APPLICATION DESIGN


Preparing a form to exchange data
Data is exchanged on a field-by-field basis. Every IBMR LotusR NotesR/FX 2.0 field in a IBMR LotusR DominoR DesignerR form must have a corresponding field with the same name in the other application file.

Table of one-way and two-way field exchange

The following table lists one-way and two-way fields found in most Lotus applications. For a complete list, see the documentation for the application.

Field nameData typeContents
LastRevisionDateTimeDate and time the file was last revised
NumberOfEditsNumberTotal number of revisions to a file
EditingTimeNumberTotal time the file was open
SizeInPagesNumberNumber of pages in the file
SizeInKNumberSize of the embedded object in kilobytes
DocumentClassTextOLE class name of the application embedded in Notes
SubjectTextDescription of the document
CategoriesText (allow multi-values)Keywords that Notes uses to categorize documents
Note If you are using a form copied from a Designer template, fields may already be set up for field exchange.

To enable field exchange

1. Open the form and choose Design - Form Properties.

2. Click the Defaults tab.

3. Make sure "Disable Field Exchange" is deselected.

4. Close and save the form.

Note You can disable Notes/FX 2.0 field exchange without removing the Notes/FX fields from the form by checking the "Disable Field Exchange" property.

To set up field exchange

1. Open the application file.

2. Write down the name of each field you want to exchange and close the application.

3. In Designer, open the form you want to prepare for Notes/FX field exchange.

4. Embed the object containing the fields you want to exchange.

5. Choose Create - Field.

6. Give the field the same name as the corresponding field in the other application.

7. Close and save the form.

Example of exchanging data for an expense form

You create a form to file and distribute trip reports. The reports contain descriptions of the important business aspects of the trip, as well as the total expenses. You record expenses in a Lotus 1-2-3 expense report template. You want the total expenses of the trip to appear automatically in the IBMR LotusR NotesR document.

In the 1-2-3 template, create an expense report. In one cell enter Total_Exp. Now create a range name for this cell and name it Total_Exp. Because this is a custom Notes/FX field, you need to tell 1-2-3 to use this range name for Notes/FX. Select File - Workbook Properties and then select the Notes/FX Fields tab. Select the New Field button and then select the range name Total_Exp. Click OK twice. The row below the cell entitled Total_Exp will hold the actual data that is exchanged between Notes and 1-2-3. Save and close this 1-2-3 Workbook.

In IBMR LotusR Domino(TM) Designer, create a form called "Trip Report" and embed the recently created 1-2-3 expense report. The Trip Report form contains text fields for entering information about the trip. At the bottom of the form, use the text "The total expenses for the trip were:" to label a field area and create a numeric field named "Total_Exp" which corresponds with the field name in the 1-2-3 expense report template.

{Trip report OLE object

When users use the form Trip Report to create reports and activate the 123 object to enter expenses, the total expenses are automatically inserted back in the Trip report document.

See Also