BP215 Integration of IBM Lotus Notes 8 with IBM Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice.org

BP215: Integration of IBM Lotus Notes 8 with IBM Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice.org
John D. Head

Before we begin
Please turn off/set to vibrate/mute all Cell Phones Pagers Computers Please remember to fill out your evaluations
www.lotusphere08surveyonline.com

Agenda
Who am I?
OpenOffice.org Background
Introduction to OpenOffice.org Development
Writer/Symphony Documents
Calc/Symphony Spreadsheets
Impress/Symphony Presentations
Writer Mail Merge
Advanced Calc/Lotus Spreadsheets
Using Lotus Symphony in your Applications
Productivity Editor Toolkit and Composite Applications
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A
I am sharing 9 samples in 60 minutes … get ready!

Who am I?
John D. Head
Framework Manager at PSC Group, LLC
Involved in Lotus technology since 1993
Speaker
Over 25 sessions at Lotusphere since 1996
Speaker at View & Advisor conferences
Author
Advisor Magazine and other publications on Office and SmartSuite integration with Notes
LotusUserGroup.org contributing Author and Forum moderator
www.johndavidhead.com

PSC Group, LLC
IBM Premium Business Partner for 18+ Years
Microsoft Gold Partner
Notes 8 and NMFR Design Partner
Host of IdeaJam.net
Former Host of OpenNTF.org
Winner of 2007 Lotus Award!
Host of the following blogs:
Ed Brill’s (www.edbrill.com)‏
Alan Lepofsky’s Notes Tip’s (www.alanlepofsky.net)‏
Alan Gartenberg - Sametime (www.adamgartenberg.com)‏
Jeff Eisen – Hannover (www.jeffeisen.com)‏
Domino Server Team (www.dominoblog.com)‏
Lotus Connections Team
(synch.rono.us)
Chris Pepin – IBM CTO’s Office (www.chrispepin.com)

The Demo Databases
Presentation example database
Single database with all examples
You can configure it for your Notes client
Example numbers in the presentation match those in the database
Lotusphere 2008 session database
From Genii Software
Updated version inside the demo database
Personal name and address book
My demos work with the standard Notes 6, 7, and 8 templates

Let’s take a little poll …
Who is using …
Office 97 and earlier
Office 2000
Office XP
Office 2003
Office 2007
OpenOffice / StarOffice
Lotus Symphony
Other

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

OpenOffice.org — The History
StarDivision StarOffice written in the mid 80s
Bought by Sun Microsystems in 1999, StarOffice released in August 1999
Source code released October 2000
OpenOffice.org 1.0 released May 2002, 2.0 in October 2005
OpenDocument format becomes international standard ISO/IEC 26300 November 2006
IBM Lotus Workplace Productivity Editors released 2005
Based on OpenOffice.org 1.1
OpenOffice.org 2.2 released March 2007
Notes 8 to include IBM Productivity Tools, based on OpenOffice.org 1.1X
Lotus Symphony Beta 1 released in October 2007, Beta 2 in December 2007

What is OpenOffice.org?
Free office suite
Description from their Web site
“ OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute. To help build the community, join us.”
Their mission statement
“ To create, as a community, the leading international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format.”

What is OpenOffice.org? (cont.)
Getting past the marketing message
OpenOffice.org is an alternative to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and it is free
Provides the following applications:
Writer — document editor
Impress — presentation program
Math — math function creator
Draw — vector drawing tool
Calc — spreadsheet
Base — database

Why Should I Care About OpenOffice.org?
Only office suite that supports Open Document Format (ODF) 100%
A free alternative to Microsoft Office
Runs on three platforms
Windows
Mac
Linux
Saves to PDF natively
OpenOffice.org is the basis of the IBM Productivity Tools included with IBM Lotus Notes 8

OpenOffice.org — Licensing
What is the licensing?
LGPL — the GNU Lesser General Public License
“ Lesser” means that non-free code can be integrated with OpenOffice.org (roughly speaking)
Is it really free?
Yes
Will it always be free?
Yes

OpenOffice.org  StarOffice
StarOffice is Sun’s packaged version of OpenOffice.org
Sun adds other software, services, and support
For development purposes, you can write code that runs in both

The Notes 8 Productivity Editors
How do they relate to OpenOffice.org?
They are based on OpenOffice.org 1.1
IBM has made changes since the code branch
Do they support ODF?
Yes, as well as Microsoft Office 97 through 2003
Do they have an API?
Yes, an HTML-like document API
Supported in Eclipse.org development and composite applications
What about LotusScript?
No support for LotusScript or OLE/COM in 8.0.0
8.0.1 adds basic OLE/COM support

What is Lotus Symphony?
IBM branded the Notes 8 Productivity Tools as Lotus Symphony
Released them independent of the Notes 8 Standard Client
Beta 1 was released in Oct 07
Beta 2 was released in Nov 07
Beta 3 was released in Jan 08
IBM is on a 6 week release cycle with Symphony
These are updated from what we have in Notes 8.0.0
Will 8.0.1 have the Symphony branding and updated code?
Yes

Lotus Symphony Details
Free
Download from www.lotus.com/symphony
Support will be offered in 2008
Free
Runs inside the Eclipse.org and Lotus Expidetor framework (just like Notes 8)
Free
And did I say Free? 

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Designed on an interface-based component model called Universal Network Objects (UNO)
UNO definition
UNO offers interoperability between different programming languages, different object models, different machine architectures, and different processes; either in a local network or even via the Internet
UNO components can be implemented in, and accessed from, any programming language for which a UNO language binding exists

Does this work with Lotus Symphony
All of the demos (minus one) will be done using Lotus Symphony
You will need Notes 8.0.1 for these to work
IBM has exposed the Lotus Symphony objects to the registry to allow COM to work
If you want run the demos in 8.0.0, they will invoke OpenOffice.org
There is a way to hack 8.0.0 to work, but it is not supported

What is the ServiceManager?
ServiceManager is similar to the NotesSession class
It is a factory class that gets you to other places
Set SM=CreateObject("com.sun.star.ServiceManager")
Think of the ServiceManager as a back-end class, and we want the front end (like NotesUIWorkspace)
Set Desktop=SM.createInstance("com.sun.star.frame.Desktop")

What Did That Do?
Calling the ServiceManager created an OpenOffice.org window, but we need to do more …

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Let’s Start Writer — Word Processing Application
So far we have an OpenOffice.Org window, but it doesn’t know what application it will be — we have to tell it
Dim args()
Set WriterApplication=Desktop.loadComponentFromURL ("private:factory/swriter","_blank",0,args)
Args is a variant array
We don’t want to pass any parameters, but it must be an array
The “s” in “swriter” stands for “Star”
Now we have a word processor up and running

The Picture So Far
Now we have an application open
Time to do something!

Let’s Add Some Text
First, we need to get a handle to the text part of the document
Set WriterText=WriterApplication.getText()
Next, we need a cursor position where we can insert the text
Set Cursor=WriterText.createTextCursor()
Finally, we can make the traditional greeting
Call WriterText.insertString(Cursor,"Hello World!",False)

Hello World!
After executing all of the code we walked through, this is the result
Now let’s try it for real

Notes to Writer/Lotus Symphony Documents Demo — Example 1 “ Hello World” from Notes to Writer/ Lotus Symphony Documents

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Let’s Start Calc — Spreadsheet Application
Calc uses a different URL to define the application
Set CalcApplication = Desktop.loadComponentFromURL_("private:factory/scalc","_blank",0,args)
The command above creates the workbook
Next, we need to get the first sheet
Set Worksheet=CalcApplication.Sheets.getByName("Sheet1")

Let’s Start Calc — Spreadsheet Application (cont.)
Finally, we access the cell into which we want to enter text
Set cell=Worksheet.getCellByPosition(3,6)
We have set the string in a cell, but which cell is it?

Calc/Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets “Hello World” Demo — Example 2 “ Hello World” with Notes and Calc/ Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets Where will the text go?

Notes with Calc — D7!
Why did the text go into cell D7?
Didn’t we write to cell (3,6)?

Rows and Columns Are Numbered from Zero
Just like arrays in Notes, the index starts at 0!

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Introduction to Impress
Impress and Draw are almost the same application
Pages contain shapes
Shapes can contain text
Text is handled just as it is in Writer

Let’s Start Impress — Presentation Application
To create the instance of Impress, call its URL
Set ImpressApplication=Desktop.loadComponentFromURL_ ("private:factory/simpress","_blank",0,args)
Next, call the getDrawPages function to create the default presentation
Set Presentation=ImpressApplication.getDrawPages()
To get the first slide, use the getByIndex method
Set Slide=Presentation.getByIndex(0)

Let’s Start Impress — Presentation Application (cont.)
Each layout type has its own number
To create a title page, enter the following:
Slide.layout=1
Finally, we need to get the title and handle it like it’s a Writer text object
Set title=Slide.getbyindex(0)
Set TitleText=title.getText()
Set Cursor=TitleText.createTextCursor()
Call TitleText.insertString(Cursor,"Hello World!",False)

Impress and Notes — The Result

Impress/Lotus Symphony Presentations “Hello World” Demo — Example 3 “ Hello World” with Notes and Impress/ Lotus Symphony Presentations

The Help Files — How to Read Them
Objects
Interfaces — collections of properties
In LotusScript you can use methods and properties from any interface
In Java and C you have to specify which interface you want to use

OpenOffice.org Help Demo — Example 4 Walking through help

Help from Your Browser
You can get a Firefox extension for OpenOffice.org
Easier to navigate

More to Say Than “Hello”
So far, you have seen the basics
How to connect to OpenOffice.org from Notes
LotusScript and Java examples
Now, let’s take a look at some real-world, useful demos

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Mail Merge Overview
Same concepts as mail merge if you were using Microsoft Word
User selects data
Generate data file
Detach template
Launch Writer
Execute mail merge
Produce end document
Two steps today
Build the data collection first
Then execute the mail merge

Mail Merge Details
Just like the other applications, mail merge has its own URL
Set objMailMerge = objServiceManager.createInstance ("com.sun.star.text.MailMerge")
Mail merge has seven arguments
DocumentURL
DataSourceName
CommandType
Command
OutputType
OutputURL
FileNamePrefix

Mail Merge Details (cont.)
Set the seven arguments
Set args(1) = OOoNamedValue("DocumentURL", url)
Set args(0) = OOoNamedValue("DataSourceName", "mrgdata")
Set args(2) = OOoNamedValue("CommandType", 0)
Set args(3) = OOoNamedValue("Command", "mrgdata")
Set args(4) = OOoNamedValue("OutputType", 2)
Output has two options
1 = Send to printer
2 = Save to file
Set args(5) = OOoNamedValue("OutputURL", savelocation)
Set args(6) = OOoNamedValue("FileNamePrefix", "mailmergeoutput1")

Mail Merge Details (cont.)
Finally, call the Execute method to complete the mail merge
objMailMerge.Execute args()

Mail Merge and Notes Demo — Example 5 Creating a mail merge letter from the Notes personal name and address book

Managing OpenOffice.org Templates
How did I get that template in my new dialog?
Use the template installation tool
Each template is a document
Supports OpenOffice.org Writer, Calc, and Impress applications
Can also be used as a programmatic template tool
Located on OpenNTF.org and on the conference CD

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Spreadsheets with Calc
How would you like your spreadsheet to work?
Something like this?
Dim ss as new spreadsheet
ss.setcell(3,6, "Hello World!")
ss.underline(3,6)
ss.rotate(3,6,45)
print ss.findrow(3, "Hello World!")
Creating spreadsheets is much easier when using a custom class — designed to make things easier for the developer
Removes much of the “hard stuff”

How It Works
Class Spreadsheet
public cols list as Column
...
End Class
Class Column
public rows list as Cell
...
End Class
Class Cell
all the hard work happens here
End Class
Spreadsheet class
Creates the Calc object
Creates the worksheet
Developer creates columns and cells
These custom LotusScript classes allow you to build more generic code
For example, the ability to export and chart any Notes view without changing the code

Advanced Calc/Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets This sample was created by Alan Bell of Dominux Consulting Demo — Example 6 Create a spreadsheet using advanced Calc/LSSP integration

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Using OpenOffice.org/Lotus Symphony Within Your Applications
Add value by:
Writer — printing
Calc — number crunching and charting
Impress — presentations
One of the great value adds you get is PDF generation
Instead of “exporting” to ODF, you select PDF

Exporting to PDF
Creating a PDF from any OpenOffice.org application is very easy
args1.Name = "URL"
args1.Value = "file:///"+strOutputFN
args2.Name = "FilterName"
args2.Value = "writer_pdf_Export"
Set argsFinal(0)=args1
Set argsFinal(1)=args2
Kill strKillFN
Call objDocument.storeToURL("file:///"+strOutputFN,argsFinal)
A PDF of the same name as the file will be saved

OpenOffice.org Integration in a Real-World Application Demo — Example 7 An invoicing application that uses OpenOffice.org

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Using the Productivity Editor Toolkit
Documentation and samples for integrating the Notes 8 Productivity Editors with Notes 8 Standard
Lotus Productivity Toolkit 8.0 Windows.exe
Download this from IBM Passport Advantage or PartnerWorld
Targeted at people who know:
Java
HTML internals
OPF
Most of the time you will use this from a Composite Application (CA)

Productivity Tools Architecture

Automating Lotus Symphony Demo — Example 8 Lotus Symphony within a Composite Application

Third-Party Application Support
Product vs. Custom Development
Both have their place
Integra for Notes Symphony Edition
Supports Lotus Symphony and the Notes Productivity Editors
Required 8.0.1
Lotus Spreadsheets support today
Shipping at Lotusphere2008!
www.integra4notes.com BOOTH 710

Third-Party Application Support Demo — Example 9 Integra for Notes Lotus Symphony Edition

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

2008 and Beyond
Lotus Symphony will continue to mature
Notes 8.0.1 will have an updated version
Notes 8.5 will have an updated version
Will we be able to upgrade Symphony in Notes ourselves?
We have multiple options
Office, Symphony, OpenOffice.org, etc.
The battle is just begun
ODF vs. Office XML (OOXML)
Competition will be good for us … if we can deal with all the changes

Agenda
Who am I?
Writer Mail Merge
Looking forward
Wrap-up and Q&A

Sessions you should see this week
Reports, Charts, and Graphs in IBM Lotus Notes
Julian Robichaux & Rob McDonagh
Swan 5-6 - Wednesday 3:00pm - 4:00pm
A Jug of Wine, a Spreadsheet, and Thee
Ben Langhinrichs
Swan 7-10 - Thursday 10:00am - 11:00am

Resources
OpenOffice.org
www.openoffice.org
OpenOffice.org Developer’s Guide
http://api.openoffice.org/DevelopersGuide/Developers Guide.html
OpenOffice.org Firefox help add-ons
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4102
OOExtras — templates and goodies for OpenOffice.org
http://ooextras.sourceforge.net/
John Head’s blog http://www.johndavidhead.com
Slides and content available from http://www.johndavidhead.com http://www.psclistens.com

Resources (cont.)
Programming OpenOffice.org with Visual Basic
www.kalitech.fr/clients/doc/VB_APIOOo_en.html
Alan Bell’s blog — UK IBM partner who does a great deal of OpenOffice.org integration
www.dominux.co.uk/dominuxblog.nsf
OpenNTF.org — the open source Web site for Notes
www.openntf.org
Integra4Notes Web site
www.integra4notes.com
PSC’s Reporting and Office Integration page
www.psclistens.com/enTouchCMS/app/viewCategory? catgId=66

Thank You! Questions & Answers We will be in the speaker room after the session Please remember to fill out your evaluation. www.lotusphere08surveyonline.com [email_address] www.johndavidhead.com www.psclistens.com Special thanks to Alan Bell for some of the demos

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BP215 Integration of IBM Lotus Notes 8 with IBM Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice.org

by John Head on Jan 23, 2008

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BP215 Integration of IBM Lotus Notes 8 with IBM Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice.org — Presentation Transcript