Is it possible to create a local DB (like ‘Discussion.nsf’) and share it with other Notes Clients in my office - without using the Domino Server? (I’m a client - not a Domino guru)
Answer: ???
After searching through hundreds of posts - I think the answer is ‘no’. Please let me know if there is a way.
(steps on the soap box) This is kind of long…
Like another users said - these ‘little details’ should be looked at closer by the developers, that’s why the Outlook users complain so much. Notes just isn’t as user-friendly to self-learn on the client side as Outlook is.
Don’t get me wrong - I think Notes is a much better product, just not user friendly to the do-it-yourselfer’s.
For example:
Something that ‘seems’ to be a simple task - isn’t. I have to put in a request to my Domino Admin to put a discussion database on the mail server and share it with ‘4’ users. Yep, I only need it for 4 project managers - I’m sure the other 5000+ employees our admin has to deal with probably have more important issues than this.
Seems like a waste of interal resources for something the client should be able to do on thier own. (in my opinion) I know it’s a minor detail in the grand scope of things but the ‘little details’ that make workplace more productive has to have a positive impact on profits. Instead, we have to drain our limited Domino Admin’s time to do a simple task. ~ doesn’t seem like the right direction to me.
Thanks for listening, guess I’m a little frustrated after coming up empty handed and ‘wasting’ more of my time trying to figure out a solution.
(steps off the soap box - headed to the nearest bar)
Subject: Sharing a local DB without using Domino ?
First off, I’ll answer your initial explicit question: You are correct in your assessment that the answer is No. Continuing on…
Domino certainly can be, but typically isn’t (for security/quality/policy reasons) set up so that end users can create new databases without approval. Like everything else in the universe, there are advantages and disadvantages to deciding to set up one’s Domino environment to allow end users to be able to do this, and the vast, vast majority of shops have decided that the cons far outweigh the pros – but that’s the beauty of being able to choose how a product will work best in your environment, isn’t it? Is filling out a request form in order to get a new db created so that four (or four thousand) users can collaborate an insurmountable obstacle? Apparently it is to you, but I doubt many would agree with your subjective opinion on that point.
There are certainly other tools which are specifically designed to allow end users to create not just the content inside a collaboration area, but also the collaboration area itself, for example: QuickPlace.
Subject: Sharing a local DB without using Domino ?
Notes/Domino is fundamentally a client/server application. There are P2P tools out there for Notes, but they’re kind of missing the point – P2P is not where you want to put potentially mission-critical data. And, frankly, deployment of a new (and necessary) database based on a standard Lotus template should not be an issue even in the most tightly-controlled environment – it takes less than ten minutes in total (even if one or more new access groups needs to be created) and has zero impact on other users. Yes, it will normally be the province of an Admin to carry out the deployment – first, because of standard restrictions on the server itself, and second to ensure that database access is set properly, that the most correct server(s) for that particular application is used, etc.
No, there is at least one P2P tool out there that will do “replication” (of a sort) between Notes clients – Colligo Workgroup Edition:
I am only familiar with the concept, and neither endorse the product (although it has been an Advisor winner) nor the concept. But hey, somebody must have seen the utility in it, or it wouldn’t still be out there.
Subject: Sharing a local DB without using Domino ?
I agree with the previous posters. Creating a simple discussion database and access control group to go along with it takes minutes to do. Notes databases are placed on servers for very good reasons. One of which is consideration of the network. If every user in your company had the ability to create local discussion databases and give access to any number of users…the network would be brought to it’s knees! With all the other traffic it must handle, it would be digital anrachy on the network (not quite but it sounded good). And you are right: Notes is a superior product to Outlook with respect to functionality. If your Notes admin is too busy to satisfy your request in a reasonable amount of time, then your IT department needs to hire some help for this over-worked Notes admin. Don’t blame the product for the inefficiency of your IT department.
Subject: Sharing a local DB without using Domino ?
Yep, I can understand why all those Outlook users would be frustrated when they can create local, multi-user discussion applications easily with their outlook software.
Oh, hang on, no they can’t.
I think I’m missing your point here.
Seriously though, Domino is all about applications being on servers, so that your users can benefit from the collaborative features that you wouldn’t get from something like Access.
An administrator should be able to create your database in less than five minutes. If getting a simple discussion database created is a difficult thing, that’s a problem with your IT department’s procedures, not the product.
