Working with Shared Resources
Lotus has long recognized the need to make application design both modular and flexible and has made significant strides in this area through the use of shared resources and shared code.
Shared resources enable and shared code allow you to create certain types of design elements that can be reused throughout an application and maintained in a single location. Each Domino database can contain its own shared resources and shared code. In Domino 6, resources can now be shared across databases, which is a major improvement. You can create the following shared resources in Domino 6:
Style Sheets— Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) files can be added as shared resources and then used in pages, forms, and subforms.
Files— Any nondatabase files can be added as file resources and shared within and across databases.
Images— Image resources are GIF, JPEG, or BMP format files that can be shared across a database in the following ways: by using graphic or icon on pages, forms, subforms, action buttons, outline entries; and by using background images on forms, documents, pages, table cells, and action buttons.
Data Connections— New to Domino 6, data connections provide an intuitive, GUI interface for creating connections to backend databases such as Oracle and DB2.
You can create the following shared code items in Domino 6:
Actions— Actions that can be used in forms, pages, folders, or views within a database.
Agents— Stand-alone programs that can be used to automate processes in Domino.
Fields— Fields that can be defined and used on more than one form or subform.
Outlines— Can be used to provide hierarchical navigational in Notes applications.
Script libraries— A place to store code to share within a database. Script libraries can contain LotusScript, JavaScript, or Java.
Subforms— Similar to a form, can contain fields that can be shared across multiple forms within a database.