Simon's Blog

Will the real notes client please stand up

I installed the new Parallels 5 and I am really liking it. The new feature is “Crystal” mode. This allows you to run windows applications like as if they are OSX apps. If you stop using the windows app for a period of time, it will also suspend the VM to let other apps run better. Coming out of suspension is very fast (not like a full VM suspend).
Here is an example of the notes client in OSX, Windows and Designer running. Apart from the menu being visible there is not much difference.

Installing the Parallels5 was a bit messy. Once I had installed all my VMs failed to start. I had to set the CPU back to 1, delete and recreate my CD drive. After that startup, install the tools then restart the VM with 2 CPUs.

Nice little obvious feature for Symphony documents in notes

I am pretty sure this was so obvious, that I am the last person to realise this. I fully switched over to the IBM productivity tools (internal Symphony in Notes).
One annoyance for me is finding the documents I am working on. Normally I would have a directory set up for related tasks. But occasionally I will forget to place one in the right place. The “recent files” option in the file menu was great. But that doesn’t exist in Notes.
So what I have found now is to right click on the tab and selecting “Create bookmark…”. I can then search and find it very quickly using the Open button search option.

Restarting your client after a crash without rebooting

This one goes out to all the Tweeters out there who tend to restart their machine to start up notes after a crash.  These steps should work as far back as Notes 6.

!! IMPORTANT !!   

Some IT departments get annoyed if users do things without checking with them first. So if in doubt you should check with your IT guys that is OK to do. Especially if anything below doesn’t make any sense to you.

Option 1. 

1. Open a command prompt (Start menu -> Run -> cmd.exe).
2. Go to the folder where notes is installed. for example type in: cd “\program files\ibm\lotus\notes”  (that is default install location)
3. type in: nsd -kill

What this will do is clean up all the related notes processes and do an NSD memory dump of Notes into the IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT folder. You don’t need what is in that folder unless you plan to open a PMR or have your IT guys analyse why your client keeps crashing.

Option 2. 
This one forces the quitting of the tasks. It does not generate an NSD and does not clean up when it stops them. To avoid corruption you should try option 1 first. This is also written for Notes 8.x, so may or may not work on earlier versions of the client.

1. Create a text file called: killnotes.cmd
   
2. Open the text file and paste in the following lines

   @echo off
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq nsd.exe”
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq notes2.exe”
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq nlnotes.exe”
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq notes.exe”
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq ntaskldr.EXE”
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq soffice.exe”
   taskkill /F /FI “IMAGENAME eq nnotesmm.exe”
   

3. Save the file.

To use the file just double click it to run it.

[Update] 8.5.3 allows you to kill the notes client without rebooting. In the start menu select:

Start Menu-> All Programs -> Lotus Applications -> Support -> Collect Lotus Notes diagnostic data and exit Notes

Converting my Sametime plugins to 8.5.1

I have a number of plugins I wrote for 7.5.1 which after a couple of weeks with 8.5.1 installed I find I can’t live without. So I am currently in the process of upgrading them to 8.5.1.
The installation of XPD 6.2.1 and setup went totally without a hitch, thanks to the XPD Wiki.
Just starting on the first plugin (which is very simple) converts certain text into a URL. Already bumped into my first annoyance. No code change, yet when I get the text, it converts to the URL fine but then Sametime appears to strip it out.
I am converting the text string in the method “handleMessage(ImTextReceivedMessage message)” in DefaultMessageHandler/MessageHandlerCallback. When I debug it, the string converts perfectly. But once it is written to the chat window the Anchor link changes to . At a loss to see why. :-/  

Will check and get back on it, but if anyone has seen this before let me know.