Home
>
Software
>
Lotus Domino: Reports and Connectors ? Crystal Reports, XML, ODBC/JDBC, OLE

Lotus Domino: Reports and Connectors ? Crystal Reports, XML, ODBC/JDBC, OLE

Lotus Notes Domino is very efficient in electronic document workflow automation. Unfortunately the electronic document workflow can not replace paper documents completely. For example some documents should be sent to your suppliers or customer in paper form. Lotus Notes (as a client) has built-in tools for printing documents, views and folders. But inbuilt Lotus Notes mechanisms providing such services as printing on the paper Domino database contents can not solve all reports generation objectives.

Regular printing mechanisms of Lotus Notes client allow the following:

? Print one or several documents from Domino database vis Lotus form. A developer can create the form in Domino, which will be used for the printing. In simple cases the printing will be correct. If the form is complex (for ex. It has many design elements, such as inbuilt views, sections, etc.), then the problems may begin to show up (wrong indents, fonts, text imposition, etc.);

? Print data from view, folder in table format. So in this case developer is very limited in report' s design;

? In Domino R6 two more mechanisms were added some-how connected with printing:

? automatic preparation for contact information from a document printing (function Contact print). In other words ?information printing from document in envelope label form;

? copying of selected in view/folder documents into clipboard (menu Edit -> Cope Selected as Table). Later the information may be pasted in another application (for ex., MS Excel), and create needed report on this data.

Thus, as we can see, regular Lotus Notes mechanists cannot solve all tasks in reports creation. For instance, using such the mechanisms it is not possible to create histograms, based on Domino data.

In order to create full-featured reports in Notes/Domino it is necessary to deploy integration technologies. Following technologies could be used:

? Creation in Notes/Domino functionality which loads data into external applications in the required formats. In this case developer is limited only by integration mechanisms which are supported by Notes/Domino (for ex. XML, ODBC/JDBC, OLE, etc);

? External application way, pulling data from Notes/Domino. For example, it may be Crystal Reports;

? OLE. OLE allows reliable connection to Lotus client and data extraction and even processing. Author is familiar with two successful projects in this field, realized by IBM business partners. Both use OLE technology, which works seamlessly at the Notes client side (not on Domino server).

The summary of this article is ? Complex reporting of the Notes/Domino databases is possible, but usually we see the common needs to go beyond standard built-in printing mechanism, inbuilt in Lotus Notes client.

Good luck in your system setting up and contact us for any help in USA: 1-866-528-0577, Germany: (0177) 8349 806! help@albaspectrum.com

P.Gottmann is a technical writer in Ronix Systems ( http://www.ronix-systems.com ) the European branch of Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.ronix-systems.com ), IBM and Microsoft Business Solutions Partner, serving clients in Chicago, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Germany, UK, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Moscow.

insured cleaning company Glencoe ...

In The News:

Lyft rolled out safety upgrades with a new Safety Hub, driver blocking capability and a favorite driver option to give riders more control over their experience.

New research shows Americans increasingly trust AI for wellness guidance over social media, with 63% finding artificial intelligence reliable for health.

Luxury fashion brand Dior experienced a January 2025 data breach affecting customer personal information, and notifications were sent months after the discovery.

The commercial Unitree H1 humanoid robot weighs 104 pounds with 365 pound-feet torque per joint and demonstrates dangerous potential when software glitches occur.

Americans average 10-plus hours online daily, according to recent survey, splitting time between streaming shows on TV and browsing websites on multiple devices.

Boost your smartphone privacy instantly with these security tweaks for iPhone and Android that limit ad tracking, hide notifications and prevent unauthorized access.

Platforms like Hoax Tech and JS Click Cloaker help cybercriminals bypass detection systems using machine learning to selectively display scam content to victims.

A new battery recycling technique transforms old lithium-ion batteries into high-performance components that retain 88% capacity after 500 cycles with minimal waste.

Google's Android operating system can warn users about earthquakes before the shaking even begins – and there are ways to do it on your iPhone, too.

Meta's new gesture control wristband might just be the most seamless way to control a computer yet. And no, it doesn't require surgery, a camera, or even a touchscreen. All it needs is your wrist.

Long-haul trucks are now being upgraded with a surprising twist, thanks to California-based startup Revoy. Their electric boost doesn't replace diesel but works alongside it to cut emissions and fuel costs without major disruption.

PayPal and Venmo just rolled out something big: AI-powered scam alerts for Friends and Family payments.

As data centers multiply across the United States, energy demand is increasing at a rapid pace. This has not escaped the notice of large investment firms from Wall Street.

The Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit organization that maintains the Unicode Standard to ensure emojis work across devices, has announced Unicode 17.0, which includes nine new emojis slated for release this fall, in September 2025.

OpenAI is one of the world's leading AI research labs. Founded in 2015, it's behind some of today's most talked-about tools, including GPT, DALL·E, and ChatGPT.

Ever catch your dog staring at the screen during movie night and wonder if they're actually watching? Turns out, they might be. A new scientific study from Auburn University found that many dogs really do engage with television, and not all pups react the same way.

Stop the scammers from making contact in the first place. They're getting your parents' contact information and much more personal data besides, from somewhere.

The Walker S2 robot from UBTech autonomously exchanges its batteries in just three minutes, allowing continuous operation in car factories operated by BYD, Nio and Zeekr.

The FX Super One electric MPV from Faraday Future offers flexible seating, zero-gravity recliners and an AI system that creates a personal connection between driver and vehicle.

Practical solutions for reducing unwanted charity mail, political texts and email spam by opting out of shared lists, replying "STOP" and using data removal services.

Delta's new AI pricing system eliminates static airfares for personalized rates based on individual data, raising questions about fairness while promising optimized revenue.

AI data centers are straining the power grid across 13 states, contributing to a $9 billion increase in electricity costs, and PJM customers face monthly bill increases of $25 or more.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the music industry as AI-generated bands like The Velvet Sundown earn substantial streaming revenue, prompting lawsuits from major record labels.

Microsoft phishing scams use fake security alerts and links that redirect to credential-stealing pages with warning signs, including urgent language and unusual senders.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Lotus Domino: Reports and Connectors ? Crystal Reports, XML, ODBC/JDBC, OLE

Software