If IBM wants more documentation on ND6 Design Changes Getting lost, here we go:
OS: Win2k Professional
Apps Running:
R5 Client
ND6 Client
ND6 Designer
Excel
Different versions have their own program/data directories and their own Notes.ini files
Currently locked into 6.0 because of Customer restrictions.
Scenario:
I make a new view using another view design.
I rearrange the columns, add 2 sorted categories.
I add 3 View Actions:
@Command([ViewExpandAll])
@Command([ViewCollapseAll])
@Command([ToolsRunMacro];“(AgentName)”)
The Agent uses simple actions on selected documents.
I save the view.
I Preview the view and none of the changes have been saved. This happens if I already have the view open in the client when making changes or if I do not have the view open in the client when making changes.
This is really turning into a pain in the rear and a real productivity drain.
Note I also have this problem with 6.5 on my laptop.
Subject: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
I’ve run into EXACTLY the same problem (6.01 CF1 client & server, native R6 DB, ODS43) and it is indeed very frustrating. I would love to see some explanation of this phenomenon as well as some sort of fix. I tend to change a view, forget about it, then lo and behold the view is gone and I feel like an idiot because the changes are gone and I can’t remember what changes I actually made. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Subject: RE: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
This is exactly why I am now in the habit (almost compusively now) of always previewing my changes in a saved view design before closing the view in designer.
Like the old maxim says:
“Burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice shame on me”…but then again there should never be a twice!
Subject: RE: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
If we can get it reproduceable we can raise an SPR and probably get a fix scheduled, I’mn going to keep my eyes open -I trust everyone else will do the same and post back?
Subject: RE: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
Unless I stop and monitor every single step I am doing in the process until the bug hits, it may not be possible to give you the exact sequence (and my cistomer might not appreciate the time needed to do that). Just know that the bug is very real and experienced by many people. That should be enough to open the SPR and have the IBM developers hack away at it!
It has happened to me on forms, views, agents, script libraries, framesets, outlines, etc., etc.
I would hate to have to revert to R5 and do all my design there (even though there are some things I came to depend on in R5 for UI Design in views that are notavailable in ND6. Specifically, the ability to put a sudo-transparent 3 pixel border below my action bar (through the properties) to provide just enough white space in the UI).
Subject: RE: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
[Just know that the bug is very real and experienced by many people. That
should be enough to open the SPR and have the IBM developers hack away at
it!]
You can’t possibly really think that. Did you see how long it took to deal
with the lost Lotuscript issue, and what it took to finally nail it down?
Subject: RE: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
I’m sure everyone here can relate to being overly frustrated with N/D at some point in their life. Bottom line, though – if it’s not reproducible IBM won’t (and shouldn’t) spend any time chasing ghosts when they could be fixing other things that are reproducible.
IBM does fix things that from time-to-time that could be broken but don’t necessarily have a customer-submitted SPR related to them. That’s great, but if you want to help out on a specific issue you’ve encountered then try to devote some time to reproducing it. Who knows – you may find a temporary workaround on your own until they fix the real issue.
It can take hours, even days to strip things down to their bare-bones in order to create an irrefutable case of “THIS RIGHT HERE IS A SERIOUS BUG” for IBM/Lotus. I’ve been there twice, and it’s most certainly not fun. All-in-all, however, I was glad I took the time to do so – as were all of the other people who were affected by the same issues.
Subject: Productivity Drain: I can reproduce one instance of the view save problem
With a view open in designer… 1.) Add a new column
2.) Select a field as the column value
3.) Then select Formula for the column value.
4.) Enter the formula, in my case I simply typed in the name of another field
5.) Click the preview in Notes Button, Click Yes when prompted to save. (I can even click Save and then Notes Preview and obtain the same results).
This will let me see the view in the client along with the Column header (if one exists) or the column header place holder for the new column. However, the formula does not exist. If I return to the designer and exit the view I am prompted to save again. If I click “Yes” the next time I open the view the changes were successfully saved when I exited the design of the view. If I click no and I re-open the view in designer the value of the column is still set to the value of the field from Step 2 above.
Another thing. This doesn’t seem to be a problem if I click elsewhere in the view design before clicking save or preview. This may not be a problem as I should be clicking the Check when I make changes but if I am prompted to save my changes I am under the assumption that changes have been made to my view.
Subject: Did you click the little green check mark before previewing in Notes?
When you go back to the designer, it is still an unchecked formula, and appropriately when you close the view, it compiles the new formula and asks if you want to save.
Subject: RE: Productivity Drain: Lost View Design Changes getting Out of Hand
No…it is a native ND6 Database. But I had copied some design elements over from a R5 database that I may have used when creating the new views, but I cannot remember for sure.