Lotus Nut

Someone sent me an email earlier today with an interesting question. Consider that you want to rollout Lotus Notes 8 Standard but only use the Basic configuration (let's consider that the computers only have 512MB RAM, but a memory upgrade will be deployed later). When doing this with Notes as the default mail application, the Standard configuration will be launched. How can you change this?

1. Open the registry editor.
2. Navigate to hkey_local_machine > software > clients > mail > lotus notes > protocols > mailto > shell > open > command
3. The (Default) value is C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\notes.exe -defini %1
4. Right-click (Default) and choose "Modify"
5. Change the value to C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\notes.exe -sa -defini %1
6. Open Internet Explorer and go to Tools > Internet Options > Programs
7. Change the mail application to Outlook Express and click Apply
   
8. Change the mail application back to Lotus Notes and click OK
9. Click a mailto: link on a webpage and this will launch the Basic Configuration of Lotus Notes!

Note: I should have looked at the devWorks posting that the person sent me along with the email because the solution was (partly) posted there as a response. Over there the solution does not detail what you change the registry value to - just that you change it.

Also, as another addendum to the solution posted at devWorks, this will work with IE and Firefox (I presume it will also work with Opera or whatever else you may use...)

I've always had "issues" figuring out where to get and install the compat-libstdc package for Ubuntu that's needed to install Lotus Notes with the graphical interface.

So, I've created a deb package (using alien) that can be easily used to install this. Here are the steps:

1. Get the deb package from here
2. If your browser doesn't prompt you to install it, then save it and then run sudo dpkg -i compat-libstdc++-33_3.2.3-62_i386.deb
3. Run sudo ./setup.sh from the extracted Notes install files and you should get the graphical installer

I've heard that there may be an issue installing the deb package. It worked dandily for me - let me know if there is an issue...

I received a copy of the book  Lotus Notes Domino 8: Upgrader's Guide just before Lotusphere. It is published by Packt Publishing and was authored by a team of 7 people who work at ISSL (IBM Software Services for Lotus). As the title states, this book is for anyone wanting to upgrade to ND8. As 8.0.1 is coming out this week, many shops will be anxious to upgrade at this time. This book will be very beneficial for you.

There are 10 chapters and an appendix:

1. A Short History of Notes and Domino
2. Overview of New Lotus Notes 8 Client Features
3. Lotus Notes 8 and SOA
4. Productivity Tools
5. Lotus Domino 8 Server Features
6. Deployment Enhancements in Notes/Domino 8
7. Upgrading to Notes/Domino 8
8. Coexistence between Notes/Domino Releases
9. What's New in Notes/Domino 8 Development
10. Integration with Other Lotus/IBM Products
    Appendix: Third-Party Products

It's always great to brush up on the history of the platform. Looking back where it's been and then going into chapter 2 on the new Notes 8 client is a great way to start a book like this. Chapter 3 describes how to use Composite Applications to integrate with your infrastructure and is followed by a chapter on the Productivity Tools. As an administrator, I really found chapter 5 to be helpful. As readers of my blog will know, there are tons of new features with Domino 8 and this chapter does a good job at covering those. Some methods for performing upgrades are laid out in Chapter 6.

Chapter 7 is also extremely valuable. Not only does it review the technical aspects of the upgrade, but there is a great section on the planning that should be done prior to any upgrades. Many of the practices listed here should be put in place for shops of all sizes. And in the instances where an entire infrastructure cannot be upgraded at once, Chapter 8 provides some information on running multiple versions (for instance, remember that if you go from 6.x to 8 that you'll need to do the rooms and resources upgrades that were necessary with the 7 upgrade!). Chapter 9 covers many of the new features with development - composite apps, DB/2, formula/LotusScript additions, etc... And we see in chapter 10 many tips on installing and integrating with other Lotus products (Sametime, WPS, Quickr, Connections, etc...). Then there is an appendix with some third party products that may be beneficial in your environment not only for upgrading but for other things such as reporting.

I highly recommend this book for those of you who may be looking for a place to find the information you need to press on with an upgrade to Notes and Domino 8!