Introduction

Super.human.software. This is the moniker that Lotus has placed on Notes and Domino R5. There is no doubt that Lotus has succeeded in making its product, already the best- selling messaging and groupware product, even better. It has been quite a wait for those of us who have been anticipating it for over a year, but the wait has been well worth it.

The new software is able to provide email to tall buildings with a single server, is more powerful than a locomotive, and it runs faster than a speeding bullet. It provides these services and more while remaining unaffected even by kryptonite.

As we near the threshold of the 21st century, Notes and Domino R5 are ready to carry us forward. They provide a great leap ahead with powerful Web serving functions, workflow and groupware capabilities, email, replication, integration with legacy systems, and more.

If you are currently deciding whether to consider Domino for your enterprise, the answer is simple. You should. There are so many applications and capabilities of the system that you may be able to use it to replace and consolidate older systems you may be using. If you already use Notes and Domino and are considering upgrading to the latest release, the answer is simple. You should. You already know about the huge return on investment the system provides, and the capabilities of R5 make your gains even larger.

Who Should Read This Book

This book is designed to give you comprehensive coverage of Notes and Domino. It is intended to provide you with the information you need to install, deploy, develop applications with, and use Notes and Domino R5 to their fullest.

This book gives you a look at R5 from three major perspectives: the Notes user, the Domino application developer, and the Domino administrator. For example, you may be one of the following types of readers:

• A Notes user Whether you are a new user of Notes or an experienced Notes release 4 user, you should read this book to find out about the new features of release 5. You'll learn about email, calendaring and scheduling, Sametime features, and using Notes remotely.

• A Domino application developer As a developer, you should be familiar with the new features of Notes release 5 and how to best take advantage of them for your users. The approach of this book is much more Internet- and Web-centric than previous Notes and Domino books. In addition to core Domino topics, this book includes information on HTML, Java, JavaScript, pages, and framesets, as well as details on LotusScript and building Web sites.

• A Lotus Business Partner This book was written almost completely by Lotus Business Partners. As such, the authors know the kind of information you're interested in, including advice on many third-party integration tools. It includes advanced topics, such as legacy system integration, performance, capacity planning, and upgrading from cc:Mail or Exchange. The CD-ROM that accompanies this book includes many actual demos of third-party tools.

• A Domino administrator I have included useful information on configuring your system and upgrading from release 4 to release 5 of Notes, and advanced information about troubleshooting and security concerns when connecting to other companies. This book also tells you about firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other security issues. I'll cover the new Domino Administrator interface in detail, as well as tips for troubleshooting and monitoring Domino.

If you're using Domino now, or are trying to decide whether Domino is the right product for your company, this book is for you. It describes why you should consider Notes and Domino, how to use them, how to develop applications, and how to administer your Domino network.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized into eight parts, each part consisting of several chapters. Part I, "Presenting Notes and Domino Release 5," is a general introduction to Notes and Domino. It is designed to help you understand the product and why you should consider it for your company.

Part II, "Using the Lotus Notes R5 Client," describes how to get started with Notes and how to use some of its more important features. Part III, "Introducing Domino Designer R5," and Part IV, "Using LotusScript, Java, and JavaScript," provide you with information about creating Notes release 5 applications.

Part V, "Developing Internet Sites with Domino," is devoted to topics relating to the Internet and Web development. Part VI, "Installing and Configuring the Domino Servers," provides you with some core information on Domino Server installation. Part VII, "Administering the Domino Servers," covers ongoing administration of your system. It includes topics such as adding and deleting users, handling email, and replication. Part VIII, "Advanced Domino Administration," covers specialty or advanced topics. Items such as performance, upgrading email, large Domino networks, and other topics are covered.

Part I "Presenting Notes and Domino Release 5"

Part I covers some basic concepts and information about Notes and the groupware category of software. Chapter 1, "Introducing Lotus Notes and Domino," describes Notes and Domino and gives you an overview of the system's capabilities.

Chapter 2, "What's New in Release 5.0 of Notes and Domino," highlights new features of Notes release 5. Release 5 is a major upgrade of Notes and Domino. This chapter gives you a taste of the new features for end users, developers, and administrators.

Part II "Using the Lotus Notes R5 Client"

Part II provides you with information about using the Notes release 5 client. Whether you are just using Notes, developing applications for Notes, or administering a Notes system, you should read this part.

Chapter 3, "Installing and Customizing the Notes Client," begins at the beginning, showing you how to install and customize the Notes client. Chapter 4, "The Notes User Interface and the Standard Databases," examines the new user interface and the standard databases supplied by Lotus. Chapter 5, "Using Electronic Mail," covers the use of email and general applications. Email is now a critical part of business, and with release 5, Lotus has enhanced the email interface so that it is even more user friendly than before.

Chapter 6, "Working with Text and Documents," shows you the key features of documents in Notes that are used in all databases. Chapter 7, "Contact Management with the Personal and Public Directories," illustrates these two key databases. In R4.x, these directories were called Name and Address Books, but in R5, Lotus is now using the terminology of Directory. Chapter 8, "Getting Organized with the Calendaring and Scheduling Features," explains how to make appointments and meetings. R5 makes you even more productive than before.

Chapter 9, "Using Sametime Collaboration," describes the new Sametime product that works with Notes and Domino. If you are familiar with AOL "buddy lists," this exciting new product provides a similar capability and more. The capability of using Notes on a mobile computer or from a remote computer, such as an office at home, is a great benefit. Chapter 10, "Using Mobile Features from Home or on the Road," covers the topics you need to know to set up replication and usage for your mobile or remote Notes environment. Chapter 11, "Using the Notes Client on the Internet," highlights features and capabilities that Web cruisers find useful.

Part III "Introducing Domino Designer R5"

Part III, Part IV, and Part V of this book are devoted to application development issues. Part III begins with Chapter 12, "Creating and Accessing Domino Databases," which is a description of Domino databases and an introduction to the Lotus templates and the various methods of creating and using Domino databases. Chapter 13, "The Integrated Development Environment (IDE)," shows you how to use the new user interface for Domino development.

Chapter 14, "Designing Pages, Forms, and Subforms," and Chapter 15, "Developing Views and Folders," cover both the traditional Domino design elements and some of the new elements as well. Chapter 16, "Using Outlines, Framesets, and Navigators," completes the trio of design element chapters, which show you how to use the design elements in both Web and Notes client environments.

Chapter 17, "Access Control Lists (ACLs) and Application Security," gives you information on securing your applications. Chapter 18, "Working with Formulas, Functions, and Commands," completes Part III and covers important functions you need to know to develop Domino applications.

Part IV "Using LotusScript, Java, and JavaScript"

In Part IV, I cover programmability of Notes and Domino. Chapter 19, "Using the IDE with LotusScript, Java, and JavaScript," begins Part IV by describing the development environment within the Domino Designer. Chapter 20, "Object-Oriented Programming and the Domino Object Model," provides you with the knowledge required to effectively use either LotusScript or Java. Chapter 21, "LotusScript Variables and Objects," is a tour of LotusScript, the Basic scripting language for Notes, and many of the other Lotus products. Chapter 21 covers both the fundamental language elements and the data types used within the language. Chapter 22, "LotusScript Subroutines, Functions, and Event Handlers," describes how to modularize your program and provides information on the built-in functions of LotusScript.

In Chapter 23, "Creating and Using Java Applets and Agents," you learn about both the Java language and how to create applets and agents for Domino. Chapter 24, "Using the Lotus eSuite DevPack," describes version 1.5 of the eSuite DevPack, a group of Java applets that you can use to make your application development easier.

Chapter 25, "The Session and Front-End Classes," Chapter 26, "Database, View, and Document Classes in LotusScript and Java," and Chapter 27, "Using Fields and Items in LotusScript and Java," describe the Domino Object Model (DOM) classes. These chapters cover the model, using both LotusScript and Java examples to ease your learning experience. If you are familiar with one language, it should make it much easier to learn the other. Meanwhile, you will become familiar with the DOM classes in the process.

Part V "Developing Internet Sites with Domino"

Part V provides you with information about an important topic: creating Web sites with Domino. Chapter 28, "Building Your Own Web Site with Domino," describes some approaches you can use to building your Web site with Domino. Chapter 29, "Using External HTML Tools with Domino," illustrates how Domino can be used with other HTML tools to ease your transition to Domino or as a means of providing additional capabilities for your Web site. Chapter 30, "Moving to Electronic Commerce on Your Domino Site," discusses points you need to know when using Domino as your electronic commerce Web server. Chapter 31, "Integrating Domino with Legacy Systems" provide a brief overview of the various products and tools for making Domino work with legacy systems.

Part VI "Installing and Configuring the Domino Servers"

Part VI covers the initial installation and configuration of your Domino server. Chapter 32, "The Domino Family of Servers," begins Part VI and discusses the different servers and their capabilities. Chapter 33, "Initial Planning and Installation," tells you what you should consider before you actually install the system. You'll learn about certification, domains, and the initial setup of a server. Chapter 34, "Upgrading from Domino R4.x to R5," is an important chapter for anyone considering upgrading from R4.x to R5 of Domino. You'll find the information you need to make the upgrade here. Chapter 35, "Initial Configuration of Servers with the Domino Directories," discusses the Domino Directory, which was formerly called the Name and Address Book. Key configuration parameters are described. Providing security for your Domino system is the topic of Chapter 36, "Domino Security Overview." The security discussion continues in Chapter 37, "Firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and Internet Security."

Part VII "Administering the Domino Servers"

Whereas Part VI covers the initial installation and configuration of Domino, Part VII focuses more on the ongoing administration of your Domino system after you have installed and configured it. Chapter 38, "Administering Users, Groups, and Certification," covers the main points you need to know about administering users and groups in Domino. You'll learn about adding and deleting users, creating groups, and more. Electronic mail is one of the most important applications of Domino today. Chapter 39, "Administering Electronic Mail," provides the keys to a successful implementation in your business.

Chapter 40, "Replication and Its Administration," discusses replication, one of the core features of Domino. You'll learn when a database is a replica of another database, how to schedule replication, and some points regarding replication of mail databases. Chapter 41, "Administering Files and Databases," shows you some of the great new features of R5 that you can use to manage the databases in your system. Chapter 42, "Managing Your Domino Server Configuration," describes some of the topics not described elsewhere that are contained in the Domino server record in the Domino Public Directory (Name and Address Book). Chapter 43, "Troubleshooting and Monitoring Domino," rounds out Part VII with important tips and hints to get you out of trouble and keep your system running smoothly.

Part VIII "Advanced Domino Administration"

The last part of the book, Part VIII, discusses some advanced administration topics. Chapter 44, "Performance, Scalability, and Capacity Planning for Domino Servers," describes key points to consider when deciding what kind of server(s) you require for your network. Upgrading email is covered in Chapter 45, "Upgrading from cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, and Exchange to Domino." Chapter 46, "Using the Enterprise Domino Server with a Large Domino Network," examines some of the unique features of this version of the Domino server and provides hints and tips for managing a large Domino network. Chapter 47, "Integrating Domino with Phone, Fax, and Image," keeps you on the leading edge of technology. It examines the latest ways to obtain even greater value from Domino when it is used with these other technologies. Chapter 48, "Using NotesPump and Domino Enhanced Search," covers these additional tools to integrate Domino with other parts of your business. The ability to obtain data from other sources, and to search it, is vital to managing the knowledge in your company. Appendixes A and B provide a class reference and function and command listings, respectively.

—Randall Tamura

Conventions Used in This Book

This book uses the following conventions:

• Menu names are separated from menu options by a comma. For example, "File, Open" means "Select the File menu and choose the Open option."

• New terms appear in italic.

• Words that you type appear in regular text in monospace.

• Placeholders (words that stand for what you actually type) in regular text appear in italic monospace.

• All code appears in monospace.

• Placeholders in code appear in italic monospace.

• When a line of code is too long to fit on only one line of this book, it is broken at a convenient place and continued to the next line. The continuation of the line is preceded by a code-continuation character (↪). You should type a line of code that has this character as one long line without breaking it.

• An ellipsis (…) indicates that the remaining or intervening code required to complete a statement or code structure has been omitted for the sake of brevity.