IdeaJam(tm) feed for Peter Presnell

Domino Server / Other: Add A Frame Property To NotesUIDocument and NotesUIView

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:18:31 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: notesuidocument notesuiview
Idea:

There are times when it can be useful to know in which frame a document or view has been loaded. e.g. I can be previewing a document because it is in the NotesPreview pane for a view preview or it can be in a completely different type of preview pane because I have a Preview Parent pane for a response document. Even though both are preview panes I may not want the form to act the same way in each case. I can set which frame a view/document is loaded but cannot do a query to retrieve this information. By adding a Frame (or similar) property to the NotesUIDocument and NotesUIView class I can start to build the logic for treating the host framews differently.

Domino Designer / : Support Mail Template Customization

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:54:25 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: Mail
Idea:

Many companies customize the mail template to support specific needs. We even have an OpenNTF project that implements a lot of great ideas on top of the standard mail template. Each time IBM makes a new release of their mail template it creates huge logistics issues for these companies to integrate the customizations with the new mail template.

I would like to see IBM embrace customer customization of the mail template by providing a range of hooks that would make it easier to customize the template without rewriting the existing code. Examples would be for the mail forms to include a "Customize" subform. The subform would be empty when distributed by IBM but could be modified by each site. An empty "Customize" LotusScript library could be included in the code. This LotusScript library could have custom classes that extend the base mail classes used in the template but not have any methods or properties. These could be added by each site, including event processing for events such as PostOpen QuerySave etc.

If this was done a high propertion of customziation could be written in these "Customize" design elemenst and the rest of the mail template could be left untouched.

re: Support Mail Template Customization

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:33:46 +0000

Author: David Killingsworth
Comment: With the work that Vince Shuurman and Bruce Elgort has done on the OpenNTF Mail Experience template and to see what IBM has added to the 8 template from the OpenNTF Mail Experience template...we can see that IBM has noticed what we the community want.

I support this idea, but want to add that IBM should utilize some system, such as ideajam, to take votes/comments/input/and feedback and implement those in the production standard mail template.

I'm a heavy user of the OpenNTF1.7b (for both R6.5 and now testing the R8 version). We have 2000+ users using the OpenNTF template, and we still get complaints on the usability of Notes compared to Outlook.

The acceptance of the Notes Client in a significant way hinges on the mail template. Let's face it.

If IBM were to get more input from us, it would ease the need for so many customers to customize the template and cause us so much headache when server upgrade time comes.

If you step back and look at the fact that OpenNTF.org was created by a group of inidividuals banding together to create a better mail template...IBM should realize that they need to listen to our ideas.

That being said, I also support the extensions requested in this idea.

re: Support Mail Template Customization

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:08:43 +0000

Author: Matt White
Comment: @6 - From all reports at Lotusphere, the right people in IBM are watching IdeaJam so keep the ideas and feedback coming. It's a long process but hopefully we'll start to see the results of the community ideas coming through soon.

Matt

Domino Designer / : Extend Notes Classes

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:59:45 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: LotusScript oop
Idea:

Object Oriented Programming would be sooooo much easier in LotusScript if IBM would allow us to extend the native NotesDocument, Notesdatabase etc. classes.

re: Extend Notes Classes

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:36:05 +0000

Author: Thomas Kennedy
Comment: I don't completely understand the issues involved but aren't these classes final for security reasons?

Domino Designer / : Asynchronous Agents

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:41:44 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: agents
Idea:

I would like to see concepts such as AJAX replicated in the Notes Client with the ability to fire off agents that run asynchronously. While the agent is running the user would have the ability to continue to interact with the Notes client. Ideally the feature would provide (just as it does with Ajax) the option of a visual indicator that blocks part of the application/form/view whilst it is being refreshed.

e.g. When one application is busy running an agent I could work with another Notes application. Or I could run an agent that modifies selected documents in a view and while that is running I could open one of the documents in the view and work with it. Or I could trigger an agent that refreshes part of the document that is presently being displayed while allowing the user to continue to edit other parts of the document.

re: Asynchronous Agents

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:31:19 +0000

Author: Irely Roa
Comment: I like this idea to have a RunOnServerAsync.

I have an application that is grabbing information from the DB2 iSeries database and using the server connection to perform that. All the agents are RunOnServer.

In most of the cases it is important to wait for the result of the agents, so the current RunOnServer is perfect, but there are other cases when should be ideal to just trigger the agent and do not hold the Client because that is not adding any additional value.

re: Support Mail Template Customization

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:00:14 +0000

Author: Morten Clausen
Comment: I thoroughly agree with the OP. Mail is a vital part of many types of applications but injecting the functionality to make it user friendly can be a pain.

re: Extend Notes Classes

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:24:21 +0000

Author: Slawek Rogulski
Comment: I agree. Let's see if there is any change since I posted this { Link }

re: Extend Notes Classes

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:35:22 +0000

Author: Thomas Bahn
Comment: @1: I don't see a difference, either.

@2: Which kind of "security reasons" do you see? You cannot overwrite constructors, nor destructors in LotusScript, therefore the initialization and wrap-up will be executed even for all subclasses. What else?

I know that the product classes (NotesDocument etc.) are implemented in C++ (or C?). But even then, why can't subclasses call it's superclass' methods and use their attributes. In this special case, it would be okay for me, if the private members aren't usable in the subclass.

Notes Client / Core/Frameworks (Incl. sidebar, rich text editor): Open NTFs on Server

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:22:42 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: NTF
Idea:

Ever try to open a template located on a server but not know what its filename is....

My suggestions is to extend the capability of "Open Application" (Open database pre Notes 8) so that I can browse for templates (NTFs) located on a server.

re: Open NTFs on Server

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:43:38 +0000

Author: Peter Moline
Comment: Try doing File - Database - Open (File Application Open for R8) using the Designer client...you'll see all the templates listed.

re: Open NTFs on Server

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:12:49 +0000

Author: Sean Burgess
Comment: I also tend to use the administrator to find templates on the server.

re: Open NTFs on Server

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:37:37 +0000

Author: Michelle O'Rorke
Comment: The biggest problem is that the template name is not the same as the database title OR the file name. Designer lets you browse by title, Admin lets you see title, file name, and <i> source template </i> but no tool lists the contents of the 'Template name' property.

I'm not sure if this is quite what Peter asked for, but I'd definitely like to see some improvements in both Designer and Admin clients around template name.

Notes Client / Calendar: Add "Resend Meeting Notice" to meeting chair actions

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 04:42:21 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: Meeting
Idea:

After I send out a meeting notice I sometimes find people claim to have not received, deleted by accident, or declined in error. I have not yet found a simple way in which I can send out the meeting notice to people already on the meeting list. It would be a very useful thing to be able to resend the invite to selected invitees and/or to those people who have not yet responded to the original meeting, especially when it is a repating meeting.

re: Add "Resend Meeting Notice" to meeting chair actions

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:13:09 +0000

Author: Applicatie Ontwikkeling
Comment: What about having this as an option like the alarm option we have on reminers and such? How about being able to set it to resend "meeting reminders" to all invitees?
Say you've scheduled monthly meetings but want to remind people one or two days before the next one. Would be very nice.

re: Add "Resend Meeting Notice" to meeting chair actions

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:31:00 +0000

Author: Alan Lepofsky
Comment: Isn't that exactly what Owner Actions - Confirm does?

re: Open NTFs on Server

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:00:07 +0000

Author: JP Liggett
Comment: add the template column to the files list in the notes admin client

Domino Designer / : Make The Notes 8 Sidebar More Accessible To Notes developers

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:40:52 +0000

Author: Peter Presnell
Tags: Notes 8 Sidebar
Idea:

Notes 8 has added a great new feature in the sidebar. The sidebar is the ideal location for placing a number of Notes application components. Examples include the QuickNotes feature in the bookmarks template for adding a memo, journal entry etc. Others include phone call log entry, directory name lookups. Ideally these sidebar components could be wired as part of composite applications.

My dilema is that I consider myself to be a Notes developer and NOT a Java developer. My desire to master Java is about as high as migrating from NSFs to DB2... The sidebar appears to be presently implemented in such a way that you need to be (or become) a Java developer to implement new components. Why is an important piece of the Notes UI locked out from Notes (non-Java) developers?

I would like to see the Java experts at IBM figure out a way of adding some generalized Notes components to the sidebar that a (non-Java) Notes developer could easily configure.

e.g.

1) Add embedded components (view, editor etc.)

2) Wire componets using the same process as other Composite Applications

I think you will see the sidebar being used by a LOT more people in a LOT more companies if its customization was not restricted to the few Notes developers out there who have Java skills..... I would like to see Outlook or GMail do that!