Creating Calendar Views

Calendar views are useful for displaying the contents of a document in a calendar or day-planner format. Quite a few features are available in Notes and Domino 6 for building and working with Calendar views.

To create a Calendar view, it is best to create a form to capture the information before you create the Calendar view. The form should capture the following information:

  • Entry date
  • Start time
  • End time
  • Subject

You can create a Calendar view from scratch, or you can convert a standard Outline view to a Calendar view by changing the Style drop-down list on the View Info tab of the View properties box. You must observe a few rules when you work with a Calendar view. The first column must contain a date/time entry, sorted in ascending order. This column is typically hidden and contains a date value plus a time value that is used to position the entry in the calendar. The second column must evaluate to the duration of the calendar entry and should also be hidden. For example, you can calculate the difference between two time entries in minutes with the following formula:

(dEndTime - dStartTime)/60

The third column is the first visible column. You can place the time range in the column using a formula like this:

@Text(dStartTime) + " - " + @Text(dEndTime)

In the fourth column, you can place the subject or description of the entry. Figure 6.30 shows a simple Calendar view in design, and Figure 6.31 shows the resulting view.

Figure 6.30. This design of a simple Calendar view includes two hidden and two visible columns .

graphics/06fig30.jpg

Figure 6.31. This Calendar view includes the basic elements to display an entry. A simple Calendar Entry form is visible at the bottom of the figure.

graphics/06fig31.jpg

TIP

Most Calendar views do not need to display the view selection margin. If yours falls into this category, you can go to the Other section of the Style tab on the View properties box and make sure that Show Selection Margin isn't checked. It is also a good idea to check Extend Last Column to Window Width in the same section if your last column is the subject of the calendar entry.

 

Numerous properties are specific to Calendar views that are not available for a standard Outline view. Those properties are discussed in the next few sections.

NOTE

Although Calendar views can be presented to Web clients (they appear as HTML tables), some calendar features are unavailable. Those features include the embedded group scheduler, a date picker, and group calendars.

 

Working with the Style Tab

The View Style tab for Calendar views is significantly different than the corresponding tab for a standard Outline view, and many options are new to Notes and Domino 6. There are options to define the view background, header, and date areas. See Figure 6.32. Table 6.5 describes some of the features available on the View Style tab.

Figure 6.32. The View Style tab has many features new to Notes and Domino 6.

graphics/06fig32.jpg

Table 6.5. View Style Tab Sections

Section Description
Body Contains settings for the background color or image and the grid color .
Header Includes settings for the header background and style. There are three styles: None, Plain, and Tabbed. The Plain style is similar to the calendar formats from R5. The Tab style, new to Notes and Domino 6, can be seen in your calendar. This setting is used in combination with the Display setting, in which you specify which tabs appear (Day, Week, Month, and so on)
Date Area Sets colors for the date area background, a color that distinguishes today from other dates, and a color for the ToDo area. If you check Large Numbers, certain tabs, such as One-Day, Two-Day, or Work Week, display much larger numbers for the date.
Daily, Monthly Have color settings affecting the display of work hours, the color of months that aren't current, and the text color for the monthly display.
Entry Controls the display of individual entries in the Calendar view. You can set the background color, the unread color, and the height and line spacing of the entry, similar to the Rows section of the View Style tab of the standard Outline view.
Other, Margin Are similar to the View Style tab of the standard Outline view.

Understanding the Date and Time Format Tab

The Date and Time Format tab has changed considerably from R5. This tab determines what calendar formats are available, what time slots are available, and whether entries are grouped by time slot. See Figures 6.33 and 6.34. The options and their descriptions are explained in Table 6.6.

Figure 6.33. The Date and Time Format tab showing the settings available for the initial format.

graphics/06fig33.jpg

Figure 6.34. The Date and Time Format tab showing the settings for the time slot display checked.

graphics/06fig34.jpg

Table 6.6. Date and Time Format Tab

Option Description
Calendar Formats Formats includes one-day, two-day, work calendars, one-week, two-week, and one-month options. The Initial Format drop-down list sets the initial display.
Time Slot Display If checked, these options control the start time, end time, and duration. Two settings give users additional flexibility: Allow User to Override These Times and Users May Toggle Time Slots On/Off for Each Day.
  Group Entries Together by Time Slot When checked, entries display under the time slot. For example, a 9:00 a.m. meeting will appear under or by the 9:00 a.m. time slot. If this setting is not checked, the entry appears in the order determined by the first column's sort order.

Part I. Introduction to Release 6

Whats New in Release 6?

The Release 6 Object Store

The Integrated Development Environment

Part II. Foundations of Application Design

Forms Design

Advanced Form Design

Designing Views

Using Shared Resources in Domino Applications

Using the Page Designer

Creating Outlines

Adding Framesets to Domino Applications

Automating Your Application with Agents

Part III. Programming Domino Applications

Using the Formula Language

Real-World Examples Using the Formula Language

Writing LotusScript for Domino Applications

Real-World LotusScript Examples

Writing JavaScript for Domino Applications

Real-World JavaScript Examples

Writing Java for Domino Applications

Real-World Java Examples

Enhancing Domino Applications for the Web

Part IV. Advanced Design Topics

Accessing Data with XML

Accessing Data with DECS and DCRs

Security and Domino Applications

Creating Workflow Applications

Analyzing Domino Applications

Part V. Appendices

Appendix A. HTML Reference

Appendix B. Domino URL Reference



Lotus Notes and Domino 6 Development
Lotus Notes and Domino 6 Development (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0672325020
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 288

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