What Is a Notes Database?
The Database object is an essential element in creating Domino Web applications and/or native Lotus Notes client/server applications. A Domino database is an object store that contains data, logic, and design elements for the application.
A Domino database is not synonymous with an application. On the contrary, most sophisticated applications comprise several Domino databases. There is no inherent difference between the structural format or definition of databases for the Web, native clients/servers, or mobile applications.
A Domino application enables users to share, collect, track, and organize information. To open a Notes database for the first time from the Notes client, follow these steps:
1. | |
2. | Enter the server in the server field. (Either select the server from the drop-down menu or type the name of the server if it doesn't show up.) |
3. | Select the database from the database list, or type the name of the database file in the filename field (be sure to include the .nsf [Notes Storage Facility], .ntf [Notes Template Facility], or .ns5 extension [Notes database that retains the R5 on disk structure]). Alternatively, select the Browse… button to locate the database from a local drive. |
 | Be sure to memorize what the acronym NSF (Notes Storage Facility) and NTF (Notes Template Facility) represent. |
After a database has been opened or bookmarked, you can open the database by either clicking on the bookmark or double-clicking the database icon from the workspace.
Alternatively, you can also open a database from the command line. From the command prompt (for example, MS-DOS), change to the Notes root directory. To open a database stored locally on the current machine, enter designer Notes://Database_Replica_ID. To open a database stored on a server, enter designer Notes://Server_Name/Database_Replica_ID. In addition, you can also open a specific document from the command line by entering designer Notes://Server_Name/Database_Replica_ID/Note_ID.
 | When entering the Replica ID of the database, do not include the colons. When entering the Note ID of the document, enter the characters following the NT characters displayed in the beginning of the Note ID. |
The ID used when the Lotus Notes client is launched must have Designer access to the database and the Domino Designer must have been opened before.
The Domino 6 Server and Notes 6 client use a different On Disk Structure (ODS) than R5 (and all previous releases). The ODS of a database does not replicate and has no effect on which client version can access a server version. The ODS only determines how the server of client writes data to the physical drive. However, some new features in Domino 6 require the latest version of the ODS (43) (for example, quote management). The Information tab of the database properties displays the ODS version. Release 3.x had an ODS of 17, Release 4.x had an ODS of 20, Release 5.x had an ODS of 41, and Notes and Domino 6 has an ODS of 43.
 | Be sure to understand what the ODS (On Disk Structure) is and that it does not replicate from one replica database to another. |