WHAT'S NEW IN DOMINO DESIGNER 8?
New with Release 8, a wide range of metadata about the Notes database previously only accessible via Notes formula language are available to the DB2 Access View (DAV). Metadata about the DAV itself is also available. These fields include the previous advanced options UNID, OID, and modified time, and new fields listing the date when the document was added to the database, when the document was created, NSF name, full path and NSF name, $Ref, ReplicaID, parent note id, child count, child note ids, OID sequence number, and server CN. Another special field enables Public Access Notes behavior.
Notes 8 standard configuration offers the ability to display narrow views, which have a vertical orientation rather than a horizontal orientation, as well as tiled views, where each document in the view is formatted and displayed as a discrete object (a tile). These views are only available in composite applications. Additional options on the column properties allow you to control how a view is handled in a narrow or tiled display.
With Release 8, Notes adds the ability to change the HTML generated at both the form and individual field level. New form-level HTML options include disabling passthru HTML and treating the HTML as plain text, forcing all sections to be expanded regardless of their expansion in the Notes rich text fields, forcing all outlines to be expanded regardless of their expansion in the Notes rich text, and forcing alternate formatting of tables with tabbed sections.
A view in a Domino application may contain more than one index, created for each possible user-sorted column when the view is built. With Release 8, Notes offers an option to reduce overhead and processing loads by deferring the creation of these sort indices until they are needed.
The following feature documentation is new in the Application Design section of online help.
Planning an application
Planning a composite application This short introduction of composite applications links to more detailed information in the composite applications section.
Table of Notes and Domino known limits The known limits for characters used in names has increased for view names, form names, and agent names, also incorporating cascaded names, and the limit for field names now allows for 32 characters regardless of character set. A new length limit of 2048 bytes has been added for a macro language string literal.
Designing forms
Controlling HTML options for a form New HTML options allow generated HTML to be controlled at the form level as well as the individual field level. Field-level HTML options will override form-level HTML options.
Creating an embedded scheduler Embedded schedulers can now be created with an option to show check boxes.
Designing fields
Using rich text lite fields There is a new rich text lite field type of Thumbnail. Also, rich text lite fields are not available on the Web.
Controlling HTML options for a field New HTML options allow generated HTML to be controlled at the individual field level as well as the form level. Field-level HTML options will override form-level HTML options. Specific instructions are given for Disabling passthru HTML in a field.
Creating fields that inherit values The description of field inheritance has been completely revised, to avoid confusing inheritance of values from parent document to child document with populating a field with a default value based upon a field value from within the existing document.
Designing views
Displaying numbers in columns A new display type of Bytes can display numbers as bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, and terabytes.
Advanced options for columns When extending the columns of a view to fill the available space, Notes now offers the ability to select which column is extended. Views can be optimized for vertical layouts, by designating individual columns as wrapping to a second row or hidden when viewed vertically. Views can be optimized for tiled layouts, by designating individual columns as belonging to the top, header section of the tile, belonging to the bottom, attributes section of the tile, or hidden when viewed as tiles. New column options are also available to specify composite application properties used for communication between application components.
Deferred sort index creation The creation of additional indices for each possible user-sorted column within a view can now be deferred until used.
Display options for views in composite applications New options to control the behavior of views incorporated in composite applications offer the ability to hide column headers, create missing roots of partial threads to display response trees for all messages, enable inline thread expansion, allow switching between message and conversation mode of threads, show icons to switch between horizontal and vertical preview layouts, show the tab navigator, and select between Table (Vertical or Narrow), Calendar, Tile, and third party viewers.
Navigating an application
Selecting outline entry properties A new option will display a horizontal separator line between selected entries when viewed in Notes Standard configuration.
Adding automation to applications
Creating a form, subform, page, or view action A new option allows actions to be created as split buttons that can either show an entire menu of actions or invoke the topmost action on the menu with a single click.
Action bar A new option allows actions to be included in the right-mouse context menu
Creating and inserting shared actions Shared actions can also be created as split buttons or included in the right-mouse context menu.
Triggering an agent on an event Agents can now be triggered when the server starts.
Optimizing and troubleshooting databases
Properties that improve database performance Two new options have been added to improve database performance. Support Response Thread History adds information fields allowing new documents to be sorted into a document response hierarchy. Don't allow simple search disables the DbSearch function for the database.
Working with Data in DB2 Enabled Notes Databases
Special Fields for the DAV A wide range of metadata about the Notes database previously only accessible via Notes formula language is now available to the DB2 Access View via special fields.
Composite applications - design and management
There is a new subsection of application design, devoted entirely to the design and management of composite applications.