Home
HCL Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference
This guide provides information on using HCL Domino Designer and programming language reference information.
Programming Overview and User Interface
This section contains general guidelines and examples that show where to use Java, LotusScript, and the formula language.
Programming Overview
This documentation describes how to attach Java, JavaScript, LotusScript, and formula code to Domino design elements. Here are some overview topics:
Field design formulas
As part of the field design process, you can write the following formulas to run on the user's workstation:
Keyword field formulas
A keyword field presents the user with a list of keywords for entry into the field. The list can be the result of a formula or a list of constants.
Examples: Keyword field formulas

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.
- 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.
  - Programming Overview
    This documentation describes how to attach Java, JavaScript, LotusScript, and formula code to Domino design elements. Here are some overview topics:
    - Programming in Domino Designer
      Formula, LotusScript, Java, and JavaScript code provide an integral programming interface to Domino Designer. You attach code to various design elements depending on need. For example, if you create a computed field on a form, you would attach a formula to compute the value of the field. Or you could attach JavaScript code to the onFocus event of a field; this code would execute whenever a user places focus on the field. Or you might decide to create a formula, LotusScript, or Java agent to automatically update all the documents in a database at scheduled times.
    - Where to use scripts and formulas
    - Table of programmable design elements
      The following table outlines the programmable design elements in Domino. The table specifies the scope of the design element and whether it supports simple actions, formulas, LotusScript, Java, or JavaScript.
    - Toolbars
    - Replication formulas
      A replication formula selects the documents that are pulled into the current database during replication.
    - Writing scripts and formulas for agents
      An agent is a user procedure that you can trigger through a number of mechanisms. An agent runs on:
    - Writing scripts and formulas for actions
      An action is a formula, LotusScript, JavaScript, or simple (no programming) procedure that you can associate with a view, form, subform, or page. You can create a standard action, an action with subactions, a shared action, or insert system actions that are supplied with Notes.
    - Hotspots
      In form design, subform design, page design, navigator design, layout region design, and rich text fields, you can create hotspots. A hotspot activates when the user selects it and can be any of several types:
    - Form, selection, and column formulas
    - Window title, section access, and insert subform formulas
    - Section title and hidden paragraph formulas
    - Hidden column and row custom color formulas
    - Named element formulas
    - Image formulas
      Formulas can be used to specify the name of an outline image, the background image in a view, the background image in an embedded outline, the twisties image in a column, and the twisties image in an embedded outline.
    - Writing scripts and formulas to handle events
    - Field design formulas
      As part of the field design process, you can write the following formulas to run on the user's workstation:
      - Default value formulas
        A default value formula provides an initial value for a field. This formula executes when a document is created, and for text fields when the document is saved. The user can change the value in the field except for rich text fields which are not editable. You must specify a default value formula for a text field.
      - Input translation formulas
        An input translation formula converts the data entered in the field to adjust the field value or make the field conform to a format. This formula executes when the document containing the field is saved.
      - Input validation formulas
        An input validation formula checks the data entered in the field against criteria that you specify. This formula executes after the input translation formula.
      - Input enabled formulas
        An input enabled formula enables or disables editing of a "Native OS style" or "Notes-style" field.
      - HTML attributes formulas
        An HTML attributes formula attaches HTML attributes to a field for use in Web applications.
      - Value formulas for computed fields
        If the field type is Computed, Computed for display, or Computed when composed, you must write a formula to specify the field contents. This formula executes: for Computed, when the document is created and when it is saved; for Computed for display, whenever the document is opened; for Computed when composed, only when the document is created. Its value cannot be changed.
      - Keyword field formulas
        A keyword field presents the user with a list of keywords for entry into the field. The list can be the result of a formula or a list of constants.
        Examples: Keyword field formulas
    - Event descriptions
      Simple action, Formula, LotusScript, JavaScript, and Java code executes in response to the occurrence of events in the following objects: actions, action hotspots, agents, hotspot buttons, databases, fields, folders, forms, formula pop-ups, outlines, pages, script libraries, subforms, and views.
    - Event sequencing
      The following table shows the sequencing of events during common Notes tasks.
  - User Interface
  - XML for Domino
    The following topics cover some general guidelines for using XML in Domino applications and list all the elements, attributes, and entities in the Domino Document Type Definition (DTD):
  - JSP Custom Tag Libraries
    A JavaServer Page (JSP) is a HTML Web page that contains code which executes application logic to generate dynamic content. The page is created at the time it is requested. JSP pages are compiled into servlets; the code they contain is executed by the server. For more information on JSPs, see the Sun Microsystems Web site: http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/.
  - Programming Domino for Web Applications
    You should be aware of certain procedures, restrictions, and enhancements available to you when using Domino Designer to program Web applications. This section describes the following areas:
- 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.

Examples: Keyword field formulas

This formula uses as a keyword list the values in column 1 of the Names view in the current database.
```
@DbColumn(""; ""; "Names"; 1)
```
This formula reformats the user name as last name, comma, first name, taking care to handle hierarchical names. The formula looks up the reformatted user name in the Phone Numbers view of the current database and returns a list consisting of the values found in columns 2 and 3.
```
n := @Left(@V3UserName; "/");
k := @Right(n; " ") + ", " + @Left(n; " ");
@DbLookup(""; ""; "Phone Numbers"; k; 2) : @DbLookup(""; ""; "Phone Numbers"; k; 3)
```