Portal Express, Version 6.0
Operating systems: i5/OS, Linux, Windows
Lotus Notes View
The Lotus Notes View (formerly Notes and Domino) portlet allows the user to access Notes databases using a Web browser.
The portal administrator can configure the Lotus Notes View portlet to provide access to specific types of Notes databases as described in the following list:
- Notes Mail displays any view (for example, Inbox, Calendar, or To Do) of the Notes Mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the authenticated user in the portal.
- Notes View displays any view of any Notes database to which a portal user has access. Users can add multiple views to a View menu, and the views can be from multiple Notes databases.
- Notes Teamroom displays any view of a Notes Teamroom to which a portal user has access.
- Notes Discussion displays any view of a Notes Discussion to which a portal user has access.
- My Notes Mail displays a portal user's own Notes Inbox, using the identity with which the user logs into WebSphere Portal Express to open that view from the Notes Mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the user.
- My Notes Calendar displays a portal user's Notes Calendar, using the identity with which the user logs into WebSphere Portal Express to open that view from the Notes Mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the user.
- My Notes To Do displays a portal user's Notes To Do (task) list, using the identity with which the user logs into WebSphere Portal Express to open that view from the Notes Mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the user.
There are several messaging portlets that you may prefer to use to access mail and calendar data on a Lotus Domino server. Be sure to read the descriptions of both the Lotus Notes View and Common Personal Information Management (Common Mail and Common Calendar) portlets before deciding which ones to deploy in the portal.
An example of the Lotus Notes View portlet appears among the Domino and Extended Products Portlets on the Domino Integration > My Databases page of the portal.
For information about working with the Lotus Notes View portlet, see the Help that is available from the portlet title bar.
As an administrator, you see the command Edit Shared Settings instead of Personalize for Lotus Notes View portlet instances. This command works the same as Personalize except that your changes apply to all users of the instance of the portlet whose settings you are editing, up until the time a user decides to personalize the portlet. Use caution when editing shared settings. In particular, it is recommended that you do not select Edit Shared Settings and then add views intended for all users of the portlet; instead, select Configure and then add any such views. For more information on the commands, see Configuration levels for portlets, and for considerations on adding views, see the What's New section of this topic.
What's new
Configuration mode
Lotus Notes View now has a configuration mode where you, as the administrator, can set the portletType from a list instead of using the parameter in Portal Administration. The default type of a new Lotus Notes View portlet is Any Notes View and is controlled by the value of the parameter (NOTESVIEW). However, as soon as the portlet type is changed in the configuration mode for an instance of the portlet, the value of the parameter in the portal Administration will no longer affect that portlet instance.
In the new configuration mode, you can perform all the tasks available in personalization. You can add views to the View menu, thus making them available to all users of the instance of Lotus Notes View you configure. If you also grant users of the portlet access to add their own views, they will be able to personalize only the views they add, not the ones you provide to all users.
You can use the configuration mode to specify view columns for awareness. For instructions, see Specifying a view column for awareness and chat in the Lotus Notes View portlet
Because the configuration mode provides an easier method of modifying settings, the UseiNotesTemplate, PeopleColumn, and DocumentLaunchColumn parameters are no longer necessary and have been removed from the portlet.
Considerations for adding views
As the administrator, you have the ability to add views to all instances of a portlet so that users of your site will have access to them. The method of adding the view determines the behavior of the view.
When you select Configure and then add a view to the portlet, the view appears in all instances of the portlet in the site, and users cannot delete or personalize the view. You can add a new view intended for all portlet users at any time and it will appear regardless of whether users have personalized their instances of the portlet. In addition, you can use this command to modify a view that appears dimmed to users.
When you select Edit Shared Settings and then add a view to the portlet, if a user has not yet personalized an instance, or does not have access to do so, the view appears in that user's portlet. However, as soon as a user personalizes the portlet in any way, views you add subsequently will no longer appear for users who have personalized. If your site does not grant access to users to personalize the Lotus Notes View portlet, this difference will not affect view behavior. But when users do have personalization access, avoid using Edit Shared Settings to distribute a view unless you intend users to personalize the view for themselves, and you also do not intend to distribute other views afterwards, or update the ones you have already distributed.
Using Edit Shared Settings to add the view is currently the only method that allows modification of the Application Title field, which controls the portlet title the user sees. CAUTION:Do not use both Configure and Edit Shared Settings to add views in the same portal session.
DIIOP requirement
DIIOP is now required to gather critical information used by the Lotus Notes View portlet. The following items are all supplied by DIIOP, and without its being enabled, the portlet cannot function properly. DIIOP gathers the following items of information:
- The current portal user's name in the Domino Directory
- The list of Notes databases available for selection as a source for the portlet
- The list of view categories for selection
- Calendar information (when the Domino release is unknown)
- The number of entries (count) in a categorized view
- The name of the design template used for the source Notes database, once selected
Considerations for adding documents
As the administrator, you can enable the Action for creating new documents. If the portlet type is Any Notes View, it is recommended that you specify a form name under Notes form name for new documents. If you leave the form name blank, in portlets of this type, selecting the new document action will show an error message, unless the portlet is also set to launch into the Lotus Notes client, and the user has the client installed. In the Lotus Notes client, instead of an error message, users see a selection list of forms in the source database design. The selected form is used only for the document the user is creating at the time, and the list appears every time a user attempts to create a document.
Tip: Allowing the user to select from a list of forms may be appropriate in your application. Ensure that all users have the Lotus Notes client installed, and that the form names are useful and understandable.
Portlets of the other types can use a pre-configured form if you do not specify one, and no error message appears.
Other new features
The Launch Application feature in Lotus Notes View now can open a document into the separate Lotus Document Viewer portlet instead of into a separate browser window. For more information, see Lotus Document Viewer. The user interface is also updated with other improvements such as better paging and column management. For information on the new features, see the Help that is available from the portlet title bar.
Lotus Notes View is supported as a remote WSRP service; however, people awareness will not work in an WSRP instance of the portlet.
Use the Lotus Notes View portlet
The Lotus Notes View portlet displays information stored in a Notes database on a Lotus Domino server that is set up to work with WebSphere Portal Express.
The Lotus Notes View portlet works with Web-enabled Notes mail databases that have either the standard Notes mail design or the Domino Web Access (iNotes) design.
Tip: For ease of use in the portlet, if you have designer access to a source Notes database for the portlet, enable sorting in its views.
The parameter that is most important to the appearance and function of the Lotus Notes View portlet is PortletType. The following table provides detailed information on the behavior of the portlet when configured with different values for this parameter.
| PortletType parameter value | Portlet functionality |
|---|---|
| NOTESVIEW | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting Any Notes View. Specifying this value configures the portlet with one view, if you as portal administrator also pre-configure values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters. Otherwise, the portlet requests the user to specify a data source in edit mode. Users can add more views in edit mode. |
| NOTESMAIL | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting My Notes Mail - All. Specifying this value configures the portlet with the following views: All Documents, Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Calendar, To Do, Meetings. With this value, the values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters are ignored, and the portlet looks up (auto-detects) the Lotus Domino server and Notes mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the authenticated user in the portal. Users can add more views in edit mode; if so, a View menu appears in view mode. |
| MYINBOX | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting My Notes Mail - Inbox. Specifying this value configures the portlet with the default view of Inbox. With this value, the values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters are ignored, and the portlet looks up (auto-detects) the Lotus Domino server and Notes mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the authenticated user in the portal,. Users can switch to the All Documents view in edit mode, but cannot add more views. |
| MYCALENDAR | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting My Notes Mail - Calendar. Specifying this value configures the portlet with the default view of Calendar. With this value, the values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters are ignored, and the portlet looks up (auto-detects) the Lotus Domino server and Notes mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the authenticated user in the portal. Users cannot add more views. |
| MYTODO | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting My Notes Mail - To Do. Specifying this value configures the portlet with the default view of To Do. With this value, the values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters are ignored, and the portlet looks up (auto-detects) the Lotus Domino server and Notes mail database specified in the Domino Directory's Person document for the authenticated user in the portal. Users cannot add more views. |
| NOTESDISCUSSION | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting Notes Discussion. Specifying this value creates no views and, unless you as portal administrator also pre-configure values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters, requests the user to specify a data source in edit mode. Users can add more views, selecting from a list of views available in the Notes Discussion database design; if they add any views, a View menu appears in view mode in the portlet. |
| NOTESTEAMROOM | This value is equivalent to the portlet Configuration setting Notes Teamroom. Specifying this value creates no views and, unless you as portal administrator also pre-configure values for the NotesServer, NotesDatabase and NotesView parameters requests the user to specify a data source in edit mode. Users can add more views, selecting from a list of views available in the Notes Teamroom database design; if they add any views, a View menu appears in view mode in the portlet. |
Portlet security
By default, the Lotus Notes View portlet supports single sign-on (SSO), with an LTPA token, giving the user access to both the Lotus Domino server that has been set up for use with Collaborative Services, and the Notes database that is the source for data displayed in the portlet, based on the identity (name and password) the user types to log in to WebSphere Portal Express.
As portal administrator, you can set up the WebSphere Portal Express Credential Vault to allow portal users to log in to an instance of the Lotus Notes View portlet using an alternate name and password. Credential Vault must be enabled in portal administration to work with this portlet, and configure the VAULT_SLOT and UserCredentialClass parameters for the portlet. When you have configured the parameter, the name and password a user types into the Switch ID field in edit mode authenticates the user for access to one or more source Notes databases for the portlet. However, the user must also be listed appropriately in the access control list of any source Notes database to open it.
You can create one slot in the Credential Vault to be used for every instance of the Lotus Notes View portlet, or you can create separate slots for different instances of the portlet with different values for the PortletType parameter. You can also create a shared vault slot that stores a common credential for all portal users or specific groups of users to use when logging in to any Lotus Notes View portlet; however, if you create a shared slot, other separate slots that you create for different instances of the portlet must remain unshared.
Test assumptions
This portlet has been tested on and is compatible with all supported WebSphere Portal Express platforms, as listed in Supported hardware and software.
Set up the portlet
This portlet is installed automatically as part of the Domino and Extended Products Portlets.
Before you configure the portlet, make sure your WebSphere Portal Express environment meets the following client and server requirements.
Client requirements
The portlet supports browsers and devices capable of rendering HTML markup. The following table provides detailed information.
| Minimum requirements for HTML | |
|---|---|
| Markup level | HTML 4.01 Transitional |
| Java applet | None |
| JavaScript | 1.30 |
| <iframe> | Yes |
| Style sheets | Portal styles only |
| Software |
|
| Accessibility | Yes |
Awareness in this portlet may be supported in a slightly different set of browsers and client platforms than listed in the table above, because the portlet depends upon the STLinks applet on the Lotus Sametime server. For more information, see People Finder portlet, people awareness, and Person menu problems in Troubleshooting Domino and Extended Products Portlets.
Server requirements
The Lotus Notes View portlet requires access to a Lotus Domino messaging/application server with HTTP support enabled. The Lotus Domino server hosts the Notes information source. A Lotus Sametime server supports awareness in the portlet.
The portlet is compatible with the specific releases of Lotus Domino and Lotus Sametime server software listed in the Supported software for collaboration (optional) table under Software requirements in Supported hardware and software.
If you want users of the portlet to be able to select the source Notes database file name from a drop-down list, the Lotus Domino server must run the DIIOP service, and on the Server document Internet Protocols - HTTP tab, the option "Allow HTTP clients to browse databases" must be set to Yes. For more information, see Starting the DIIOP and HTTP tasks automatically on the Lotus Domino server and Giving users browser access to Notes-based portlets.
If you do not choose to run the DIIOP service on your Lotus Domino server, you can specify a default database filename in the portlet parameter NotesDatabase, and users of the portlet can type over that filename if necessary to specify the information source.
Deployment/Installation
This portlet is installed automatically as part of WebSphere Portal Express installation.
Configuration parameters
The following configuration parameters are available in this portlet.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| NotesServer | When the PortletType parameter is set to NOTESVIEW, NOTESDISCUSSION, or NOTESTEAMROOM, you can specify the fully qualified Internet (HTTP) host name of the Lotus Domino server that hosts the Notes database that is the information source for the portlet.
Example: yourdominoserver.yourdomain.com
|
| NotesDatabase | When the PortletType parameter is set to NOTESVIEW, NOTESDISCUSSION, or NOTESTEAMROOM, you can specify the file name of the Notes database that is the information source of the portlet.
Examples:
mail/notesid.nsf (for a Notes Mail database)
mail/jdoe.nsfnotesdatabasename.nsf (for any other type of Notes database)
sales/salesdiscussion.nsf
|
| NotesView | When the PortletType parameter is set to NOTESVIEW, NOTESDISCUSSION, or NOTESTEAMROOM, you can edit the following default values for this parameter to change the view of the Notes database that displays when users view the portlet.
NOTESVIEW: ($All)
NOTESDISCUSSION: ($All)
NOTESTEAMROOM: ($All)
|
| VAULT_SLOT | Specify the name of the slot in the WebSphere Portal Express Credential Vault that stores credentials for authenticating users of one or more Lotus Notes View portlets.
Default:
lotus.notes.portlets
The default value is the slot for all Lotus Notes View portlets. You can define separate slots for different instances of the Lotus Notes View portlet by changing this parameter in each instance copy you create. Example:
lotus.notes.portlets.
The value for this parameter is case-sensitive and must match the name of the Credential Vault slot that was created under Portal Administration --> Security. Type the value as a continuous string with no return character.
|
| PortletType | The PortletType parameter determines the type of Notes database source that will be displayed in this instance of the Lotus Notes View portlet. The following examples are fixed values that determine the type of Notes database source that will be displayed in this instance of the Lotus Notes View portlet. Enter one of them exactly.
For details on the results of configuration with these parameters, see Using the Lotus Notes View portlet.
Example: NOTESVIEW
(default)
Example: NOTESMAIL Example: MYINBOX Example: MYCALENDAR Example: MYTODO Example: NOTESDISCUSSION Example: NOTESTEAMROOM
As soon as the portlet type is changed by selecting Configure from the portlet drop-down menu for an instance of the portlet, it overrides the value of this parameter for that portlet instance. |
| UserCredentialClass | The Java class for the portlet to use when creating credentials.
Default:
com.ibm.wps.portlets.notes.
To support the Switch ID feature, use the following value (type the value as a continuous string with no return character):
com.ibm.wps.portlets.notes.
|
| selectedViewIndex | The default view to show from the source Notes database.
Default:
$All
|
| useAnonymousAccess | Whether portal users who have not authenticated can use the portlet.
Default:
no
|
| pTitle_attr | Specifies a custom title for the portlet instance. This parameter has no default value. |
| authTokenName | Allows the administrator to specify the use of a third-party authentication token, for example in a site protected by Computer Associates eTrust SiteMinder.
This parameter does not exist by default; the administrator must add it to the portlet instance. Example: SMSESSION
|
Parent topic:
Domino portlets referenceRelated concepts
Messaging: the Common PIM portlets