STFU && RTFM

In migrating many of our users to Lotus Notes 8, we have recently found that some of them have experienced problems with week numbering, as 2009 has 53 weeks. Week number 53 is shown as week 1. This error carries over to 2010, meaning that week 1 is shown as week 2, and so on. Users using Lotus Notes 6.* and 7.* are not experiencing the problem.
 
This is apparently caused by a setting in the operating system, but can be fixed in Lotus Notes. Here’s how:
 

1. In Lotus Notes, open File -> Preferences, then expand Calendar and To Do, and select Regional Settings like so:
   
2. Then move the radio button from “Use my operating system regional setting” to “Always use the ISO standard” like so:
   
3. Accept the warning that some settings do not take effect until you have restarted Lotus Notes.

That has solved it for me, and for the users that have experienced this problem.

I had a user call in recently, complaining that, even though she’d defined a signature to be added automatically. She got no error message, and had not changed anything about her setup.
 
Though she hadn’t changed anything, a change had been made. All the mailfiles’ design (for those who ran version 8.*) had been upgraded to version 8.5.1. As it turned out, there was a bug in that design, meaning that signature settings did not work for people running client 8.0.2.
 
The solution here is simple, and can be one out of two; either downgrade the mailfile design to version 8.0.2, or upgrade the client to version 8.5.1.

I’ve had a few cases of users running into this error message in Lotus Notes 8.0.1:
 

 
The problem is tied to the embedded version of IBM’s instant messaging system Sametime, and has been reliably reproduced in any of the following conditions:
 

• Initiating a chat session
• Clicking the telephone icon
• Receiving a chat

 
According to IBM, the problem is solved by upgrading to version 8.0.2, and they also say there’s a hotfix available.
 
There is, however, a workaround, which also seems to work reliably. Here’s how to implement it:
 

1. Open Microsoft® Internet Explorer
2. Click Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced (tab)
3. Locate the option “Disable script debugging” and put a check mark in the box
4. Locate the “Display a notification about every script error” line and remove the check mark in the box
5. Check the option “Disable Script Debugging (Other)”

For one reason or another, I have a stated preference for using webmail over some sort of locally installed client. There are many reasons, but the main one is that I want to be able to read mail wherever, whenever.
 
Now, at work, this is not really an option. We do have webmail access, but it isn’t all that usable, the reason being that we are running Domino server, Lotus Notes, and Lotus Web Access. Now, I know that I have griped about Lotus Notes before, and I’ll still gladly gripe about the uselessness of the Web Access solution (especially as compared to Outlook Web Access). This is not a gripe.
 
A while back I asked one of our Domino Administrators to help me upgrade to version 8. For those of you who don’t know, up till then I was running version 6, which is an OK tool, but is found wanting (a whole crapload) when it comes to usability. Version 8 is still suffering from usability problems, a bit, but many of my main gripes are, if not fixed, at least less blatantly obvious, which is always nice.
 
A few things I’ve noticed:
 

• Higher ease of customization in the main email window
• Much better integration of SameTime (IM client)
• Shinier view
• Substituting the sidebar with a drop-down bar, which works much better
• Built in meter of the size of my mailfile
• Saves open tabs for next session

 
There are still a few things I’d like to see rectified. For example, why is this the location of my folders:
 

 
Overall, I have to say, Lotus Notes 8 is the best version of Lotus Notes I’ve seen so far. They’ve come far since version 5, which is the first version I encountered, but they’ve still got a ways to go. Even so, it works, and it works better.