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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.
Designing views
Identifying unread documents
To help users find new or modified documents, display the unread mark (an asterisk) next to unread documents in the view. A set of unread marks are maintained for each user, so even if one person has read a particular document, the asterisk still appears for other users who haven't read it yet.

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.
  - 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
    - Standard outline views
      A standard outline view is a table of contents for a database and is the most common type of view. It organizes documents by rows and columns. Each column displays a type of information about the document, such as author or date of creation. Each row displays selected pieces of information from one document. One column in the view is usually the organizing element -- for example, a column entitled Date might organize the documents in chronological order. In a discussion database, you might use a column entitled Topic to display the contents of the Subject field for each document in the view. In a tracking database, a column might show the customer or product name.
    - Calendar views
      A calendar view groups and displays documents in a calendar format. Such views are useful for organizing documents that keep track of schedules, meetings, and appointments.
    - Shared and private views
      There are two types of views: shared (available to many users) and private (available to one person). You designate the view type when you create the view and cannot change it later. A shared view can become a private view on first use, but a private view cannot become a shared view without recreating it as such.
    - Creating a standard outline view
    - Copying and deleting views
    - Creating a default design for new views
    - Designing folders
    - Naming a view or folder
      The name you choose for a view or folder is visible to Notes® users in the View menu (unless the view is hidden) and in the folders pane. The view name is visible to Web users in the Views list.
    - Customizing the style of the inbox folder
    - Selecting which documents display in a view
      When you design a view, you can program it to show all documents or only certain documents in the database. Most databases have one view that shows all documents and other views that show a subset of documents.
    - Creating columns in a view
      Columns display one type of information about the documents listed -- such as the document subject, author, or creation date. One column in a view is usually the organizing element -- for example, in a chronological view, the organizing column displays document creation dates.
    - Setting styles for a standard view or folder
    - Display options for views
      The Options tab of the View Properties box determines the initial display of a view and specifies how users can access and interact with the view.
    - Adding categories to views
    - Identifying unread documents
      To help users find new or modified documents, display the unread mark (an asterisk) next to unread documents in the view. A set of unread marks are maintained for each user, so even if one person has read a particular document, the asterisk still appears for other users who haven't read it yet.
    - Default views
      A default view is the view users see when they open the database for the first time. Each database has a default view, which appears with an * (asterisk) in the Views list.
    - Allowing users to edit or create documents from a view
    - Allowing users to set colors in a view
    - Formulas that look for values in columns and views
      Lookup formulas are useful in choice list field formulas to search for values in another database or in the same database.
    - Creating a calendar view
    - Displaying views in Web applications
      Views and folders created in Notes® may not have the same features on the Web. For example, a view or folder will display as a full screen with default navigation buttons on the Web.
    - Hiding a view
    - Refreshing view indexes
      A view index is an internal filing system that builds a list of documents that belong in a view. When users add or change documents, the view index must be refreshed to show them which documents are new or changed. Refreshing a view index can occur manually when users press F9, as part of a condition built into the view design, or as part of the Updall (Update ALL) server process set up by the server administrator.
    - Adding a trash folder to an application
    - Adding a view for soft deletions
    - DB2® query views
      Like other types of Notes® views, query views are design elements that are part of Notes applications. However, a query view uses an SQL query to populate its data, instead of using a view formula that selects notes from a Notes database.
  - 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.
- 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.
- 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.

Identifying unread documents

To help users find new or modified documents, display the unread mark (an asterisk) next to unread documents in the view. A set of unread marks are maintained for each user, so even if one person has read a particular document, the asterisk still appears for other users who haven't read it yet.

Choosing a style for unread marks

These options are set as a design property for a view. Open the Advanced tab of the View Properties box, and select an "Unread marks" option.

You can display unread marks as:

"Standard (compute in hierarchy)"
Displays asterisks for unread main documents and response documents and for any collapsed categories containing unread main or response documents.
"Unread Documents Only"
Displays asterisks only for unread main or response documents. Unread marks do not appear next to collapsed categories. This choice displays the view faster than the Standard display and is a good compromise between showing unread marks at every level and not showing them at all.

Choosing the option None omits unread marks.

Choosing a color for unread marks

To change the color of unread documents in the view from the default color red, click the Style tab of the View Properties box and select another color for "Unread rows."

Checking the Bold property for unread rows displays unread documents in bold. Note that Domino® Designer R5.x does not support bolding of unread entries, so they will appear in a plain font for R5.x users. To highlight unread documents in R5 while using bolding to highlight them in R6, select a color for unread marks (which will be visible in R5) and then choose the Unread Transparent option to make the color transparent to R6 users (causing them to just see the bold font).

Disabling unread marks for modified documents

If the unread status of modified documents is unimportant to users or if the database resides on a server that users don't access directly, turn off unread tracking for all documents in a database to conserve disk processing time. Open the Design tab of the Database Properties box and select "Do not mark modified documents as unread." This setting affects all views in the database. Users see only new documents as unread; modified documents do not appear as unread.