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IBM Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
Basic product usage information and programming language reference information.
Formula Language
This section documents the formula language.
Formula Language Rules
Formula language provides syntax and @functions for evaluating constants and variables, and for performing simple logic. Variables can be fields in Notes® documents or temporary variables (also called temporary fields) used only for the immediate formula.
Using constants
Formulas use three types of constants:
Text constants
Specify a text constant by enclosing characters, including spaces, numbers, and special characters, in quotation marks ("") or braces ({}).
Examples: Text constants
In the following formula, the Author field contains "Mary Chen."

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.
- 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.
  - Formula Language Rules
    Formula language provides syntax and @functions for evaluating constants and variables, and for performing simple logic. Variables can be fields in Notes® documents or temporary variables (also called temporary fields) used only for the immediate formula.
    - Using the syntax rules
      You understand formula language through its:
    - Using variables
      Variables are of two types:
    - Using constants
      Formulas use three types of constants:
      - Text constants
        Specify a text constant by enclosing characters, including spaces, numbers, and special characters, in quotation marks ("") or braces ({}).
        Examples: Text constants
        In the following formula, the Author field contains "Mary Chen."
      - Numeric constants
        A numeric constant consists of numeric and special characters, with no intervening spaces, that conform to the following rules:
      - Time-date constants
        A time-date constant consists of a time and/or a date enclosed in brackets formatted as follows:
    - Using operators
      Operators assign values, modify values, and combine existing values into new values. The following sections describe:
    - Using @functions
      Notes® @functions are built-in formulas that perform specialized calculations and return a value. The following sections describe:
    - Using reserved words
      Formula language includes a set of reserved words that perform special functions:
    - Specifying form and view names in formulas
      When you specify a form or view name in a formula:
    - Debugging formulas
      The formula language does not provide a formal debugging mechanism. You can use @Prompt to stop at certain points and to examine variables. This example uses @Prompt to set a checkpoint and then to examine a variable. After you establish that your code is running correctly, remove the debug statements.
  - Formula Language Coding Guidelines
  - Formula Language @Functions A-Z
    Formula Language @Functions A-Z
  - Formula Language @Commands A-Z
- 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.

Examples: Text constants

In the following formula, the Author field contains "Mary Chen."

If you enter the following as a field default value formula, the word Cost appears as the value in the field.
```
"Cost"
```

The formula is:

"From: " + Author + " (" + @Text(@Created) + ")"

The result is:

From: Mary Chen (11/30/2000 02:39:55 PM)

The formula is:

"From:" + @Repeat(" "; 8) + Author + " (" + @Text(@Created) + ")"

The result is:

From:        Mary Chen (11/30/2000 02:52:33 PM)

The formula is:

"Type \"Yes\" or \"No\""

The result is:

Type "Yes" or "No"

The formula is:
```
{Type "Yes" or "No"}
```
The result is (same as the preceding example):
```
Type "Yes" or "No"
```

The formula is:

"Type \\Yes\\ or \\No\\"

The result is:

Type \Yes\ or \No\