A Lotus Technical Blog by the MartinScott Team

Should you ever use view name instead of view alias with GetView / @DbLookup?

Jamie Magee  January 19 2011 10:24:24 AM
Question: I read Jamie's article about using the view name and not the alias for faster performance.  However, a manager I work with has stated the IBM and several other places ie, notesninga's and the such say ALWAYS use an alias.  I was wondering why you would state otherwise.  My personal preference is not to use an alias, I had made the suggestion here based on your article. Thanks, John

Hi John,

Thanks for writing!  The recommendation to use the view name is in cases where you have many (e.g., hundreds) of views, AND if the performance of the lookup is slow between a Notes client and Domino.  This is because Domino scans to find the view in the design list first using the view name, then the view alias, then a case-insensitive view name, then case-insensitive on the alias.  So if you have 200 views in your design, a db.GetView or dblookup from a Notes client to a Domino server using a case-insensitive phrasing of the view alias will take 600-800 visits through the design list before it finds the view.  Using the case sensitive name of the view will only have to scan a maximum 200 design entries.  The difference for hundreds of views can be on the order of a second or so on a typical environment.  Not a large amount of time in some scenarios, but can be worth gaining in others.

The downside is that if you change the name of the view (e.g., the name that you want Notes client users to see in the view list), you will also need to change it in your code.  But most apps these days use Outlines or navigators for view selection, so you would not need to change the name of a view for business requirements purposes.  And even if you did, you could use Design Synopsis or a 3rd party tool to find and change all instances of a view name.

Thanks for the question and giving us a chance to clarify our tip!

Jamie

How to compose withOUT inheriting in R8 Standard client

Jamie Magee  December 8 2010 08:48:17 AM
If a form is set to "inherit values from selected document" when composing, but you do NOT want your next new document creation to do that, you can hold down CTRL while composing it.  This has worked this way going back to at least R4.  However, R8 Standard client doesn't let you click an action bar button or menu option while you are holding down CTRL.  The trick: do the compose action right up through and including depressing the mouse button, but -- BEFORE YOU RELEASE THE MOUSE BUTTON -- now hold down CTRL while releasing the mouse button.  

How to do Ctrl-Break in the Notes Standard client

Jamie Magee  December 7 2010 11:49:22 AM
Ctrl-Break is the typical way to abort accessing an unavailable database, stop a script, etc.  But in the Eclipse-based "Standard" Notes client, Ctrl-Break doesn't always work.  In fact, I find that it never does.  I don't have time to figure out why, because I have instead found that the Stop button in the Navigation toolbar does work!  Even when you're stuck with an hourglass in Notes, the Eclipse client lets you click on toolbar buttons, and Stop usually works just as you'd want it to.

Image:How to do Ctrl-Break in the Notes Standard client

50 tips for analyzing and improving Notes/Domino application performance

Jamie Magee  August 3 2010 04:02:57 PM
From IamLUG 2010...

AppPerformance.pdf Size: 2.5 MB

Prevent, identify, and fix the most common performance problems in Domino applications! This updated and fast-moving session covers over 50 Notes and Web performance tips including formulas, LotusScript, agents, views, forms, images, DB properties, security, CSS, JavaScript, GZip, caching, and server settings every developer should know. Learn how to trace slow performance in existing applications, including an open source tool to reveal what Notes is waiting for when you see the yellow lightning symbol. Emphasis is placed on balancing performance, maintainability and functionality.

Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"

Becky Lomangino  March 3 2010 11:36:52 AM
Update: Hotmail has now followed gmail, and all messages sent through the hotmail mail servers will say 'Sent By' [hotmail address].

iPhone/Gmail users have been dealing with the annoying "on behalf of" indicator on all sent messages for a long time now.  Gmail allows you to send and receive email via multiple email accounts but messages sent from the iPhone almost always contain a heading like this: From [other email address] "on behalf of" [gmail address].  

GMail recently "fixed" this problem by allowing you to choose a different outgoing SMTP server on your Gmail account.  We were thrilled with this new development and rushed to Gmail to try it out.  After entering our martinscott.com smtp server settings, Gmail came back with an error "Remote Server does not support TLS code(500)."  Turns out, Gmail wanted our Domino server to support TLS/SSL authentication for SMTP.  This was a big letdown, since many Lotus Domino environments are not set up this way.  So we continued to look for a solution.

We then learned that Windows Live Hotmail added POP3 and SMTP support for its free user base (previously, it was only available to paid Windows Live Hotmail Plus subscribers). With this new information, we went about creating a Hotmail account, and linking an iPhone to it.  After running through the setup (details below), we sent an email from the iPhone (using our Lotus Notes email address) to another email address.  We opened the email with much trepidation and were almost giddy when there was no sign of "on behalf of" or Hotmail or any indication that it came from anywhere but our Lotus Notes email address.  We have since tested sending emails to many different email accounts and the result has been the same for all.  Goodbye "On Behalf Of"!  We won't miss you.

Wondering how to get your Lotus Notes email to Hotmail (or anywhere else for that matter)? MartinScott's WirelessMail forwards copies of your important email to ANY email-addressable wireless device, including iPhone, BlackBerry, Droid, Palm/Treo, PocketPC, Symbian, cell phones and pagers.  You can even use it to forward Notes mail to another email account.

To link Hotmail to your iPhone

Create or update your existing Hotmail account

You will have to add your Lotus Notes email address as an authorized reply-to address in your Hotmail account. Go to Hotmail.com, log into your account.

In the top right corner, select to Options / More Options

Under 'Manage your account', click 'Send and receive mail from other e-mail accounts'.

Image:Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"
At the bottom of the screen, click 'Add another account to send mail from'.

Image:Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"
Enter your Lotus Notes email address as a reply-to address and click 'Send verification e-mail'.

Hotmail is going to want to confirm that your Notes email address is legitimate, and will send you an email verification link.
Once you have verified your Lotus Notes email address, it will be added under your Hotmail address.  Click on 'Use as default' to make this your default 'reply-to' address.
Image:Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"

With the Hotmail settings complete, now it's time to update your iPhone.

On the iPhone, Tap Settings > Mail > Add Account > Other
Fill in the fields using the information below:
Name: First Last
Address: your Lotus Notes email address
Password: your Hotmail password
Description: (optional)
Tap Save
Image:Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"

Choose POP (not IMAP)

Under Incoming Mail Server, type the following:
Host Name: pop3.live.com
User Name: your Hotmail address
Password: your Hotmail password
Image:Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"

Under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP), type the following:
Host Name: smtp.live.com
User Name: your Hotmail address
Password: your Hotmail password

Tap Save.
Image:Use Hotmail (not Gmail) with your iPhone and Lotus Notes to really get rid of "On Behalf Of"

You can now receive mail from Hotmail and send mail (through Hotmail) but have emails look as if they came from your Lotus Notes address.

Unified Messaging solutions for Lotus Notes

Daryl Rochette  January 26 2010 03:54:02 PM
Unified Messaging solutions for Lotus Domino are getting more and more popular, but there's not much public information comparing them.  And many manufacturers of such solutions take different approaches to their architecture, resulting in varying degrees of functionality, performance, and reliability.  A partial list of contenders include: Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Nortel, iLink, is-coord, Siemens, Pentos, PhoneSoft, and VoiceRite.

What solution have you tried, and what do you think?  Did you see any UM demos at Lotusphere?

You know you just got back from Lotusphere....

Franziska Tanner  January 26 2010 12:32:44 PM
... when even days later your feet feel like you ran a marathon.
... when you reach for your badge holder in the morning so they will let you into breakfast.
... when you are so inspired to upgrade, enhance or otherwise change your environment, you put in change control request for things you haven't even planned out yet.
... when you've spoken to dozens of people for hours a day but still ran out of time to talk to everyone you wanted to.
... when you live in 80 degree temperatures but still bring a jacket to your home office, in case the air conditioning is "like at Lotusphere" and set to "stupid cold".
... when you think back on the major business and personal relationships in your life and realize that you met most of them at previous Lotusphere®'s.

Got any others?

Thank you all for coming to see us at our sessions, our booth and everywhere in between. Both Jamie and my session slides will be posted tomorrow!

DB HealthCheck finds common problems with AdminP, NAMES.NSF

Daryl Rochette  January 17 2010 05:47:36 AM
Many types of issues can prevent proper functionality of system databases such as admin4.nsf and names.nsf.  This free utility will perform a health check on any database, looking for consistency between copies across servers, including: replication, administration, design, data, and security properties.  This can save you hours of time trying to figure out why your AdminP requests aren't processing across servers, or why your Directory isn't behaving.  This is only a 1.00 version, so comments and suggestions are welcome!

Image:DB HealthCheck finds common problems with AdminP, NAMES.NSF
HealthCheck.nsf
 

Lotus Knows MartinScott is representing at Lotusphere 2010

Franziska Tanner  December 16 2009 09:47:07 AM
For those joining the mass-geek-migration to Orlando in January to attend Lotusphere 2010, MartinScott is thrilled to present you with five opportunities to meet/see/chat with us!

1. First up is Franziska Tanner as she presents a JumpStart session in the brand new Admin Boot Camp Track with Marie Scott and Gabriella Davis where they present:

BOOT103: Running with Scissors: Sharpen Your Skills for a Pain-free IBM Lotus Domino 8.5 Upgrade
Client and server upgrades to Lotus Domino 8.5 don't have to sting! Join us as we share our cutting-edge techniques for a successful upgrade - beginning to end. In this session, we'll snip through proven methods for your client upgrade with the pros and cons of basic or standard clients; building smarter SmartUpgrade kits; and managing strategically implemented policies. But our shears won’t stop there as we cut thru the most efficient steps for upgrading your servers and your Lotus Domino Directory; leveraging your servers to take advantage of Lotus Domino 8.5 performance improvements; and time and space savings via DAOS and ID Vault! You’ll walk away with your own ever-sharp skill set for your most comprehensive, and pain-free upgrade yet.


2. For those that will have missed it the first time around, there are plans to repeat BOOT103: Running with Scissors: Sharpen Your Skills for a Pain-free IBM Lotus Domino 8.5 Upgrade, both sessions on Sunday.


3. If you work with developers or are just looking to improve your release management skills, come watch Jamie Magee as he presents with Eileen Fitzgerald:

BP111: Heel! Sit! Code! Obedience/Compliance Training for Your Developers
Does your Lotus Domino environment feel like an untamed area with “packs” of developers running around unchecked? Admins, get control of your "dog eat dog" environment using ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Release Management processes. ITIL Release Management ensures that you deliver applications into production that meet business requirements in a timely and efficient manner. It may also reduce friction between your admins and developers, and reduce the body count when developers want to introduce something into production.


4. For admins who inherited their server environment or are trying to make sure everything stays functional, join Franziska Tanner as she again presents with Marie Scott and Gabriella Davis:

BP103: "Top Chefs" Share Recipes for Avoiding Everyday Server Disasters
Do you have the right recipe for securing and performance tuning your servers? Are you dealing with mail fidelity issues, routing or replication bottlenecks? And if you're got all that right, how about ACL's, ECL's, policies and client management? Come watch three seasoned chefs resolve real-world scenarios that could otherwise spell disaster if allowed to flare-up in your domain. Demystify transaction logging and get great tips on managing ids, preventative server maintenance, essential Notes.ini settings and must-have monitoring tools. Whether you're a "Top Chef" or a "Swedish Chef", you won't want to miss this smorgasbord of a session, full of solutions you can take home and use.


5. Last but not least, MartinScott will once again be represented on the Showcase Floor, this time at pedestal 327 (see location below).  We'll be showing our newly updated NoteMan Toolbar, WirelessMail, Panagenda MarvelClient, Panagenda greenLight, and our yearly giveaway!  And drop by early to get your limited edition C.U.L.T. (Certified Unofficial Lotusphere T-shirt) shirt!  We'll also again be offering "15 minutes with our Experts" for you to discuss your business problems, get a second opinion, or just do a sanity check in the areas of application development, client management, upgrades to 8.5, server architecture, education and anything in between.

Image:Lotus Knows MartinScott is representing at Lotusphere 2010

Keep your eyes on the schedule site and of course this blog for exact times, once the schedule gets published.
Hope to see you at Lotusphere 2010!

BEST.IDEA.EVER - Dominopoint Day 2009 Social Stripe

Franziska Tanner  November 26 2009 08:24:56 AM
A couple of days ago I posted the "making of..." video from what has turned out to be the most exciting marketing idea (in my humble opinion) I've ever seen.
Presenting the Dominopoint Day 2009, "Lotus Knows....." Social Stripe!









What really struck me about this, even while making it, is how well the above expresses the sentiment of each of our User Group events, such as ILUG, UKLUG, IAMLUG.
Not taking away from how well Dominopoint Day was organized and not minimizing how much everyone learned or the business that took place that day.
But when you reduce it down to what is at the core, the real star of these privately organized events made of blood, sweat and tears are PASSION, KNOW-HOW and COMMUNITY!

Those three things hold great significance not just to me as a person, but to who I work with and what kinds of things I get involved with.
It's why we leave our families to travel to foreign places. Why people like Tiago and Daniele take the time to translate slides and introductions from English to Italian the night before the big event.

Transelating "how to get fired"

It's why Giuseppe Grasso, Claudio Meregalli and Daniele Grillo and their extended team put hours and hours of their own time into user group events.

shooting-8.jpg

And, it's why both Mary Beth Raven and I got up on stage in front of a few hundred native Italians and at least "tried" to introduce ourselves in Italian :)



Sidenote: I probably got way more excited about this than I should have, but  check out our very own translators that sat up in the control room and talked along our presentations! If you wanna know what the attendees heard, watch this video, taken during Mary Beth's session.

Fun Evening

I am honored to have been part of Dominopoint Day 2009 as a guest speaker.
Thank you for the invite (and the amazing food)!