Application Design
Welcome to the Application Design section of Domino® Designer Help.
If you are new to Domino Designer, you may want to begin with the Introduction to Domino Designer.
This documentation refers to the following products: IBM® Domino, IBM Domino Designer, IBM Notes®, IBM iNotes®, and IBM Notes Traveler.
- Introduction to Domino Designer
Welcome to Domino Designer. Domino Designer is an integrated application development environment that lets developers and Web site designers create, manage, and deploy secure, interactive applications. - Planning an application
Before you begin any design work, create a plan for how users will access and use your application. At the minimum, your application plan should address these questions: - Creating an application
All Domino applications begin with a Domino database. Domino databases are the containers for your application. Databases hold the data, logic, and design elements for your application. Your Domino application can be made up of one or more Domino databases. - Designing pages
Pages and forms are similar in certain ways. A page is a database design element that displays information. Pages can be used anywhere in your application that you have text, graphics, or an embedded control, such as an outline, to present to the user. A page or form can contain the following: - Designing forms
Forms, like pages, display information. Everything that can be done with a page can be done with a form. What sets forms apart from pages is that forms can be used to collect information. A form provides the structure for creating and displaying documents, and documents are the design elements that store data in the database. When a user fills out the information in a form and saves it, the information is saved as a document. When a user opens the document, the document uses the form as a template to provide the structure for displaying the data. - Designing fields
A field is the part of an application that collects data. You create fields on forms, subforms, or in layout regions. Each field stores a single type of information. A field's field type defines the kind of information a field accepts, such as text, numbers, dates, or names. When a user, either in a Notes client or a Web browser, creates a form, fills out the information in the fields, and saves the form, the data in the fields is stored in an individual document. The contents of the fields can then be displayed in documents and views or can be retrieved for use in formulas. A field can be used on a single form, or you can create shared fields for use in multiple forms in a database. - Designing framesets
A frameset is a collection of frames and can add structure to your Web site or Notes database. A frame is one section, or pane, of the larger frameset window and is independently scrollable. - Designing views
- Designing navigation for an application
You can use the following navigational tools in your application: - Adding automation to applications
Automation in an application speeds up repetitive tasks, handles workflow, updates information, performs calculations, runs programs, and checks for errors. - Developing applications using third-party tools and WebDAV
As you are developing an application, you may want to supplement the tools provided with Domino Designer with tools of your own choosing. For example, you may have a favorite graphics editor you use to design images for your application, or you may have a favorite HTML editor that you want to use to design pages. You launch and use third-party tools from within Designer. - Connecting to enterprise data
Incorporating back-end data into everyday business processes maximizes the value of a Domino Designer application. Designer includes a range of technologies for the security and control of business processes, forms routing, and approvals management. With enterprise integration technologies, you can incorporate traditionally difficult-to-reach data into your business applications. - Including Java applets in applications
Applets are self-contained Java™ programs that can run in your Domino application. Java applets are often used to add animation to Web applications. Although Java applets are mostly used for Web applications, you can also include them in the following elements of a Domino application: - Including Java servlets in Web applications
A servlet is a Java program that is run by the Domino Web server in response to a browser request. Servlets provide a convenient way to add powerful functionality to your Web application. In some ways, servlets act like CGI programs, but they are more tightly integrated with the server and can take advantage of special Java classes. For example, a servlet may connect to a relational database or enterprise system and get data in response to a Web browser request. - Including XML in Designer applications
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a standard for creating markup languages that describe the structure and meaning of data in a document. XML separates the content of a document from its presentation and provides a common format for transferring data across the World Wide Web (WWW) or company intranet. The result is a technology that makes data available regardless of the proprietary systems involved. - Including OLE objects in applications
Using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and OLE tools lets you extend the capability of Domino Designer. OLE technology lets you integrate data from other applications, such as spreadsheets, graphics tools, and other data sources, into your application. - Creating a workflow application
Workflow applications let you automate tasks. These tasks most often involve automatically sending mail messages or automatically routing documents, such as tracking orders and project plans to be reviewed. All projects need one or more people to complete a series of tasks and can benefit from workflow applications because they guide the project through these tasks automatically. Workflow applications reduce overhead and errors, speed processes, and track the status of a project. For example, a workflow application might automatically send a document in a publishing company from writer to editor to proofreader to production. At each stage, an individual is responsible for specific tasks related to that document. Once the task is complete, the workflow application ensures that the individuals responsible for the next task are notified and receive the data they need to execute their part of the project. - Domino Designer templates
The templates described in the following table are available with Domino Designer and are specifically intended for use by application developers. - Importing to and exporting from views
- Developing applications using MAPI
Domino Designer Release 6 and later supports the messaging application program interface (MAPI), which allows mail integration between Domino and a MAPI-compliant messaging application, such as Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office applications, or user-written C++ programs. - Features to avoid using in Web applications
Developers creating applications specifically for the Web, or for the dual purpose of serving Notes and Web clients, should review the following tables for features that are not supported on the Web. - URL commands for Web applications
You have a variety of options for programming a Web site. You can directly manipulate objects such as documents or views in an application using Domino URL commands. Adding Domino URL commands as HTML in forms gives users shortcuts for navigating databases and performing other tasks quickly.
Parent topic: IBM Domino Designer Basic User Guide and Reference