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A Domino mail server offers end users the flexibility of connecting to their mail using either Domino Web Access or the Lotus Notes client. Domino Web Access provides a connectivity option that offers the freedom and flexibility of a browser. Lotus Notes is a fully featured mail client that lets you leverage the extended feature set of the Notes client. These two mail clients are not mutually exclusive; you can choose the mail client that best fits your access needs at your current location. Understanding the differences between the two clients can help you get the most out of each email client.
Administrators supporting users in a mixed Notes/Domino Web Access environment can face tricky questions regarding the subtle differences in behavior between the two mail clients. These differences include name resolution, type-ahead addressing, and name validation. Another factor is the manner in which these features can be configured to interact with various address books/directories. Understanding the similarities and differences in each of the two mail clients is key to helping you get the most out of your email.
This article compares and contrasts the differences in the Domino Web Access and Notes clients, and their interactions with address books. It is geared towards end users looking to increase their ability to leverage each mail client, as well as administrators who would like to better support their users in a mixed mail environment.
Let’s start by reviewing a high-level comparison of mail interactions between the two clients. The Notes client and the Domino Web Access client differ in their support of type-ahead addressing, name resolution, and name validation. The following table highlights some key differences between the Lotus Notes and Domino Web Access client.
| Feature | Notes | Domino Web Access |
| Type-ahead name resolution | Yes | No |
| Define multiple local address books | Yes | No |
| Multiple server-based address books | Yes | Yes |
| Ambiguous name resolution | Yes | Yes |
| ShortName resolution using local address books | Yes | No |
| ShortName resolution using server-based address books | Yes | Yes |
| User-driven name resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard-driven name resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Event-driven name resolution | Yes | Yes |
| Client configuration of exhaustive searches | Yes | No |
| Disable Notes recipient name validation | No | Yes |
Collectively, these can be described as "name search" features. Each of these features falls into one of the following three primary categories:
- Type-ahead addressing
- Name resolution
- Name validation
The following sections explain type-ahead addressing, name resolution, and name validation, and lists the primary differences between how Notes and Domino Web Access implements them.
Type-ahead addressing is the feature that allows auto-completion of names as they are typed into the To, cc, and bcc fields. This feature is supported in Notes, but not in the Domino Web Access client. In figure 1, a Notes user has typed “pat†into the “To†field, and the Notes client has supplied the first available match in the address books and Domino directories configured for that user’s Location document. Also in figure 1, the Notes client has highlighted the text it suggested in black, expanding “pat†to “patrick Cooke."
Figure 1. Notes "To" field type-ahead feature
The Notes client’s type-ahead feature is configured through the Location document currently in use by the Notes client. The “Recipient name type-ahead†field defines three settings.
- Disabled disables the Notes client’s type-ahead feature. This setting is useful for users who want to disable this feature, or who are using server-based mail in a low-bandwidth situation.
- Local only instructs the Notes client to perform type-ahead lookups for use in auto-completion only against address books local to the Notes client. This setting is useful in cases where the user has a local address book populated with their mail contacts.
- Local then Server configures the Notes client to perform type-ahead lookups against both the local address book and the user’s home mail server's Domino Directories. This setting is best used when there is a high-bandwidth connection between the Notes client and the Domino mail server.
Figure 2 identifies where in the Location document the “Recipient name type-ahead†is configured, and displays the available settings described previously.
Figure 2. Recipient name type-ahead
Administrators who support users in low-bandwidth or high-latency networking environments have the option of disabling type-ahead addressing on a mail server. This is done using a Configuration document in the Domino directory. Disabling type-ahead addressing on a mail server reduces the network chatter that occurs between a Notes client and a mail server, when typing names into the To, cc, or bcc fields. When disabling type-ahead addressing on a user’s mail server, the Notes client continues to provide type-ahead addressing for names stored in their Personal Address Book, or mobile Directory Catalog if available.
Name resolution occurs when either the Notes client or the Domino Web Access client queries the directories configured for its use to find a name (or set of names) that match the names or portions of names currently typed into in the To, cc, or bcc fields. Name resolution occurs in both the Notes client and the Domino Web Access client. Both Notes and Domino Web Access perform name resolution when the user clicks the F9 key. The Notes client will additionally attempt to resolve names when typing a multi-value separator (such as a comma, a semi-colon, or the Enter key) in the To, cc, or bcc fields.
The Domino Web Access client provides the Check Name button to perform name resolution against information currently residing in the To, cc, or bcc fields. The Check Name button appears next to each field only after typing occurs in it. In figure 3, the user has typed “s†into the To field, causing the Check Name button to appear to the left of the To label.
Figure 3. Check Name button
In figure 3, the Domino Web Access client displays the Check Name button to the left of the To button. The mail form displays the Check Name button to the left of the To, cc, and bcc fields only after typing occurs in the corresponding field.
The user must click the Check Name button, or press the F9 key on the keyboard, to perform name resolution. Clicking the Check Name button submits the contents of the field (in the preceding example, “sâ€) for name resolution against the local contact list and any directories configured for that Domino Web Access client‘s mail server. Figure 4 shows sample matches for this.
Figure 4. Domino Web Access Ambiguous Name screen
In figure 4, the Ambiguous Name dialog displays possible matches for the letter “s." The letter(s) causing the match are highlighted in red.
The Domino Web Access client performs name resolution against the user’s local contact list and any directories configured for use on the user’s mail server via Directory Assistance. When working offline, the Domino Web Access client will query local replicas of server-based directories (such as the Domino Directory or the Condensed Directory Catalog) if enabled by the administrator, and the setting “Include server’s Name and Address Book†is selected in the Preferences - Other dialog. The Domino Web Access client will additionally perform name resolution against server-based directories, using the ShortName field located in Person documents, but not against the ShortName field located in the local contact list. Figure 5 shows the Select Addresses dialog for a user with the Local Contacts directory (which is always displayed) and three additional directories residing on the user’s mail server. These directories were added using Directory Assistance.
Figure 5. Select Addresses dialog
The Notes client also provides name resolution. Both the Domino Web Access and Notes clients perform name resolution and validation immediately prior to sending a memo, and when you press F9 on the keyboard. The Notes client also does this as the user types types a multi-value separator (such as comma, semicolon, or the Enter key) in the To, cc, or bcc fields. The behavior of the name resolution that occurs depends on the settings of the "Recipient name lookup" field of the Location document currently in use by the Notes client. If this field is set to "Stop after first match," the client will stop looking when an exact match is found, and will expand the recipient name to its full name, if necessary. It will prompt the user with a list of partially matched names if no exact match is found, or if multiple matches are found in the first directory where a match was made. If the “Recipient name lookup†field is set to “Exhaustive search all address books,†the Notes client will continue to search additional directories for matches, even after a match has already been made. Domino Web Access, by default, exhaustively searches all directories for a match. The user does not have an option for disabling this. The Domino Web Access administrator can disable this for all users by setting the notes.ini variable iNotes_WA_DisableExhaustiveNameLookup=1. Setting this variable will not prevent an ambiguous name dialog; one can still occur when there are multiple matches in the first directory where a match is found. However, when a match is found, the Domino Web Access client will not search additional directories. In figure 6 , the Notes client displays its Ambiguous Name dialog in response to the user selecting to send an email to “Stephen."
Figure 6. Notes Ambiguous Name dialog
The Notes client performs name resolution against the local address book, and any directories configured for use by the user’s home mail server when using server-based mail. The Location document’s mail settings determine whether or not name resolution is applied to any of the directories configured for use by the mail server, using Directory Assistance, if applicable. If the user has a Location document that specifies network connectivity to server-based mail, the Notes client will list server-based and local-based directories. In figure 7, the Notes client Select Addresses dialog box illustrates a server-based mail location for a mail server that provides multiple server-based directories. The first entry in the "Choose address book" drop-down is the user’s personal address book. The directories that follow are configured on the user’s mail server by the administrator, using Directory Assistance.
Figure 7. Notes Select Addresses dialog
When you use an Island location, only locally defined address books are available for type-ahead and ambiguous name resolution. Figure 8 shows the Select Addresses dialog while running the Notes client in Island mode. The "Choose address book" field showing only local address books while in Island mode is highlighted. No server-based directories are listed; only locally based address books defined using the Notes client.
Figure 8. Select Addresses dialog (Island mode)
Notes mail users can add additional local address books to their Select Addresses dialog by using the Notes client’s Preferences dialog (File - Preferences - User Preferences). The Domino Web Access client does not have a feature to add additional local directories; these must reside in the Contacts list. Figure 9 identifies the “Local address books†edit field in the User Preferences dialog. This field is used to specify additional local address books for the Notes client.
Figure 9. Local address books field
The Notes client, like the Domino Web Access client, performs name validation against the ShortName field of the Person document using any server-based directories configured for its use. The Notes client differs from the Domino Web Access client in that it will also attempt to match names using the ShortName fields of any Person documents located in its local address books when resolving mail addresses. This can be useful to alias Internet or Notes mail recipients, using either initials or short, easy-to-type abbreviations. In figure 10, a Person document has been created in the Notes client’s address book for an Internet mail user. The Person document shown has defined a ShortName field value of “iu."
Figure 10. Person document
The preceding entry in the Notes client’s local address book allows you to address the message by typing only two keystrokes, “iu." This scenario is highlighted in figure 11.
Figure 11. Two-character entry in 'To' field
The Notes client will then resolve mail addressed to “iu,†based on the ShortName field of the recipient’s Person document in the local Address Book. Figure 12 highlights the expansion of “iu†to ““Internet User†<milycek@acmesolutions.com>.â€
Figure 12. Resolving full address in 'To' field
The Notes client’s ability to resolve mail recipients residing in the local address book, using the ShortName field, can also make it useful to copy entries from server-based directories to local address books. This is particularly useful for users who send mail to a recipient whose name is long, or when the user’s mail server connects to large directories and the user frequently sends mail to a recipient that causes an ambiguous name resolution dialog. In either case, you can select a Person document from a server-based directory, use the “Copy To Local Address Book†action to copy the Person document to your local address book, and then use the ShortName field of the Person document copied to the local address book to alias long or ambiguous names. This allows you to address mail to these users, using initials or abbreviations, as well as avoid potential ambiguous name matches.
Both Notes and Domino Web Access can alert the user when sending a memo to a Notes recipient that is not listed in any directories residing either locally or on the user’s mail server. This process is commonly referred to as name validation. Name validation is applied against local Notes address books and the Domino Web Access’ Contact list, as well as any server-based directories currently configured for use by either client. The same rules of directory and field scoping for name resolution also apply to name validation. In fact, name validation occurs as an extension of name resolution when no match for a message recipient is found. This validation is not performed on mail sent to SMTP recipients. The check is performed after clicking the Send button, but prior to sending the memo.
Figure 13 shows the name validation prompt, alerting a Notes user that a memo with an unknown Notes recipient is about to be sent, prompting the user to continue or cancel the action. The dialog box identifies the unknown recipient by name, so that the user can take corrective action.
Figure 13. Name Validation prompt
The Domino Web Access client, by default, will also perform a name validation when sending to Notes recipients. In figure 14, a Domino Web Access user sends a message to a Notes recipient who is not listed in any of the user’s local contacts or mail server’s Domino Directories.
Figure 14. Unknown User in Domino Web Access
In the default configuration, the Domino Web Access user is alerted to this condition with the prompt shown in figure 15, immediately after clicking the Send button but prior to sending the memo.
Figure 15. Unknown User warning
The Domino Web Access administrator can disable the validation of names that occurs prior to a Domino Web Access user sending an email to a Notes user listed in either the user's Contact list or his or her mail server’s Domino Directories. This is done via the Domino Administrator interface. To enable or disable this feature:
- Open the mail server via the Domino Administrator.
- Click the Configuration tab.
- Click the Messaging tab in the left pane to expand it.
- Click Messaging Settings.
- Click the Domino Web Access tabbed table in the right panel.
- Double-click the document to edit the settings.
- Select or deselect the check to the right of “Name resolution and validation†to enable or disable this feature.
Figure 16 depicts the navigation results of the steps performed in the previous bullet list. The “Name resolution and validation†check box is highlighted towards the bottom center of the screenshot.
Figure 16. Messaging Settings dialog
Restart the server after changing this setting to ensure that it takes effect.
In this article, we examined various interactions that occur between the Lotus Notes client, the Domino Web Access client, and the address books configured for their use. We discussed the actions and events that trigger these interactions, as well as the various address books and directories available for use by these clients based on their configuration, and the configuration of the user’s home mail server.
- Learn how you can manage the ever-growing mail files of your Lotus Notes users by reading the developerWorks Lotus article, "Best practices for large Lotus Notes mail files."
- For details on how you can save time by centrally managing the desktops of users in your organization, see the developerWorks Lotus article, "Centrally managing the desktop."
- The IBM Redbook, "Getting the Most From Your Domino Directory," explores the wide range of services that Domino Directory offers.
- Get involved in the developerWorks community by participating in
developerWorks blogs.
Stephen Cooke is an Advisory I/T Specialist with over 12 years of experience helping customers with Lotus and companion products. He started programming computers on the Apple II, and has worked with a variety of platforms and programming languages since that time. Stephen joined the IBM Software Group in 2000, where he works with Lotus and WebSphere related products. In his spare time, he enjoys tennis, ping-pong, basketball, juggling, and spending time with his family.
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