout region
    - Adding HTML attributes to a field
    - Storing HTML in a field
    - Controlling the HTML generated for a field
    - Creating fields that inherit values
    - Standard fields used in templates
      The following fields are frequently used in the templates that ship with Domino® Designer. You may want to follow the same standards in databases you design to maintain consistency and make it easier to share information between forms.
    - Predefined fields with built-in functionality
      Domino® Designer provides predefined fields which automatically add functionality that you would otherwise have to program yourself. For example, to design a form with mailing options, you add predefined mail fields such as SendTo and CopyTo to a form. Designer recognizes the fields and provides the interaction with the mail router that routes and delivers the mailed document.
    - Reserved fields that control mailing options
      To build mailing options into a form, create fields that have reserved names in Domino® Designer. When you create a field with one of these reserved names, built-in programming takes care of the task for you. The fields can be text or choice list fields that use predefined values.
    - Fields for version tracking
    - Designing fields that prompt users to select folders
  - 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.
- Application Management
  Welcome to the Application Management section of Domino® Designer Help.
- Domino® Query Language
  Domino® Query Language (DQL) is a facility running on a Domino server that provides a terse, shorthand syntax for finding documents. It supports a wide variety and complexity of search terms. It leverages existing design elements, avoiding the need to write detailed code to access them. DQL consolidates all methods in Domino for searching document contents.
- 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.
- Connectors
  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.

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.

You can create a single-use field on a single form, or a shared field to use on several forms. In either case, you must specify the following:

Field name
Field type
Whether this field is editable or computed