XPages are a new design element within Domino Designer on Eclipse 8.5.  This design element is a new way to display data in a Domino web app, and it separates the design of the page from the data within your app.  Thus, you can bind various data sources to your XPage.  Multiple existing forms and views can be bound to the page, and you can then use that data on the page in question.

Plus, surfacing a view through an XPage allows you to make it look a lot more modern.  The difference between XPages and the traditional default view can be seen when you look at tabbed tables, as it allows you to see contents of each tab without the reload of a page.  This can make your app seem to run a lot better to end-users.

In the Lotus Notes View, the following tags make up the structure of each item/row in the RSS Feed: item tag, link tag, description, publish date, author.  The overall idea is to have each document that’s created in Notes render its values as XML tags to generate RSS feed items.  But, you’ll need to make sure that the view property “Treat view contents as HTML” is enabled.

This application works in Lotus Notes 8 and higher, as well as Internet Explorer 6.  For more on the formulas that are used, click here.

Dexmar also claims that once organizations have implemented their system, they will store less email data and retain it for a shorter period of time.  This will reduce the cost of managing email data, and by ensuring these companies only store necessary business information, legal and compliance risk can also be reduced.

So far, Dexmar E2M has already been approved by the UK National Archives, which can provide some reassurance that this system uses good practices for records management.

This new software doesn’t require client side installation of a printer driver or DLL files.  In fact, the converter is very easy to use for end-users, as a PDF icon is added to the Lotus Notes toolbar.  This allows users to covert one or more Notes documents or emails, and the user experience is fully customizable.

Additionally, LotusScript API is provided so that developers can create server-based agents which can produce PDF files unattended.  Developers can also enhance the out-of-the-box toolbar functionality, or grab the PDF converter libraries and insert them into any Notes or Domino application.

Lastly, SWING PDF Converter greatly simplifies email archiving capabilities, by producing PDF packages from any email or document collection.  For more info, visit http://www.swingsoftware.com/pdf-converter/overview

According to Ruddigkeit.net, if you have “password checking” enabled or use a password policy in Domino, Lotus Notes remembers the last 50 passwords you used to protect the Notes ID file.  If you try to use one of these passwords you will get the error “You have used this password before.  Please choose a new one.”

But in Lotus Notes 8.0.2 there is a reproducible bug with this function, as you will always get the message, “Your password change succeeded!”  By not receiving the message that the password was changed or already used, it can confuse a user who tries to log in the following day.

But, it appears as if the bug is fixed in version 8.5.

According to IBM, Lotus Notes Diagnostic is “an unsupported utility that you can download and use to automatically perform repetitive taks associated with anaylzying files from a Lotus Domino server crash, hang, or performance issues.”

But that’s not all, as Lotus Notes Diagnostic runs on Windows.  Yet, it can analyze Domino server files from any platform.  It should also be noted that Lotus Notes clients version 5 and above are supported.

For the latest version of this tool, click here.

In addition to making these new features available on the iPhone, IBM recently began development practices that incorporate social media.  They have been utilizing “blogs and Twitter to collect and make hundreds of refinements suggested by people who want to work smarter.”  These new features, which include refinements to search and ways to edit messages, are now present on desktop software and some are even available on the iPhone.

IBM has previously worked with Nokia and Samsung to bring Lotus Notes Traveler support to smart phone customers.  They are currently working with AT&T, Spring, Verizon Wireless, and Orange in order to keep expanding Lotus Notes.

1. Is the Domino server running the BlackBerry Enterprise Server software either in the LocalDomainServers group or another part of the standard server organizational unit?  If so, add the the Lotus Domino server to a group called “BlackBerry Admins.”  Then, this group can be used to access control list needs.
2. If your Lotus Domino server running the BES software is configured as specified as above, maker sure that all Local Domain servers are set to “Run unrestricted methods and operations” on the server document.  The BlackBerry Enterprise Server will not work well without these settings.
3. Add BES task to the ServerTasks line in the notes.ini file of the Lotus Domino server running the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.  You could also configure Domino to load the BES task using a program document instead of creating a direct reference in notes.ini.  If not added to the ServerTasks line or in a program document, the admin needs to launch BES manually from the console each time the server is restarted by using “load BES” at the console.
4. In the user-state databases, make sure the special BlackBerry Admin group you set up is in the ACL with “Manager” rights.  Members of the BlackBerry Admin group need “Manager” access so they can update the ACL, delete the database should the user be removed from the system, and also perform any other maintenance that might be necessary.
5. If not using roaming profiles, user mail files should be configured using the Domino Web Access mail template in order for Personal Information Management synchronization to work properly.
6. If a profile database becomes corrupt, delete the database and restart Domino Server to recreate the profile database from the Microsoft SQL Server info.
7. Be sure that port 3103 (TCP) is open on the firewall for outbound initiated BlackBerry messages.
8. Lastly, be sure to enable database pruning on BlackBerry.  This keeps the size of the user state databases in check, as it selects 20 users and tries to remove documents in the state databases in 20 minutes.

The shows also illustrated the entire range of Lotus products from IBM, which empower businesses and end users through the sharing of information in a team space.  They also focused on the use of the latest Web 2.0 based tools such as blogs and Wikis.  As the Lotus Software brand leader at SBM, Nazeer Aval, said:

In challenging economic times, the ability to collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers from around the world is a financial necessity.  With the latest versions of Lotus collaborative product portfolio, SBM/IBM is helping businesses save money and time by lowering TCO and identify ROI benefits quickly and easily.

But, in order to use text messages this way you need to create a mail file that is associated with a mail-in database.  Also, you need to create an agent that runs when new mail arrives.  Then send a text message to the address of the mail-in database and give it a code or one-word name in the body.  The agent receives this text and then uses it to restart or run the agent.

For more information, visit here.