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A rchive Date
[ 14-06-2000 ]
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[ Information Technologies ]
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[ Lotus ]
      [Domino R5: Managing your bookmarks
      by Christie Williams

      R5 introduced a concept most users were already familiar with from working with their browser: the concept of bookmarks. But while they are browser-like, R5 Bookmarks have numerous capabilities and advantages that browser bookmarks do not - and for that matter, that the old Notes Workspace and its database icons do not. In fact, Bookmarks were designed to be used instead of the Workspace and its icons because they provide so much more in the way of features and ease-of-use.

      Bookmarks not only let you accomplish everything you did with the Workspace - organize, access databases, use different replicas, and so on - they increase your possibilities for these tasks and make other tasks more readily available. They allow you to create links to information from all types of sources, not just databases. They also can link to certain actions like creating documents or launching Domino Designer and Administrator. They are easy to use, easy to create, and easy to manage.

      Those of you who have used the Notes 4.x client are familiar and probably comfortable with the Workspace and its icons and may be resistant to changing the way you work. The Workspace is still available, of course, but making the transition to Bookmarks is well worth it. R5 users who have switched to using Bookmarks have described their numerous benefits to the

      Notes Usability Team:
      • Bookmarks provide quick access to a variety of items: databases, views, Web pages, documents, news groups, navigators and framesets, and tasks such as creating mail memos and to do and calendar entries.
      • Because they are appear in the Bookmark bar on the side of the window, they are always available, no matter where you are in Notes. And they take less space than the database icons of the Workspace, helping to reduce screen clutter.
      • You can organize your Bookmarks in a way that makes sense to you, with a hierarchy of folders and subfolders. This speeds up your navigation to the information you need. If you place the Bookmarks for things you most commonly use on the Bookmark bar, you have single-click access to them.
      • Because they are easy to rearrange and move, you can change bookmark setup to reflect your current activities and needs. For example, you can place a bookmark to the report you are currently writing directly on the Bookmark bar for one-click access; once you've delivered the report, you can easily remove the bookmark.
      • Administrators can customize the Bookmarks for new users, so new employees have direct, easy access to the databases they need.

      This article explores the ins and outs of Bookmarks so that you can take complete advantage of them, including creating and managing bookmarks, changing their icons, using a bookmark as your Notes home page, and more. This article assumes you have experience with Notes.

      Bookmark basics
      The Bookmark bar runs down the left side of the Notes window. For example:
      Bookmark bar
      By default, the icons at the top of the Bookmark bar open things with a single click: Mail, Calendar, Address Book, To Do, and Replicator. If you have Domino Designer, Domino Administrator, or (in release 5.0.2 and later of Notes) Sametime Connect installed, these applications can also be opened from the Bookmark bar.

      The icons at the bottom are (by default) for folders, which open Bookmark pages with lists of folders, databases, views, links - whatever has been bookmarked.

      Default folders include:
      • Favorite Bookmarks, where you can put your favorite or most-used links.
      • Databases. If you are upgrading from 4.x, this folder contains a folder for each Workspace tab and Bookmarks for the database icons on each tab. As you work with R5, a bookmark is added to this folder for any new database you open.
      • More Bookmarks, which include search bookmarks and a Create folder that contains bookmarks for commonly created documents such as mail messages, calendar entries, and to do documents.
      • Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer folders, which contain your bookmarks or favorites from those browsers.

      But the default setup of the Bookmark bar, folders, and existing bookmarks is only your starting place. By creating and managing bookmarks and folders, you customize Notes to make the information and tasks important to you readily accessible.

      Managing bookmarks
      As you create and organize the bookmarks you use, you can rearrange them on the Bookmark bar and the Bookmark pages and folders to suit your needs - creating, moving, renaming, and removing bookmarks, folders, and subfolders as necessary. Any changes you make are stored in bookmark.nsf in your local Notes/Data directory, which is the database that controls your bookmark setup.

      Creating bookmarks
      There are several different ways to create bookmarks: When you open a database for the first time, Notes automatically adds a new bookmark for that database in the default Databases folder. You can move the bookmark to another folder or the Bookmark bar by dragging it to the new location.

      To bookmark any open element in Notes such as a database, view, document, or URL, you can simply drag-and-drop its task button from the top of the window to the Bookmark bar or a bookmark page or folder.

      For example, drag this:

      Task button

      To create this:

      Bookmark from button
      Alternatively, you can right-click an active task button and choose Bookmark to open the Add Bookmark dialog box. Use this dialog box to select the folder where the bookmark should appear and specify the type of bookmark it is.
      Add Bookmark
      Another method to bookmark the active item, such as the currently displayed URL, is to choose Create - Bookmark, which also displays the Add Bookmark dialog box shown above.

      You can also bookmark databases without opening them. You choose File - Database - Open to see the Open Database dialog box, enter the name of the server in the Server box to see a list of available databases, select a database from the list, and then click the Bookmark button. (This also opens the Add Bookmark dialog box.)

      Note:       If you change the path or file name of a database you have bookmarked it, you must remove the bookmark and then recreate it. For example, if you use your operating system to move databases to different directories, you must remove and recreate their bookmarks.

      Bookmark new documents
      By default, there are bookmarks for new mail messages, calendar entries, and to do documents in the Create folder of the More Bookmarks folder. You can add your own "Create" bookmark for any type of document in any folder or even the Bookmark bar. For example, if you frequently create documents in a project status database or contact list, you can make a bookmark for creating that type of document:

      1. In any database, create a new document.
      2. Click and drag the new document task button to your Bookmark bar or any folder.

      Deleting a bookmark
      Deleting a bookmark is just as easy as creating one. Right-click the bookmark and choose Remove Bookmark. This deletes just the bookmark; it does not affect the database, document, view, or whatever else the bookmark referred to.

      Creating folders and organizing bookmarks
      You can organize your bookmarks in any way that makes sense to you and helps you work efficiently. You might place the things you most commonly access - a database, document, URL, or whatever - right on the Bookmark bar so that they are only a click away. Top level folders can also reside there, with bookmarks and subfolders in them.

      You can create a hierarchy of folders, subfolders, and bookmarks that is similar to the Windows Explorer hierarchy of folders and files. Not only is this an efficient way to organize, it can help you visualize exactly where your bookmarks are.

      To create a new folder:

      1. Right-click a folder and choose Create New Folder (or click the New Folder button in the Add Bookmark dialog box) to open the Create Folder dialog box.

      Create Folder
      In release 5.0.1 and later, you can open the Create Folder dialog box by opening a Bookmark page, clicking the twistie in its top-left corner, and choosing Create New Folder,

      Create New Folder

      2. Type the name of the new folder.
      3. If the new folder should be a subfolder, select the folder it should be in.
      4. Click OK.

      To move a bookmark, you simply drag it to its new location.

      Here are some additional tips to keep in mind:
      • The number of bookmarks on the Bookmark bar is limited by your screen size and resolution. Changing the size of the bookmarks can give you more room for more bookmarks. See the section "Icons the way you want them" below.
      • Remember that bookmarks, and their position, can be temporary. Bring bookmarks for your current projects out to the Bookmark bar so they're readily available; when a project is over, you can tuck them away further in subfolders or delete them altogether.
      • Renaming a bookmark is simple. Right-click the bookmark to see the context menu, choose Rename Bookmark or Rename Folder, and type the new name in the Rename dialog box.
      • Bookmarks have extensive context menus built right into them so that you can perform most operations on a database without even opening the database. Right-click the bookmark to see the menu and choose Create to see available actions.

      Bookmark page tips
      Bookmark folders open Bookmark pages that display the other bookmarks and folders in them. The Bookmark page has a number of features that will help you work efficiently with bookmarks.

      Keeping the Bookmark page open
      Usually, the bookmark page closes whenever you select a bookmark or click elsewhere in Notes. However, in release 5.0.1 and later, you can keep the Bookmark page open by clicking the thumbtack icon at the top of the page. Your Bookmark pages will stay open until you click the pin again (or click the X above it).

      Thumbtack

      Finding a bookmark quickly
      If you have many bookmarks and folders on a Bookmark page, you can find the one you want by starting to type its name. (You can see the characters you type in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.) Notes will jump to the bookmark or folder beginning with the characters you type. If there are multiple bookmarks or folders with similar names, you can either continue typing the name until it uniquely identifies the bookmark, or you can type the beginning letter repeatedly to cycle through all those bookmarks.

      Working with database replicas
      "Stacked" database replicas don't exist in R5 the way they did in 4.x, but you can still display the replica's server name, switch between different replicas of a database easily, and bookmark replicas on different servers.

      To display the server name for the most recently opened replica of each database on the bookmark page (in release 5.0.1 and later):

      1. Open the Bookmark page.
      2. Click the twistie in its top-left corner to see the Bookmark menu.

      Show Server Names
      3. Choose Show Server Names. The names appear below the bookmarks.

      Bookmarks w/ server names

      To switch quickly between replicas of a database:

      1. Right-click the bookmark to see the context menu.
      2. Choose Open Replica to see the list of available replicas. The most recently opened replica will be selected by default.
      Open Replica

      3. Choose the replica you want to open.

      If the replica you want is not on the Open Replica list, there are several ways you can add it. You can open and bookmark a different replica of a database just as you would open and bookmark any database:

      1. Choose File - Database - Open.
      2. Select the replica's server.
      3. Select the database name.
      4. Click the Open or Bookmark button. The replica gets added to your existing bookmark's list.

      Alternatively, you can add multiple replicas of a database at one time and manage the list of available replicas using the Manage Replica Server List dialog box:

      1. Right-click the bookmark for the database.
      2. Choose Open Replica - Manage List.
      Manage Replica Server List
      3. Select each replica by selecting its server and clicking the Add button.

      Note:       You can also use the Discover button to find all replicas of the selected database in your domain, although can take a long time depending on the size of your domain. You can also select a replica in the "Server list for" box and click the Remove button to remove the link to that replica.

      Showing the number of unread documents
      Displaying the number of unread documents in a database is a helpful Workspace feature that you can continue to use with R5 Bookmarks.

      To display the number of unread documents in a database:

      1. Open a Bookmark page.
      2. Click the twistie in its top-left corner to see the Bookmark menu.
      3. Choose Show Unread Document Count.

      Icons the way you want them
      The icons for bookmarks are your visual aid in finding the information you want, so it's important that their appearance works for your screen's size and resolution and appeals to your eye. To this end, Notes lets you control the color scheme, size, and graphics for the icons.

      Controlling the color scheme
      By default, Notes bookmark icons are gray to be less distracting, but this does not mean they are "grayed-out" and so not available. In fact, when you mouse over one, it shows its colors. If you don't like the monochromatic look, you can change it:

      1. Choose - File Preferences - User Preferences.
      2. On the Basics settings of the User Preferences dialog box, choose an icon color scheme from the list. (This color scheme will be used for all icons, including SmartIcons bars.)

      Icon color scheme

      3. Restart Notes for this change to take effect.

      Controlling the size of bookmark icons
      The User Preferences dialog box also includes a setting that controls the default size of all bookmark icons. This lets you control the size of icons on the Bookmark bar as well as set the default size for the icons on Bookmark pages. As with other user preferences, you must restart Notes for this change in size to take effect.

      Additionally, you can control the size of the icons on each Bookmark page separately. For example, although you may generally prefer medium size icons, a particular folder may have so many bookmarks in it that a smaller icon size for that Bookmark page will make more of them visible without scrolling.

      To change the size of icons on a Bookmark page:

      1. Open the Bookmark page.
      2. Click the twistie in its top-left corner to see the Bookmark menu.
      3. Choose the size (Large, Medium, or Small) for the icons on that page.

      Changing the graphic for a bookmark icon
      The graphic representation of your information can play an important part in your ability to find it easily. Some database icons, which are used as the default bookmark graphic for databases and their views and documents, are distinctive. Others, however, are not. Similarly, if you create multiple folders on the bookmark bar, you may want something other than the default blank folder to identify what is in that folder.

      If you don't like the default bookmark icon, you can choose another image easily (with the exception of the URL bookmarks in the Internet Explorer and Netscape folders, which you cannot change).

      1. Right-click the bookmark.
      2. Choose Change Folder Icon (if the bookmark is for a folder) or Change Bookmark Icon (if the bookmark is for something other than a folder).
      3. In the Insert Image Resources dialog box, you can scroll through the options and preview the possible graphics.
      Insert Image Resource

      4. Select the image you want to use and click OK.

      Setting a bookmark as your home page
      In previous versions of Notes, you could choose a startup database. In R5, you can turn anything you have bookmarked into your Notes home page. Whether it's a database, document, view, or Web page, it will appear every time you launch Notes, until you reset it by specifying another bookmarked item.

      To specify a bookmark as the home page:

      1. Right-click the bookmark.
      2. Choose Set Bookmark as Home Page
      3. Click OK at the Set Home Page message box.

      If you want return to having the Welcome Page as your home page, repeat the process with the Welcome bookmark, which is usually found at the top of the Favorite Bookmarks folder. If it's not there, for example, because you have customized your Bookmark pages:

      1. Choose File - Database - Open.
      2. With Local as the server, click the Browse button.
      3. Select bookmark.nsf from your Notes\Data directory and click the Select button.
      4. Click Open and then drag the Welcome task button to a bookmark folder.

      Bookmark basics
      Managing bookmarks
      Bookmark page tips
      Icons the way you want them ]


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