Using the My Work home page

You can replace the default IBM® Notes® home page with another type of home page called My Work. My Work has three portal-like tabs that are divided into multiple panes that display your Mail, Calendar, To Do list, and so on.

Several panes allow you to display your most frequently used Notes® applications and websites -- helping you to organize and manage your daily tasks and communications with others in your company.

My Work has different tabs for different sorts of activities, as well as tools that you can use from any tab. The following sections describe how to use each tool or tab:

  • Search and Launcher tools
  • Today tab
  • Collaboration tab
  • Team tab

Search and Launcher tools

By default, you see the Search and Launcher tools in My Work, regardless of which tab you are on.

Search and Launcher tools

By default, you see the Search and Launcher tools at the right-hand side of My Work, regardless of which tab you are on.

Search

You can search the Web using the Google™ search engine or other search engines. You can also search your Notes® domain for applications whose titles contain your search terms.

Launcher

Use the launcher to start Notes® or other applications, and to open Notes® documents or Web pages by dragging them to the Launcher. You can also add a Notes® application to the Launcher using the following steps:

  1. Click File > Application > Open.
  2. Select the application, and then click Bookmark.
  3. Expand the More Bookmarks folder, select the My Work Launcher folder, and then click OK.

Tips

  • For more information on any of the tools, click ? in the tool pane.
  • To temporarily hide a tool pane, click the arrow to the left of the tools. To show the tools pane again, click the arrow at the far right of the home page.

Today tab

You can use the Today tab to scan for new mail, view today's calendar entries, or show your To Do list. You can choose to include one or all of these on your Today tab.

Here's what you can do by default from each pane of the Today tab.

Table 1. Today tab options
Option Tasks

Show Recent Messages
  • Read recent mail. The Recent Messages section is refreshed with new messages from your Inbox throughout the day, and the position of the cursor is refreshed at 8-hour intervals. (If it has been more than 8 hours since you exited your Notes® client, the cursor position will be refreshed when you restart Notes®.)
  • Start a new memo
  • Display a mail view other than your Inbox, or display contents of a folder
  • Expand the Recent Messages area to include Threads, so that when you click on a message, it is shown grouped with its replies, letting you view the entire conversation. (Threads display for the current session only.)
  • Open your Inbox full-view

Show Today's Calendar
  • See your calendar entries for today
  • Create a new calendar entry. To change the type of entry that you can create from the Today tab, change your defaults for new calendar entries.
  • Open your Calendar full-view

Show To Do's/Notices/Follow Up
  • See the list of items from your To Do view
  • Add a new To Do item to the list
  • Open your To Do list full-view
  • Display Follow Up or New Notices mini-view instead of To Do's
Note: Options for this pane differ depending on which mail template you are using

Tips

  • To expand a pane vertically, click the Maximize icon at the upper right of the pane. Click the Minimize icon to return the pane to its original size.
  • To resize a pane, move the cursor over the space between two panes until it turns into a cross-hair; click and drag the pane's border up, down, left, or right.
  • If the Search in View bar is open in a pane, close the bar by clicking the Close icon in its upper right corner -- you'll be able to see more of the pane's contents.

Collaboration tab

You will probably spend a large portion of your day in the Collaboration tab. The bottom pane is a good place to display the application or website that your company uses to provide general information to all its employees.

Here's what you can do by default with each pane of the Collaboration tab. For other changes you can make to this tab, see Editing the My Work home page.

Table 2. Collaboration tab options
Option Tasks

Inbox

Use your Inbox as you normally would (has action bar) without leaving the My Work page.

Note: You cannot use this Inbox to filter unwanted mail to the Junk Mail view -- you must use your full-view Inbox in Mail.

Bottom pane

Display one of the following items by clicking its link below the bottom pane. Change which item displays by clicking another link. Action and scroll bars are available in each item.

  • Your Contacts (the default)
  • The Domino® Directory
  • Your Calendar
  • Your application subscriptions
  • Your favorite website
  • Your Notebook
  • A teamroom
  • Any Notes® application
Note: You can use the Edit this page link to set up all the items now, and then quickly switch which item displays by clicking its link below the pane. If you want, you can substitute any Notes® application for the Domino® Directory, notebook, or TeamRoom.

Tips

  • To expand a pane vertically, click the Maximize icon at the upper right of the pane. Click the Minimize icon to return the pane to its original size.
  • If the Search in View is open in the pane containing your Inbox or Notes® application, close the bar by clicking the Close icon in its upper right corner -- you'll be able to see more of your mail or application contents.

Team tab

Keep abreast of new postings in the application or website your project team uses to communicate among its members, or plan with your team members' schedules in mind by showing your group calendar. To create Team tabs for additional project teams, see Editing the My Work home page.

Table 3. Team tab options
Option Task

Top pane

Set up one or both of the following:

  • A team website
  • One of your team's Notes® applications, such as its Discussion application.

Bottom pane

Set up one or both of the following:

  • Another of your team's Notes® applications
  • Your group calendar (you must first create a group calendar in your Mail file)

Tips

  • Once you have set up items to display in a pane, you can switch easily from one to the other by clicking the text link at the upper right of the pane.
  • Each team website or application you select from the Page Options dialog box does not appear until you click Finish in the dialog box. You can change your selection before you click Finish by reclicking Select, or after you've clicked Finish by reclicking Edit this page at the upper right of the My Work page.
  • If the Search in View bar is open in a pane containing a Notes® application, close the bar by clicking the Close icon in its upper right corner -- you'll be able to see more of the application contents.