Feeling nostalgic? Have space on your shelf for “just one more software program?” Perhaps this will do the trick, but act fast before it goes in the garbage.
Category: IBM Notes
Modifying Groups From a Browser: A Problem Since 2004
The browser, I am told, is the future of office productivity tools. From Office365, to Google Apps, to AWS, to IBM SmartCloud. Everything is apparently going to the web. Including, with iNotes, Connections, Docs, and more, the IBM productivity portfolio. The web is the future.
Imagine my surprise, as I attempted to add members to a group in IBM Domino using a web browser, that this functionality is not supported. And there is an SPR out there from 2004 (that would be circa Notes/Domino 6.5/6.0.3) where this functionality has been requested.
Let’s take a quick look at how this manifests itself, using a Domino 9.0.1 FP3 server.
Authenticate and open your Domino Directory using a browser. In my case, that would be Firefox 40.0.2. Click on Groups, click on a group and open it. Using the Action Button to Edit the group, I see this:
The little dropdown arrow, by Members, will allow me to add/remove people from the list. Let’s click on the arrow and see what happens:
Nothing.
However, if you know the user’s hierarchical name, you can simple type it into the “Add name not in list” field. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that, right?
Or, another workaround, is to grant ALL group administrators Edit rights to the Domino Directory with the Group Modifier role. What could go wrong with that option?
SPR PFOI5XLGV9, linked to APAR LO01827, has been open since 31 March 2004. Which, as I’ve noted above, would be in the Notes/Domino 6.5/6.03 time period. We have had a few iterations of the Notes/Domino code since that time and still it is impossible to maintain Domino group membership using a browser.
In IBM’s defense, they have published a TechNote on this topic, Unable to open users dialog list when editing group in names.nsf with a browser, which is from 2008 and includes the 6.5 through 9.0 code stream. But we are no nearer to actually editing groups using a browser in a “browser-centric” world.
When might we enjoy this “basic” functionality? What else may be an issue?
Not My Code: Advice on Speeding Up a Domino Application
In preparation to upgrade our Domino environment to Release 9.0.x, we determined it would be a great idea to know how many Notes IDs we were missing from our ID Vault. A little Google searching, I discovered that two people at IBM created an application, ID Vault Database Scanner.
After some fitful starts to getting it to run, this past weekend I scheduled it to start at 1AM and run for 20 hours (I adjusted Agent Manager to allow agents to run for 1200 minutes). I felt that would be more than adequate time to loop through 22,000 Person Documents and the ID Vault.
After 20 hours, the agent stopped and had looped through . . . 1,598 Person Documents.
If my math is good, that is 1.33 Person Documents per minute. And, extrapolating from that data point, it will take, by my estimation, 502 hours (or 21 days) to completely scan both the Domino Directory and the ID Vault.
That is a lot of time for what I see as a “simple” task.
While it could be asked of me to run the application locally, I have tried that to no avail. In fact, within the documentation of the application, it does not allow for the application to be run locally. And, even if it did, I don’t think that tasking one workstation for 20 days on one task is a good use of an asset.
If you are a developer and you take a look at the code on the website, is there anything you see that can be done more efficiently? Something that will allow this application to complete within 20 hours? Yes, I did read the comments where it was mentioned that this application is slow. However, I didn’t think it would be this slow. I was wrong.
If you know of an application that can compare Person Documents with entries in the ID Vault and return a list of missing Notes IDs, I would love to hear about it.
Sad News from My Inbox: “The View” is No More
Well, it did last longer than some other notable imprints (DominoPro, DominoPower, The Notes Report, to name a few).
It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since THE VIEW first arrived into an exciting Lotus market! During that time we’ve had the pleasure of doing business with thousands of subscribers and attendees of our Admin and Developer conferences. Throughout the years, we worked to deliver trusted and valued information to help you do your job better. We remain humbled by the favorable response to our products over the years.
It’s with a sad farewell that we announce we are no longer supporting a subscription model and closing eview.com. As a subscriber, you’ll retain your access to THE VIEW archives through June 30, 2015.
A lot of the people that I know in this community started by submitting articles to The View. As well as the other magazines. From there, many went on to speak at conferences around the world. They were my “rock stars,” and they still are. As well as my friends.
So, it is at times like this, when the venerable The View shuts its doors, that I reflect on some of the fantastic articles I’ve read in that magazine, as well as the others.
Premier Foods: Goodbye IBM Notes
United Kingdom’s largest food producer and manufacturer, Premier Foods, is dropping IBM Notes and Domino for Google Apps for Business.
… Premier Foods has made a significant investment in Google Apps for Business, dropping Lotus Notes for its 5000 strong user base. The motivation here was to increase the ability to collaborate across multiple sites, including 40 factories spread across the UK. Vickery says:
“The collaboration element grabbed us. We are working better because of the collaboration aspect. We’re using Drive. Choosing it for email was just the way in. Collaboration is changing the way that we work as a business.”
The fact that Notes was replaced by Google apps was exciting in itself and got users to take an interest in the potential of the cloud, he adds:
“The Google thing is interesting. Lotus Notes isn’t the most exciting brand in the world, so when you say, ’I’m going to give you the next release of Lotus Notes’, it’s not that exciting. Google however grabs interest.”
Amazing Replication Statistics
I think there is something “wrong” with this screen. Can’t really put my finger on it, just that it seems to be “off” by a bit.
All I did was to replicate one database.
Open Mic Webcast: Troubleshooting Domino Policies – 29 April 2015
IBM has an upcoming webcast on troubleshooting Domino Policies.
We’ll take an in-depth look at the methodology and flow for troubleshooting and resolving issues with Domino policies – all types.
After a presentation, attendees will be given an opportunity to ask our panel of experts questions.
Topic: Troubleshooting Domino Policies
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Time: 11:00 AM EDT (15:00 UTC/GMT, UTC-4 hours) for 60 minutes
ICS file, call in numbers, and webcast URL can be found here.
Beyond Bank: Goodbye IBM Notes
Another one bites the dust. This time, in Australia.
Customer-owned financial institution, Beyond Bank, is dumping Lotus Notes and an ageing, legacy CRM app as its moves to the cloud.
Beyond Bank will soon start deploying Microsoft Office 365 to around 600 users at its head office in Adelaide and other branches across the ACT, NSW, South Australia, and Western Australia. The cloud solution will be used to access SharePoint Online, Lync Online, and Exchange Online
The reporter did not say whether IBM’s cloud services were ever considered, but they will be running a dual environment, Notes/Domino and Office365, for a while.
Ask the Experts session: Ask us anything about Notes and Domino Install and Upgrade – 07 April 2015
Mark your calendars.
Given all the security updates and Interim Fixes within the past year, we’ll present a short demo on the Notes/Domino JVM. Members of the IBM Notes and Domino teams will be on hand to answer questions via the meeting room chat as well as the phone.
- Topic: Ask us anything about Notes and Domino Install and Upgrade
- Date: Tuesday, April 07, 2015
- Time: 11:00 AM EDT (15:00 UTC/GMT, UTC-4 hours) for 60 minutes
Link (including iCal): Ask the Experts session: Ask us anything about Notes and Domino Install and Upgrade
Beyond Bank: Goodbye IBM Notes
Customer-owned financial institution, Beyond Bank, is dumping Lotus Notes and an ageing, legacy CRM app as its moves to the cloud.
Beyond Bank will soon start deploying Microsoft Office 365 to around 600 users at its head office in Adelaide and other branches across the ACT, NSW, South Australia, and Western Australia. The cloud solution will be used to access SharePoint Online, Lync Online, and Exchange Online
The reporter did not say whether IBM’s cloud services were ever considered, but they will be running a dual environment, Notes/Domino and Office365, for a while.
Gregg Eldred 