What is Lotus Notes?
Lotus Notes or IBM Notes is a very famous application in the list of desktop-based environment. It was developed in 1989 by IBM. It is generally used by business organizations. It is based on the client and server. Lotus Notes is the email client and IBM Domino is the server. It serves as a collaborative platform. Some of the collaborative functions are listed below -
- Calendars
- Contacts
- To-do-lists
- Instant messenger
- File Sharing
- Team Room
- Discussion Forums
- Micro Blogging
- Directories
- Programming
IBM Notes is in existence for 30 years and has come with several versions. The latest version of Lotus Notes is 11.0.1 introduced on 19 April 2020. Lotus Notes runs on many platforms and uses standard protocols such as POP3 and SMTP for providing efficient emailing service.
Lotus Domino
IBM Notes or Domino Server is an application for email messaging service. Lotus Domino is HTTP/HTTPS web server component. It assures full security to the files and other documents in the database.
Domino Servers are independent of software and hardware. It can be easily accessed through web browsers.
Lotus Notes Storage Facility
All the data of Lotus Notes is stored in .nsf file extension. To manage and create Notes database, NSF file is used.
IBM Notes use several file extensions to save the database –
Names.nsf – It stores all details of contacts, connections, locations, etc.
Maibox.nsf – This file extension contains all mailbox content such as emails, events, tasks, etc. It is known by other names such as database.nsf
Bookmark.nsf – This file extension contains all the bookmarks saved by users.
Busytime.nsf – This contains files/folders include all the free time local information.
Perweb.nsf – It stores information about the web browser used for searching.
Headlines.nsf – This contains entire information of database subscription.
Internet.nsf – This file extension holds all the details related to newsgroup subscription.
Location of Lotus Notes NSF file extension
Windows:C\User\UserName\AppData\Local\Lotus\Notes\Data
Mac:/Library\Application Support\Lotus Notes Data
Features of IBM Notes
Lotus Notes comes with dynamic features that make it different from others. Let us know the features of IBM Notes –
Data Replication – Data Replication means the duplication of the database with the same ID in the original database. Lotus Notes helps users to remove the duplicate database on its local machine so that users can work on data files. The replication facility of Lotus Notes is applicable for the whole data in the application. Once users get connected to the network, all the changes are synced with the server and the messages are sent to the desired user. By default, the database replication is disabled in Lotus Notes. Users can simply enable it without the requirement of any special programming skills.
Security – Lotus Notes provides a security model to security user database at various levels –
- Network security – It protects the data from unauthorized access over the network.
- User authentication – User authentication is the process where both Notes client and Domino Server are validated and the user is authenticated when tries to access the Domino Server.
- Server security – This refers to controlling access to every Domino Server. Server access is controlled using Server access list in Domino Directory.
- Database security – It prevents access to the data on Domino Server. Every database has an Access Control List (ACL) that specifies the level of access by user or server in the database. ACL determines the task to be performed by a particular user. A user with manager access can create or alter ACL. For securing local database, users can encrypt a database and enforce an ACL on the local database.
- Design Element security – It manages access to forms, view, and folders. A user can access the application but not to design elements. During development, developers can use the access lists and special fields to restrict access to design elements.
- Document security – It controls access to section, field, and paragraph on the documents. Readers and authors field are used to control access to documents.
Database – The database of Lotus Notes is different from RDBMS. IBM Notes use meta data schema instead of a schema, come with in-built document level of access control. There are several benefits of data structure like built-in full text searching access, attributes that are null and do not occupy the space in the database, no need of defining a size of fields or data-type, etc.
Email service – Lotus Notes is commonly used as an email service. Notes support POP3, and IMAP email clients. Also, it provides Domino Web Access, by which email and calendar features are accessed through Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux OS.
Problems with Lotus Notes
Poor User Interface – Most of the users face issues with the user interface of the application. It is not friendly for all as compared to others. Therefore, several users complained about their bad experience of the user interface.
Unnecessary buttons – Lotus Notes contain unnecessary buttons that are meaningless.
Limited integration with other apps– It is not capable to integrate with other applications like Microsoft generated applications.
Error messages – It shows various kinds of users that may create trouble for users.
Limited search capabilities – It is not capable to create complicated queries. Single attribute searches can be made with quick filter.
Conclusion
Through this article, you can easily get aware of Lotus Notes basic details like what is Lotus Notes, its file extension, location, storage capacity, features, and issues faced by users.
