NotesViewEntryCollections
Wed, Feb 1st 2012 7:11a Paul Withers One of the benefits of XPages is the power of repeat controls to effectively perform ‘joins’, whether that is with nested repeat controls or merging data prior to displaying in a repeat control. When it comes to collections of documents I tend to favour NotesViewEntryCollections. This is both for performance (predominantly using getColumnValues().get) as well as sort order (NotesDocumentCollections are sorted on document creation order).
Recently I had the need to extend an existing [read] Keywords: lotusscript
notes
xpages community
database
java
properties
XPages Source Panel: Navigate to Next Sibling
Mon, Jan 9th 2012 2:12p Paul Withers As a student of Classics and university and an IT professional, one of the key phrases in my life is a saying of the ancient Athenian lawgiver: “As I grow old, I always learn more.” One of the beauties of XPages is you can always learn more. Sometimes it’s through the pain of incompatibilities of different pieces of technology; sometimes it’s deliberately, whether at leisure to advance one’s personal skill-set or out of necessity for a current project; and sometimes [read] Keywords: domino
xpages eclipse
xml
114
Have a BOF Idea? It’s Not Too Late
Wed, Jan 4th 2012 2:06a Paul Withers Just before Christmas two new communities launched on Lotus Greenhouse for Lotusphere and Connect
The communities have a wealth of useful bookmarks, wiki articles and other content. IBMers and Champions have been adding content over the last few weeks and will continue to build in that in the lead up to Lotusphere and during the conference. The communities are intended as an ongoing resource for attendees to use to get the most out of the conference. (If you have any further questions, thereR [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
community
mobile
wiki
88
XPages Date Picker: My Preference
Thu, Dec 15th 2011 3:12p Paul Withers Today I took part in the Ask The Xperts webinar by GBS and TLCC. One of the questions was about problems with the XPages date picker in Internet Explorer 8. When not in compatibility mode, the page refreshes as soon as the user clicks on the date picker. There may be times when you want to avoid compatibility mode, for example, when using the CSS float property.
My preferred option to get around this is to use the Dojo date picker. However, if the Dojo module is applied to the inputText tag itse [read] Keywords: xpages css
dojo
javascript
69
Upgrade Pack 1 Has Arrived
Wed, Dec 14th 2011 3:11p Paul Withers In a busy week for IBM, Notes/Domino Upgrade Pack 1 has shipped today, as announced by Ed Brill. The upgrade pack is important for a number of reasons:
For customers requiring officially IBM-supported code (an argument I struggle to understand in application development, but that’s beyond the scope of this blog), this provides a supported release of the Extension Library
It ushers in a new way of delivering additional functionality outside the point release cycle
It provides updated XPage [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
notes
notesdomino
xpages application
database
development
mobile
How to Add In-Built Java Packages
Wed, Nov 30th 2011 12:11p Paul Withers Peter Leugner reminded me of the best method for including Java Packages that come with the Notes install and, for those who have never done it before, here is a pictorial description.
From the Package Explorer you have access to the plugin.xml. As well as an XML editor this also has GUI tabs, one of which is Dependencies. Just click on the Add button and you get a dialog of all libraries available. Note the library has a version number against it – we’ll come back to that.
Now go [read] Keywords: notes
java
xml
32
Why Reinvent The Wheel When There Are 1500 Already
Wed, Nov 30th 2011 7:23a Paul Withers During a recent discussion on Java I bemoaned the fact that some basic pieces of functionality we’ve exploited for years in Formula Language are missing. The example I gave was @Right, being able to get a portion of a string based upon the existence of another string. In JavaScript and Java there are no inherent methods in the base string classes to facilitate this. Yes, it’s not rocket science to write those functions, but it’s frustrating that popular languages don’t do [read] Keywords: dblookup
formula language
ibm
lotusscript
xpages development
eclipse
java
javascript
server
50
Why You Shouldn’t ‘Count’ on a NotesViewNavigator
Wed, Nov 23rd 2011 6:36a Paul Withers Agent profiling is not new in Domino, but it’s something that gets little press. Because it’s only available for agents, it’s probably also going to become less useful as more and more development is done in XPages. But, working from the premise that the methods in use in LotusScript do the same work on the whole as their Java counterparts, best practices learned from LotusScript are equally applicable to XPages development.
Over the last year there have been countless articles [read] Keywords: agent
domino
lotusscript
xpages development
java
javascript
profile
server
29
XPagesWiki.com Goes Mobile
Fri, Nov 18th 2011 1:08p Paul Withers If you’ve worked with XPages for any length of time you’ll probably have used some of the tips on XPagesWiki.com by YouAtNotes. It’s a well-categorised resource built on XPages too. Today came the news that it’s available on iPhone and iPad as a native app, so you can get the content at any time. Priced at £2.99 it’s good value with a nice clean interface, simple navigation and search functionality. Plus all the XPages goodness that comes inside the app. Below is a [read] Keywords: xpages interface
iphone
mobile
27
XPages Help Application v3.0.0
Mon, Nov 14th 2011 4:16p Paul Withers I’ve just completed development of new release of the XPages Help Application. There are a number of enhancements and modifications, including some refactoring of the Java code based on the learning I’ve gained over the last six months.
The most significant enhancement is a mobile interface, accessible via the m_Content.xsp XPage. You can see some teasers of the functionality in the screenshots attached, showing the iPad interface. You’ll see that it reproduces all the read-onl [read] Keywords: xpages application
development
dojo
interface
java
mobile
XPages Help Application – Mobile Navigation
Tue, Nov 8th 2011 5:11p Paul Withers I’m currently in the process of developing a mobile interface for viewing articles in the XPages Help Application. One of the significant differences is the navigation model. The initial page has links to the relevant views of the data – Contents, Index, Search (if the database is full text indexed) and Bookmarks (for authenticated users).
Bookmarks and Search results are simple. It is a single-level hierarchy. My dilemma is the best method for the Index and Contents views, so I̵ [read] Keywords: xpages application
database
interface
mobile
17
Using The Update Site: Object Variable Note Set
Sun, Oct 30th 2011 4:54p Paul Withers Tonight I installed the latest version of the Extension Library, or tried to. I installed it into Domino Designer first, then, after the restart, tried to import it into the Update Site template. But whether I imported as a local update site or imported the features, I got an object variable not set error. Because it uses a dialog box I could not see what the problem was in debug. A brief investigation of the design left me a little puzzled because the import is not an agent, a view action, a sh [read] Keywords: agent
domino
ibm
notes
community
19
One Reason for Installing At Least One 8.5.3 Designer Client
Wed, Oct 26th 2011 3:48p Paul Withers There are a host of good enhancements in 8.5.3. But one that is worth it’s weight in gold is the ability to review, set or clear the Prohibit Design Refresh setting on all design elements in an application in one go. From Domino Designer, just right-click on the application and select Application -> Set Prohibit Refresh Property…
This brings up a dialog of all design elements, grouped under design element type, allowing you to quickly and easily identify any refresh prohibited de [read] Keywords: domino
application
XPages Help Application 2.0.0 Now on OpenNTF
Mon, Sep 26th 2011 7:25a Paul Withers Over the weekend I uploaded a new release of the XPages Help Application to OpenNTF (now available under the short URL http://xhelp.openntf.org. As well as a few minor changes, the main enhancement was a change to use the dijit.Tree Dojo widget for all navigation throughout the application. This may seem a relatively small piece of work, but actually required a significant change to the Java classes within the application, as well as the custom controls and XPages comprising the application.
The [read] Keywords: xpages application
dojo
interface
java
javascript
openntf
widget
Why Social Business Makes Sense
Thu, Sep 22nd 2011 4:29a Paul Withers Over the last week or so I’ve been making some major enhancements to the XPages Help Application I provided on OpenNTF earlier this year, now available at the shortened URL http://xhelp.openntf.org. The main areas have been adding dijit.Tree support for the navigation, but also fixing an issue that meant images didn’t appear when viewed in Notes Client.
I had a couple of queries – one about how to reference server-based images for XPages in Notes Client and the other about the [read] Keywords: ibm
notes
notes client
xpages application
blogging
google
openntf
server
twitter
17
Why Social Business Makes Sense
Thu, Sep 22nd 2011 3:39a Paul Withers Over the last week or so I've been making some major enhancements to the XPages Help Application I provided on OpenNTF earlier this year, now available at the shortened URL http://xhelp.openntf.org. T ... [read] Keywords: xpages application
openntf
NotesIn9: F4 Is Your Friend
Mon, Sep 5th 2011 1:43a Paul Withers A whle ago I wrote a blog post on Formatting Dates on Links, which talked about using F4 to identify the methods of the underlying XPages Java classes. It's something I've done for a while ever since ... [read] Keywords: xpages java
29
NotesIn9: F4 Is Your Friend
Mon, Sep 5th 2011 1:42a Paul Withers A whle ago I wrote a blog post on Formatting Dates on Links, which talked about using F4 to identify the methods of the underlying XPages Java classes. It’s something I’ve done for a while ever since Tim Tripcony and Nathan Freeman told me about it. It’s a technique which has proved particularly useful when writing parts for the XPages Extension Library book currently in development. At the time David Leedy said it would make a good NotesIn9, as something that would work better [read] Keywords: domino
xpages community
development
java
planetlotus
planetlotus.org
36
A Host of XPages and Dojo Resurces
Fri, Aug 19th 2011 6:32a Paul Withers Two and a half years ago when I started working with XPages, there was a relative paucity of support materials. Declan Lynch's 50-odd introduction was a god-send as were blog posts from John Mackey an ... [read] Keywords: xpages dojo
32
XPages Help Application v1.2.0
Tue, Aug 9th 2011 2:13p Paul Withers Last night a new release of the XPages Help Application was launched on OpenNTF. For those who haven't seen it, this is an XPages framework for managing online help content. The application demonstrat ... [read] Keywords: xpages application
openntf
22
GMail Learns from Lotus iNotes
Fri, Aug 5th 2011 6:30a Paul Withers The twittersphere and the internet are all buzzing with the news that Gmail has added a preview pane, learning from tablets. An article circulated from Twitter calls it "heart-warming" and "exciting" ... [read] Keywords: inotes
lotus
twitter
$20 for 10 minutes: 2011 IBM Technology Trends Survey
Wed, Jul 20th 2011 6:48a Paul Withers Today myself and the other IBM Champions were notified of the 2011 IBM Technology Trends Survey. To support the survey, 100 people who respond will receive a gift certificate for $20. Not bad for 10-1 ... [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
29
Formatting Dates on Links
Tue, Jul 19th 2011 1:12p Paul Withers It's been a while since I last blogged because of a mixture of holidays and other extra-curricular projects. But last week I encountered a problem with a date converter having no effect when added to ... [read] Keywords: xpages
XPages and Java: Design Refresh
Sun, Jun 12th 2011 8:10a Paul Withers The XPages Help Application for OpenNTF was my first attempt at using Java beans in XPages. I expected some challenges and wasn't disappointed. I've already blogged about one of the most challenging, ... [read] Keywords: xpages application
java
openntf
June is Learn XPages Month
Wed, Jun 1st 2011 4:16a Paul Withers Just in case you've been hiding for the last few weeks, June is Learn XPages month. For those of us who have been using XPages for some time, it's often easy to assume that most developers are already ... [read] Keywords: xpages
29
Extending Themes: Custom Pager Labels
Tue, May 31st 2011 2:37a Paul Withers Anyone who has attended Tim Tripcony's inspirational session on taking themes to the next level will never develop their XPages applications in the same way ever again. I was fortunate enough to att ... [read] Keywords: xpages applications
15
UKLUG Session Material
Mon, May 30th 2011 2:11p Paul Withers Last week Chris Connor and I presented at UKLUG on XPages and Java. After some experience of XPages development I've been using Java objects in Server-Side JavaScript for some time and have recently b ... [read] Keywords: xpages development
java
javascript
server
Me, Intec and UKLUG in (Not So Rainy) Manchester
Fri, May 20th 2011 2:17a Paul Withers Next week, along with a host of other great speakers and enthusiastic attendees, I will be attending UKLUG in Manchester. This promises to be a remarkable event, if for no other reason but that foreca ... [read] Keywords: xpages
20
Maximising the Benefits of XPages in 8.5.2
Mon, May 16th 2011 7:10a Paul Withers Almost a year ago I wrote a whitepaper called "Maximising the Benefits of Lotus Domino 8.5.x with XPages". This was an open discussion of the pros and cons of XPages, based on Domino 8.5.1. I have upd ... [read] Keywords: domino
lotus
xpages
XPages: Logic-Driven UNIDs and Attachments
Fri, Apr 29th 2011 3:18a Paul Withers Some time ago I read Chris Toohey's article on Logic-Driven NotesDocument UNIDs. I have had unfortunate experiences with profile documents where cached values were being returned. So Chris's technique ... [read] Keywords: xpages profile
16
Adventures in Plugin-Land
Wed, Apr 13th 2011 3:09p Paul Withers Towards the end of last year we were asked about undertaking a Notes client plug-in development project. At the time my plug-in development experience was zero. Apart from a brief look at the source c ... [read] Keywords: domino
notes
notes client
development
29
XPages: Enter The Dojo at BLUG
Fri, Apr 1st 2011 5:13a Paul Withers The last two days have been filled with more Lotus and XPages goodness at BLUG in Antwerp. As last year, BLUG is a great conference with a wonderful assemblage of speakers, expertly kept in order by T ... [read] Keywords: lotus
xpages dojo
EntwicklerCamp Wrap-Up
Mon, Feb 28th 2011 6:10a Paul Withers Last week was EntwicklerCamp in Gelsenkirchen in Germany. Although I could only be there for two days of the three-day conference, it was great to see so many new faces as well as some familiar faces. ... [read] Keywords: xpages
EntwicklerCamp 2011 - Next Week
Mon, Feb 14th 2011 3:33a Paul Withers Hot on the heels of Lotusphere I'm travelling again to speak at another new conference - EntwicklerCamp in Gelsenkirchen. The conference has a rich heritage and runs from 21st - 23rd Feburary with a n ... [read] Keywords: lotusphere
xpages
My Lotusphere Review
Mon, Feb 7th 2011 2:29a Paul Withers Now the dust has settled from Lotusphere, I would like to offer my thoughts in review. First - let's get it over and done with - it was my first Lotusphere as a speaker. Hopefully it will not be my ... [read] Keywords: lotusphere
Why "Get Social. Do Business" Makes Sense
Mon, Jan 31st 2011 2:02p Paul Withers The key topic of this year's Lotusphere was "Get Social. Do Business". The buzz phrase is Social Business. Outside of Lotusphere I wonder whether decision makers will understand what it means. Did I r ... [read] Keywords: lotusphere
The Return of The XCast
Wed, Jan 12th 2011 5:17a Paul Withers For anyone who hasn't seen it yet or just didn't believe it had actually happened, a new episode of The XCast was posted yesterday afternoon. Tim Clark, David Leedy and I discuss what's happened in th ... [read] Keywords: xpages
10
Lotus Domino IS an App Dev Platform
Wed, Jan 5th 2011 7:28a Paul Withers Like so many others, I was glad to read yesterday's article by Ed Brill about the IBM whitepaper on Domino as a RAD platform. This had come to my attention shortly before Christmas and although the ti ... [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
lotus
41
Charts and XPages: Thanks Julian Buss
Thu, Dec 23rd 2010 5:17a Paul Withers A couple of months ago I asked whether people would be interested in custom controls for Dojo charting. I got lots of positive responses and people interested in helping out. However, then ILUG interv ... [read] Keywords: ilug
xpages dojo
Debut Speaking at Lotusphere 2011
Fri, Dec 3rd 2010 12:18p Paul Withers After speaking at three LUGs around Europe this year, I will be making my debut at Lotusphere 2011. Although I submitted a few sessions, the one that was accepted is a joint session with Mr NotesIn9, ... [read] Keywords: lotusphere
xpages
Three Announcements
Wed, Nov 24th 2010 6:14a Paul Withers It's been a busy couple of weeks at Intec. First there was ILUG, my third LUG of the year and a new session for me. Thanks for the evaluations, the comments were very encouraging. My concern when rehe ... [read] Keywords: ilug
xpages
34
Reflections on ILUG 2010
Thu, Nov 18th 2010 10:07a Paul Withers After a hectic few days I've had a chance to draw breath and review my experiences of ILUG 2010 last week in Belfast. Compared to other LUGs it is more laid-back, as proven by Kevin Cavanaugh's relaxe ... [read] Keywords: ilug
xpages
29
XWeb: Another XPages Application in Action
Mon, Nov 8th 2010 8:54a Paul Withers A little over a year ago I went on an XPages course. The power of XPages to develop a scalable, flexible solution was obvious. Ok, one of my colleagues will admit that I wasn't convinced after day one ... [read] Keywords: xpages application
19
XPages: Enter The Dojo at ILUG 2010
Mon, Nov 8th 2010 8:46a Paul Withers This week ILUG 2010 is taking place in Belfast. Along with a host of attendees from across the globe, myself and Tim Malone will be there. The agenda is full of sessions from a wide-respected group of ... [read] Keywords: ilug
xpages dojo
XPages: Rendering Based on Error Messages
Tue, Oct 19th 2010 4:50a Paul Withers This is one of those occasions when I had written an article and was just waiting to get round to publish it, and another developer posted an article that covers a similar topic. Just this morning, To ... [read] Keywords: xpages
How To Get A-HEAD in XPages
Fri, Oct 15th 2010 4:39p Paul Withers One of my strengths is a good memory, which helps when other developers ask a question. It means I can often vaguely remember reading something somewhere or developing some code that has relevance in ... [read] Keywords: xpages
NLLUG Thoughts and Session Material
Sun, Sep 12th 2010 6:26p Paul Withers On Thursday and Friday I, along with a number of others, attended NLLUG. It was a fabulous venue, the Amsterdam ArenA, home of Ajax. The two days were filled with a number of excellent sessions on fou ... [read] Keywords: xpages ajax
16
Upcoming Appearances at LUGs
Tue, Aug 31st 2010 4:28a Paul Withers It's been a busy few weeks for me, which is why I haven't posted as much as I would have hoped. Although the immediate deadlines have passed, that leaves me no less busy, because next week I am speaki ... [read] Keywords: xpages
Domino 8.5.2: Enhancements I’m Looking Forward To
Tue, Aug 10th 2010 5:13p Paul Withers With today's announcement of a release date for Domino 8.5.2, it seems the right time to review some of the features I've come to like in the closed beta. Some of them are just usability enhancements, ... [read] Keywords: domino
Exporting to CSV and Multi-Value Fields
Mon, Jul 19th 2010 9:44a Paul Withers This morning I picked up a support query from a customer who was confused by the behaviour of an export. My customer was exporting a view to a csv file for import into a third-party application. Altho ... [read] Keywords: lotus
notes
application
Autosave database size
Mon, Jun 28th 2010 7:48a Paul Withers Our Domino Administrator noticed today that the as_XXXXX.nsf database was extremely large. This is the database used to store documents and emails if autosave is turned on. Autosave was a new option w ... [read] Keywords: domino
database
