FAQs on IBM Lotus Notes 8.5

Q: What is a Lotus Notes application?

A Lotus Notes application is similar in concept and function to a Microsoft Access database just like Lotus Notes mail is similar to Microsoft Outlook and other mail systems such as Gmail.

An application or database is a container of data (hence the name database). Data can also be known as a record or in Lotus Notes language as a document. The documents within the Lotus Notes application can be displayed in various ways, manipulated by actions and workflow, and can store a variety of data such as text, rich text and files.

Q: What is the use of the Sort Member List when we create a group?

A: When we create a group, there is Sort Member List button that assists in viewing the members of the group as they are placed in alphabetical order.

Q: Which are the options available with the More action button?

A: There are more options available when we click on the More button. From this menu we can select:

• Preferences: From this area, we can set defaults for our Calendar including setting times for our schedule, enabling alarms, setting favorite rooms, and giving access to our calendar to others.
• Out of Office: We can enable this to inform people of our absence. We can now allow a person whom we have given access to our mail to enable this on our behalf.
• Import Holidays: We need to select this option to import holidays that have been configured by our IT Department.
• Open Person's Calendar: Allows us to select a name so that we can open their calendar if we have been granted access.
• Create Group Calendars: From here we can create new group calendars or alternatively view any group calendars that we have created.
• Calendar Cleanup: It is a tool to assist with safely deleting past calendar entries including past repeating entries.

Q: What is ACL?

A: ACL is an Access Control List. The access control list is all about security. It has a list of people's names or groups with different levels of access to the application.

Q: What are the different levels in the ACL?

A: The different levels are:

• Manager: This is like the owner of the application. As a manager one can edit the access control list and add, rename, and remove members. We can also change the level of access for members. A manager can also delete the application. This is the highest level of access and it incorporates all the other access levels.
• Designer: As the name implies a person with this level of access can make design changes to the application. If a new view is required a person with designer access would be able to create that new view.
• Editor: With this level of access we can typically create and edit any document within the application.
• Author: An author can create documents but can only edit the documents that they create.
• Reader: Can only read documents.
• Depositor: This role can only add documents. This level of access is used for applications designed for voting or questionnaires, and so on. In such applications, we just enter our information—for example, we submit the form and can't read anyone else's information, or our own information once submitted.

The following is an example of an Access Control List. The yellow highlighted area is the available levels of access.

Q: What is a Replica in Lotus Notes?

A replica is a special copy of a Lotus Notes application that synchronizes with another replica, exchanging data so that they become the same. When we access our mail at the office, we typically open our mail on a server. To work offline we need to create a copy of our mail locally on our computer. That copy needs to be able to synchronize so that any mail that we received at the office can be copied to our mail on our computer and any messages that we have sent or filed locally are copied back to our mail on the server.

In Lotus Notes this copy is called a replica because it has the ability to synchronize documents between other Notes applications—sending documents to other replicas and receiving from other replicas. To create the replica, we need to open the application on the server such as our mail and select the Make Available Offline option.