C API Failures / Oddities

I’ve submitted questions regarding various issues I’ve run across using the various versions of the C API.

Since none them have been responded to I’m curious as to whether anyone can provite information regarding anyone to contact for C API development support within IBM / Lotus.

Since there doesn’t appear to be any means supported in the C API, C++ API, or the COM / OLE automation classes to actually print individual / selected notes within databases I’ve turned to the “EditorPrintNoteToBitmap” function.

We process a high volume of notes databases of various versions.

For Notes 4.X databases the function appears to work fairly reliably. One problem with the function when used on Notes 4.X dababases is that since it is converted the note to a bitonal bitmap there are at times portions of the bitmap that are turned into “black blobs”. In particular cases where the user’s preferences put an images / background behind their “from” information which makes that information unreadable. It would be nice if there were some means to allow for a level of dithering / aliasing of the original image before it is all written to the bitonal bitmap.

For Notes 5.X databases the function always fails, but in a manner that allows other procssing on the databse to continue.

On Notes 6.X databases the function generally works, however, there are numerous failures similar those with Notes 5.X databases (there appears to be certain bitmaps / images that users copy into their notes that causes this to happen fairly consistently), and occasional “division by zero” errors that cause the API to GPF in a way that even exception handling will not allow it to recover without closing the application and restarting it.

Notes 6.X databases appear to have numerous instances where the text writen to the bitmap “bleeds together”. That is text from multiple paragraphs overwrite each other.

On some Notes 6.X databases there are documents with attachments that get the attachment name returned as “FILE0001” (for notes with multiple attachments “FILE0002”, “FILE0003”, etc) rather than the name of the attachment that shows up when the note is viewed within Notes when the “MailGetMessageAttachmentInfo” is called.

The “MailExtractMessageAttachment” still works successfully, however, the “random” file name has to be used instead of the “real” file name that is visible when the note is viewed within Notes.

Subject: C API Failures / Oddities

Yes, we do also encounter problem in using the “EditorPrintNoteToBitmap” function.

In our experience, this function works fine in Notes 5 but this is broken in Notes 6.

In our tests, this function does not render the Notes document correctly if there is table inside the document. (no border, multiple page table)

Subject: RE: C API Failures / Oddities

Its insteresting the behavior that you see for that function is noticeably different that what I see with it.

For us the function always fails on Notes 5.X databases, yet works in general on Notes 4.X and Notes 6.X databases.

Is there not an IBM / Lotus developer support group that can be contacted for issues such as this with their APIs / development tools?

I’ve not been able to find any contact information for such a group within IBM / Lotus.

If it did exists you’d think they would follow the forums here. Perhaps they do and I simply haven’t caught their responses to other posts in the forums.

Subject: RE: C API Failures / Oddities

In my test, I am using R5 C API and Notes client R5 for rendering, R6 C API and Notes client 6 for rendering.

What is your version of API and client version used?

Subject: RE: C API Failures / Oddities

I’ve tried pretty much every combination oh 4.X / 5.X / 6.X versions of the C API with 4.X / 5.X / 6.X versions of the Notes executable installed / running against 4.X / 5.X / 6.X Notes databases.

The always appears to fail in all instances with Notes 5.x databases.

I’ve had generally “decent” success with Notes 4.X databases regardless of the version of the C API and version of the Notes excutable that is installed / running.

The same is true with Notes 6.X databases.

With the exceptions in those two cases already having been described in my base message in this thread.

The disappointing part of using the Notes C API and other tools isn’t that they fail, but the lack of response from anyone within Notes support, or ability to find “better” contacts information in order to get through to someone that might be of more assistance in solving or working around the existing issues of the API calls failing.

Subject: RE: C API Failures / Oddities

I have just tried the Notes API sample, EditFax.

It was consistently giving wrong rendering result. I have tried:

Notes 6 client + EditFax (compiled by Notes 5 API) + Notes 4 ODS format

Notes 6 client + EditFax (compiled by Notes 5 API) + Notes 5 ODS format

Notes 6 client + EditFax (compiled by Notes 5 API) + Notes 6 ODS format

Notes 6 client + EditFax (compiled by Notes 6 API) + Notes 4 ODS format

Notes 6 client + EditFax (compiled by Notes 6 API) + Notes 5 ODS format

Notes 6 client + EditFax (compiled by Notes 6 API) + Notes 6 ODS format

The wrong rendering occured (text overlapping, table without border, text/paragraph missing in some case) when there was table in the richtext field.

So, in my test, under Notes 6 environment, there is no relationship with the database format.

So, I am wondering how you can make it work in Notes 6.