Configuring widgets for specific Notes client releases

The Platform field was introduced in Domino 9.0 Social Edition for support of Notes client users in a mixed-release environment. The administrator of the widget catalog can use the Platform field in widget catalog documents to control which widgets in a category of widgets are deployed to client users of this release and of earlier releases of Lotus Notes. You need to enable a preference to use this feature.

Before you begin

The preferences that are covered in this Help topic are Notes client preferences that could be set in install_dir/framework/rcp/plugin_customization.ini, or could be pushed using Managed Settings in desktop policies. See the following list of considerations when deciding which method to use.
  • If you are using a policy to push the preferences and your user set for the policy includes a mixture of client versions, you should not be pushing the currentNotesPlatform preference. If you need the preference for specific clients, use plugin_customization.ini instead.
  • Using these preferences is not recommended if one of your users is a roaming user that uses a mixture of client versions. If you have a roaming user that uses an 8.5.3 client and a 9.0 client, widgets meant for 8.5.3 clients are roamed to 9.0 clients.

About this task

If a desktop settings policy is set up to push a widget catalog server, widget catalog application name, and widget categories to install to the users of the policy, the Platform field determines whether the widgets in the category should be installed on the specific client and release.
Important: OpenSocial widgets should be installed only on Notes clients running Notes 9.0 Social Edition, Notes 9.0.1 Social Edition, or later. To install such widgets properly, set the Platform field to the appropriate IBM Notes 9.x value, and, if you also have iNotes client users, the appropriate IBM iNotes 9.x value.

Procedure

Set the preferences described in the following table to customize how this filtering works on Notes clients.
Table 1. Preferences and the Platform field
Preference Recommended settings
com.ibm.rcp.toolbox.admin/filterByWidgetPlatform The default value of this preference is 'false'.

When set to false, some limited filtering occurs. If a widget in the Widget Catalog has the Platform field set to any IBM Notes 9.x values, all Notes 8.5.3 or earlier clients do not install the widget when widget catalog category installation takes place on the client.

For example, if you have an OpenSocial widget in the Widgets catalog and its Platform field is set to IBM Notes 9.0, and the category to which the widget belongs is pushed for installation, the following behaviors occur: All clients running IBM Notes 9.0 Social Edition install the OpenSocial widget. All clients running Lotus Notes 8.5.3 or earlier do not install the OpenSocial widget.

When set to true, widgets are filtered during category installation of widgets.
com.ibm.rcp.toolbox.admin/currentNotesPlatform The default value of this preference in Notes 9.0 Social Edition, Notes 9.0.1 Social Edition, or later, is the release number indicator, for example, N90 for Notes 9.0 Social Edition, N901 for Notes 9.0.1 Social Edition, and so on.
  • The release number indicator N90 maps to the Platform field value of IBM Notes 9.0 in widget documents.
  • The release number indicator N901 maps to the Platform field value of IBM Notes 9.0.1 in widget documents.
Use this preference to define the current platform release. During category install of widgets. the currentNotesPlatform value is compared to the release number indicators listed in the Platform field entries in widget documents. The release number indicators in the widget catalog are:
  • N801 for IBM Lotus Notes 8.0.1
  • N802 for IBM Lotus Notes 8.0.2
  • N85 for IBM Lotus Notes 8.5
  • N851 for IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.1
  • N852 for IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.2
  • N853 for IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.3
  • N90 for IBM Notes 9.0.
  • N901 for IBM Notes 9.0.1.

See the 'strictWidgetFilter' preference for more information on how filtering is done. If you change the currentNotesPlatform parameter from its default value, you should use the syntax of Nrelease, for example, N90FP1. In the widget catalog, you would then add your own custom platform value in your widgets using the same syntax: N90FP1. This will allow you to deploy widgets to specific fixpack installations.
com.ibm.rcp.toolbox.admin/strictWidgetFilter The default value of this preference is 'true'.
When set to true, and the filterByWidgetPlatform parameter is enabled, during category installation of widgets, one of these actions occurs:
  • If the Platform field list of the widget contains the currentNotesPlatform value, the widget is installed
  • If the Platform field list is empty, indicating all releases, the widget is installed
  • If the Platform field list of the widget has at least one release in it and the list does not contain the currentNotesPlatform value, then the widget is not installed and a warning message is logged
If this preference is set to true and filterByWidgetPlatform is enabled, during drag-and-drop installation of a widget, the following occurs:
  • If the Platform field list of the widget has at least one release in it and the list does not contain the currentNotesPlatform value, the widget is installed, but a warning message is logged
If this preference is set to false and filterByWidgetPlatform is enabled, during category installation of widgets, one of these actions occurs:
  • If the Platform field list of the widget contains the currentNotesPlatform value or any value indicating a previous release of Notes, the widget is installed
  • If the Platform field list is empty, indicating all platforms, the widget is installed
  • If the Platform field list of the widget has at least one value in it and the list does not contain the currentNotesPlatform value or any value specifying a previous Notes release, then the widget is not installed and a warning message is logged
If this preference is set to false and filterByWidgetPlatform is enabled, during drag-and-drop installation of a widget, the following action occurs:
  • If the Platform field list of the widget has at least one value in it and the list does not contain the currentNotesPlatform value or any value specifying a previous Notes release, the widget is installed, but a warning message is logged