Fundamentals of a Notes Application

Chapter Overview

This chapter provides a roadmap for building a Notes database. By now you should be able to navigate the development environment and have a fundamental understanding of the various constructs used to build a Notes database.

In this chapter, you will learn the five primary types of Lotus Notes applications. Almost all Notes databases can be separated into one of five different software designs. We'll discuss each type and when to use each of them.

We'll demonstrate a sample software development life cycle and provide pointers to manage the development of a Notes database from start to completion.

Finally, you'll have an opportunity for hands-on experience with developing a database from scratch so that you can understand the importance of forms, fields, and views for managing content. Although other design elements exist, most users will find that these are some of the primary components used in application development. After you've mastered these, you will find that the other design elements can be created in a similar manner. This project will illustrate how to

• Create forms
• Create views
• Create script libraries
• Create action buttons
• Create shared action buttons
• Customize the navigation using an outline, page, and frameset
• Create a welcome screen
• Create a help document
• Customize the database icon
• Restrict access to documents using a Readers field
• Create a hard-coded keyword field
• Use a formula to populate a keyword field
• Update the Access Control List (ACL)
• Hide a field

By the end of the chapter you will have learned

• The five primary Notes application designs
• The basic framework of a development life cycle
• Questions to ask when designing software
• Elements of a project plan and schedule
• How to design a Notes database
• Steps to build a Notes application