Tips for improving document display time

To help users create and read documents quickly, follow these guidelines when designing forms:

Designing forms

  • Avoid using large bitmaps or graphics.
  • Avoid using the form property "Automatically refresh fields." Instead, use the "Refresh fields on keyword change" for a choice field, or write a LotusScript® field event to recalculate the document or update other fields when users move from a specific field.
  • Avoid creating long tables with many computed fields.

Designing fields

  • Use @DbColumn or @DbLookup formulas sparingly, or replace them with LotusScript® programs which are generally faster and support error checking.
  • Use simple formulas for "hide when" conditions.
  • Avoid recalculating fields, if possible. Otherwise, change such fields to computed-when-composed fields. While these fields calculate only when the document is composed, they can be updated later if needed through buttons, actions, or agents.
  • Use LotusScript® form events rather than conditional formulas in the field itself to set field values.

    For example, to reset the status field if the document is being saved, create a script for a QuerySave event, rather than write a formula that uses @If(@IsDocBeingSaved;"x";"y").

  • Minimize the number of fields, especially hidden fields, and use form events rather than field formulas to execute processing logic. You can avoid unnecessary recalculations in this way.

    For example, suppose a form contains a hidden computed field called State, which determines where documents are in the workflow and where they need to be sent. By replacing the field with a LotusScript® program that sets a field value during the QuerySave form event, the field value is set only when a document is saved, not when it is opened or refreshed.