If you see this error...stop coding.
Wed, May 9th 2012 6:10a Russell Maher I usually only post when I have something near Solutionville but today is different. Today is "I have suffered and nobody else should have to" day. If you see this error, stop coding immediately and figure out a different way to do what you want because the IBMJSSE2 Security Provider is not going to work for you. If you never see this error, consider yourself very fortunate. [read] Keywords: blogger
security
142
Create A Canonical Name In A Single Bound! Uh, Character
Mon, Mar 5th 2012 5:17a Russell Maher Been meaning to post this for a while although it is not really related to XPages. I just like it and I doubt many people realize you can do this. It is, as they say, an oldie but a goodie! When you enter a user name followed by a trailing slash, Notes will append your personal canonical name elements automatically. Quick and easy! Nice for folks with longer organizational naming structures. [read] Keywords: admin
notes
xpages blogger
91
On The Menu: Your Custom Perspectives
Fri, Mar 2nd 2012 6:13a Russell Maher I typically use one or two of my own customized Eclipse Perspectives when using Domino Designer. It is easy enough to modify the current perspective and then use the Window - Save Perspective As... menu to save a personalized perspective. What is a little irritating though is having to go through the "Open Perspective - Other" menu to locate the custom perspective I want to use. I prefer to have my perspective right in the menu. The choices on the "Open Perspective" menu are controlle [read] Keywords: domino
xpages blogger
development
eclipse
java
196
SourceRepo.com + Redmine = My DDE Source Control (for now)
Thu, Mar 1st 2012 2:10p Russell Maher After a lot of effort, I am giving SourceRepo.com and Redmine an extended audition for Domino Designer Source control. Since watching Declan Lunch's Lotusphere presentation on Source Control I have installed and used both Mercurial and SVN inside DDE in various combinations with Codesion, Codebasehq, SourceRepo, BitBucket and finally back to SourceRepo. In the end I decided I liked the look of Mercurial branching and the superior functionality of Redmine and I was only able to find that combin [read] Keywords: agent
domino
lotusphere
notes
xpages blogger
eclipse
workspace
185
Persist Passwords If You Prefer
Thu, Feb 9th 2012 7:11a Russell Maher I have been working this week on a user registration screen. Seems simple enough but I needed two server-side validations when the user submits the XPage and then I discovered that the standard XPage password field controls empty their values if the XPage fails validation. By changing the "redisplay" property to true, if the XPage fails validation for any field, the previously entered password values persist in the fields. Forcing users to reenter the password post-validation-failure was un [read] Keywords: application
blogger
password
security
server
250
Don't Overcommit Your Source!
Thu, Feb 2nd 2012 1:11p Russell Maher So I played with Source Control a little bit right after Lotusphere following an excellent presentation given by Declan Scolia-Lynch on source control and then again after reviewing David Leedy's excellent NotesIn9 episode on implementing source control just to make sure I had the hang of it before using it on some of my prized code. Certain I was not going to lose anything to the "magic" of Eclipse, I began the process to source control my pride and joy application. Got it all set up. Wen [read] Keywords: lotusphere
xpages application
blogger
database
eclipse
270
Isolate the problem
Wed, Jan 25th 2012 5:12a Russell Maher Here's a news flash: Some things in XPages don't work the way you want them to or the way you thought they were going to work or the way IBM said they were going to work. That's not meant to be a knock of any kind. XPages are an awesome execution of extending JSF and coupling it into a very robust environment but the fact is there are a lot of moving parts and it is complex. The folks at IBM spend their time trying to reduce the complexity of the tool itself and that is hard work so if th [read] Keywords: ibm
xpages blogger
bug
development
187
Lotusphere 2012 was great!
Mon, Jan 23rd 2012 6:10a Russell Maher Great technology, great sessions, great social. Read on... Great Technology For the first time since Lotusphere 1998, IBM presented technology that companies will view as something they need to remain competitive, technology that can truly help individuals be more productive today (vs. 10 years ago) and technology that only IBM seems poised to be able to provide. That's exciting! Embedded experience has legs. Is it Domino/Notes? Yes and no which means Win/Win. Domino has a long future ahead [read] Keywords: connections
domino
ibm
lotusphere
notes
xpages application
blogger
192
An XPages Solution
Tue, Dec 20th 2011 2:12p Russell Maher (previously posted pre-XPageTips.com on Google+) I had to solve a pretty unique problem in an XPage app and I am posting my solution to it. While I certainly do not think my solution is the only one or the best one, hopefully it will help someone else solve a similar problem, learn something about XPages and/or generate discussion on alternative solutions. Learning XPages...it's a journey! NOTES: More information that might make the solution more understandable. 1) In this environme [read] Keywords: domino
notes
xpages blogger
google
116
Make the Help help you
Fri, Dec 16th 2011 6:12a Russell Maher As an XPager, when I search the help I am normally only interested in search results that relate to XPages (versus, say, LotusScript). You can create your own search scopes within the Eclipse help system so I have created a search scope called "XPages" which only contains specific sections of the help. When I search, I only get hits from the limited set of topics in my XPages scope. Makes things a lot faster. [read] Keywords: lotusscript
xpages blogger
eclipse
133
Here's the problem...and the fix
Thu, Dec 15th 2011 6:11a Russell Maher Last week I am fixin' to deliver my Advanced XPages Bootcamp session on Java and managed beans when what to my bloodshot eyes should appear but an Eclipse/Java/Project/Build error ne'er seen by me (or Paul Calhoun) before that I could not figure out how to fix in ten minutes. That's not good. Being typical Domino-folk, the participants were very understanding as I then fumbled with my code during the presentation (you forget how much prep goes into creating demo code until you try to type i [read] Keywords: domino
xpages blogger
eclipse
java
194
My First XSnippet: Display Client-Side Alert for Server-Side Validation Failure
Wed, Dec 14th 2011 6:11a Russell Maher First, if you have not discovered XSnippets at OpenNTF.org, go there! No wait! Go after reading the rest of this post! Second, for some of my apps I prefer server-side validation but I still need to put something right in front of the user's nose in case the form does not validate so I like a client-side JavaScript alert. Problem is connecting it nicely with the server-side validation failures. Bam! The new 8.5.3 view.postScript() method totally fits the bill. Click here to get the code! [read] Keywords: blogger
javascript
openntf
server
My "mad networking skills" saved the day. You might need yours, too, so be prepared.
Thu, Dec 8th 2011 2:12p Russell Maher Thanks to my "mad networking skills" I was able to avoid a cable internet connection disaster this morning. Last Thursday I jumped at the chance to upgrade my internet connection from 15mbps to 50mbps. Friday the new cable modem was installed. Saturday morning I realized it was acting as a router and had totally disabled my ability to run my site, receive email or replicate databases because my actual router (a SonicWall TZ 210 which I love by the way) needed the public IP address provided [read] Keywords: blogger
email
networking
server
Congratulations to all Lotusphere speakers and especially to the first timers!
Tue, Dec 6th 2011 11:12a Russell Maher A big congratulations so all those whose abstracts were accepted for Lotusphere. I especially want to congratulate anyone who is speaking at Lotusphere for the first time. I am truly thrilled to see that the trend of broadening the speaker pool which was highlighted at the end of Lotusphere 2011 appears to be continuing for Lotusphere 2012. With all that is going in our bailiwick, this Lotusphere looks to be another good one. See you there! [read] Keywords: lotusphere
blogger
72
When things go wrong, check the source
Mon, Dec 5th 2011 8:13p Russell Maher Domino Designer does not always update the source code nor does it always make it obvious that an error exists within your XPage code. This nasty little issue, although infrequent, can result in a great deal of time wasted when you are making changes and wondering why your XPage is not working the way you think it should. If you are not a "source coder" (most of us aren't), make it a habit to check the source right away if things are going unexpectedly awry. [read] Keywords: domino
xpages blogger
49
Make a form. Save yourself some time.
Thu, Dec 1st 2011 5:12a Russell Maher Do you need a form for an XPage? No. Can it makes things easier/faster for you? Yes. Here's how. I create simple unformatted forms for my documents because I often have the fields for a document spread across multiple custom controls. When I want to place the fields from the form into separate custom controls, I make Designer do the work for me. I add the form as a data source to the custom control, drag the fields in that I need, then remove the data source from the custom control. If I [read] Keywords: application
applications
blogger
59
Make a <span> become a <div> using the tagName property!
Tue, Nov 29th 2011 7:12a Russell Maher XPages generate specific HTML tags for controls. Consider the Computed Field control...by the time it reaches the client it becomes a element. You can override the default HTML tag name via the tagName property on many controls. Maybe you want your Computed Field to be a or an instead of a . Maybe you want to use some of the new HTML5 tags. This little property does the trick! [read] Keywords: xpages blogger
152
Pass data from page to page on the "requestScope"
Wed, Nov 23rd 2011 6:12a Russell Maher My approach to development can best be described as "results-driven". I like theoretical techniques, I like knowing why things work the way they work and I always like to hear about other (and perhaps better) ways to accomplish what I have done but absolutely first and foremost for me when I am developing is "getting it done" and "making it always work". Consequently my code is often pretty brute force. Case in point...the documentation says I should be able to pass a requestScope value [read] Keywords: xpages blogger
development
67
Use Firebug to expand that Stuck Stack Trace
Mon, Nov 21st 2011 6:26p Russell Maher I am pretty sure I am the only one who gets XPage errors (feels like it some days) but just in case I am not... Sometimes the "twistie" that shows the XPage Stack Trace is collapsed and will not respond to a click. What to do? Use Firebug of course! Use Firebug (or Chrome of course) to change the DOM so you can see your stack trace and be on your way to error-free XPage code! [read] Keywords: xpages blogger
196
Running SSJS from CSJS: Sometimes its the only way!
Wed, Nov 16th 2011 12:42a Russell Maher Last weekend I was working on some code and needed to pass two values to a client-side JavaScript function. No problem except that one of the values for the function was going to be the ID of an XPage component. Since XPage ids are generated dynamically, I used the nifty getClientId() SSJS function to get the ID of the component but I ran that function in the Client-Side JavaScript to be run when a button was clicked. Using SSJS in CSJS is very handy and sometimes the only way to do what you [read] Keywords: blogger
javascript
42
Instantly create a new style sheet right when you need one...when you're stylin'
Wed, Nov 9th 2011 8:51p Russell Maher I can apply formatting to individual XPage elements with the best of them but...once all that formattin' gets into a rhythm I go back and migrate all the styles into style sheets. ("Hey look! I keep formatting these things the same way so I must be happy with that look.") If you have formatted an element, then the Style property drawer will display an Export... button. That is an awesome tool by itself but it also allows you to create a style sheet right when you need one. I don't use thi [read] Keywords: blogger
43
Speed up your development with code comment shortcuts
Mon, Nov 7th 2011 10:17a Russell Maher One of the best things Domino Designer gets from being in Eclipse are the shortcuts for commenting code. They really make it easy to do testing and/or save code "for later". CODE COMMENT SHORTCUTS CTRL + SHIFT + C Comments/Uncomments a line of code CTRL + SHIFT + / and CTRL + SHIFT + Comments/Uncomments a block of code Works in: XPage source, Theme editor, Java editor, JavaScript and Java Script Library (In libraries multiple lines must be selected for block commenting.) Does n [read] Keywords: domino
script library
apple
blogger
css
development
eclipse
java
javascript
43
1-2-3: Quickly add null value choices to combo boxes
Fri, Nov 4th 2011 6:00a Russell Maher Many times I need a combo box or radio button group that filters something (view control or repeat control etc.) and the choices for the user need to be... All North America Latin America The problem is if they choose "All", I really just want a null string returned (since "All" is not a continent) so this is what I need the values to be... "" North America Latin America Domino Designer does not make it easy to add a choice that has a value of "" so I trick Designer into doing the [read] Keywords: domino
apple
blogger
199
The XPage CKEditor: Know Your Options
Wed, Nov 2nd 2011 8:21a Russell Maher Sometimes only a Rich Text field will do and if you are using a Rich Text field in the UI, it is good to know a few options: toolbarType, height and width. A current project requires users to create HTML content. I have found the Rich Text /CKEditor control to be ideal for this except for one problem: You cannot get to the source of the content using the standard button sets. Several different toolbars are available on the Rich Text control: Slim, Medium, Large and Full. The Full toolbar p [read] Keywords: rich text
xpages blogger
dojo
Be careful with empty CKEditor rich text fields
Fri, Oct 28th 2011 9:51p Russell Maher The CKEditor is very handy in XPages since it saves the content as MIME which can be processed as such in other places in your application. However you should be aware of how it operates so you can code around its behavior. In 8.5.3 the CKEditor for rich text controls has been updated. 1. If you never enter any information into the field, then the field is a text field even if the document has been saved. 2. If you enter a single space and save the document, then the field is a MIME object an [read] Keywords: rich text
xpages apple
application
blogger
36
Use F2 To Add An Alias
Fri, Oct 28th 2011 4:11p Russell Maher Sometimes in the heat of the application design battle I just add a view or agent or XPage without thinking about the name I am assigning or thinking about giving the element an alias. Then during the polishing phase I return to reorganize elements and assign aliases. Ta Da! Now when you use the F2 shortcut to rename a design element in 8.5.3 you can also update the alias value (if the design element supports it). If you select more than one design element, you will get prompted to change th [read] Keywords: agent
application
blogger
