SwiftFile: Notes Client suggests the Folder to file your Inbox Messages into
SwiftFile is built into the HCL Notes client starting in 11.0.1. It is available as an extra install for all previously supported versions.
There is a nice technical report that has all the features explained in detail:
Abstract
While most e-mail clients allow users to file messages into folders, the process they must go through to file each message is often tedious and slow. For each message, the user must first decide which folder is most appropriate. Then, the user must inform the e-mail reader of that choice by selecting the appropriate icon or menu item from among what is typically a set of several dozen choices. The combined effort of choosing a folder and conveying that choice to the application of-ten discourages users from filing their mail, resulting in unmanageable inboxes that contain hundreds or even thousands of unfiled messages. SwiftFile encourages users to file their mail by simplifying the task. Using an adaptive classifier, it predicts the three folders that are most likely to be appropriate for a given message and provides shortcut buttons that permit the user to effortlessly file it into a predicted folder. For typical users, SwiftFile’s predictions are accurate over 80% to 90% of the time, resulting in a substantial reduction in the time and cognitive burden required to file messages.
Team Mailbox: a mail-in mailbox with one unique sending address for multiple users
Sure, you will need a team mailbox. One single mailbox with one address like Sales@mycompony.com that even a distributed team of people can work with. You can read more about it when browsing the official documentation:
Selecting an alternate From address in a shared mail file
Team Calendar: Using a Calendar with a bunch of people simultaneously
It’s groupware – so it’s obvious that it should offer a Team Calendar.
The official documentation about the Team Calendar in HCL Notes has all the details.
E-Mail: Putting a Notes Inbox Message into more than one Folder (without copying it!)
Mat Newman explains this in a YouTube video
Groupware is a generic term for specialized computer aids that are designed for the use of collaborative work groups. Typically these groups are small, project oriented teams that have important tasks and tight deadlines. Groupware can involve software, hardware, services, and/or group process support.
[Johansen 1988] Johansen, Robert: Groupware: Computer Support for Business Teams.
New York, London : Free Press/Collier Macmillan, 1988 (Series in communication
technology and society). – 205 S. – ISBN 0029164915
The groupware server
HCLs (former IBMs) groupware package offers a built in web server.
The server component is commonly refered to as HCL Domino.
This part of the software communicates with your installed
- HCL Notes Client using the NRPC protocol over tcp port 1352 and/or
- Web browser using the http protocol over tcp port 80 or the secure 443
HCL as a owner of Domino is really interested in improving the user experience. HCL Nomad is the newest addition to the portfolio. You can now run all Notes applications natively on iPhone, iPad and Android devices. As of version 12 the Nomad client will be available as a native web client.
A common use these days is to have your mobile device (iPhone, iPad, Android) connected to the server part.
The server task running on the Domino server is called Traveller.
Notes/Domino is like a good wine: getting better over time
Version 1.0 of Notes was first available on December, 7th 1989. The most recent version is currently available as version number 14.
There are not many software titles available these days that are still in the market since their first appearance.
You can still open your in 1989 created version 1.0 databases using the most recent version. The terms Lotus Notes, IBM Notes are all talking about the same. Now it is HCL Notes. HCL bought the software from IBM. It’s Notes the client as part of the server named Domino.
Notes is the client software talking to the server Domino
HCL is selling the client server groupware platform in two parts:
- Notes is the client software available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android
- Domino is the server component with the built in web part
Notes/Domino – what can I do with it?
There are quite a few definitions out there. A good source is Wikipedia. Please refer to their article about the software to find out more.
Other resources on the web
There are many platforms out there that claim to implement groupware these days.
One of first systems on the market was Lotus Notes/Domino. It’s still available and it has defined the category for this kind of software.
If you decided to use that system in the past, you did it right: It’s still there, fully supported by IBM. All your investments in this platform are save. The system platform is even now evolving as a rapid prototyping framework for the Web 2.0 world. if you need something not build in, you can develop custom applications or get others do that for you.
New features get implemented in new releases all the time. This adds value for your business. Automatically. Your people do not need to change the way they work. Notes Applications will adopt to what you need. They evolve into something fitting better into your business.
There is even a new paradigm available to use it in new projects: XPages gives Notes Domino developers a new way to be highly productive using the Notes/Domino system.
Besides the standard built in features like mail, calendar, contacts and to do’s, new ways of working together can be implemented.
Even if you do not have the time to develop anything new from scratch, there is an open source repository that delivers Apps for free: OpenNTF.
