Navigating the Domino Designer Workspace
Chapter Overview
The Domino Designer client (or Designer) is used to develop collaborative Lotus Notes, Web, and mobile device applications. Understanding how to navigate the Designer workspace and various design elements will be the first hurdle to overcome. We'll start by getting acclimated to the main components of the Designer interface. With a little experience you'll find the navigation to be second nature and even intuitive.
By the end of the chapter you will have learned
- The purpose for using the Domino Designer client
- The five primary navigation panes
- How to navigate the Domino Designer client
- How to select the programming language
- How to view the status bar
- How to use the properties dialog window
An Introduction to Designer
Like other software development tools, the Designer client is divided into a series of development sections called panes. These panes are used to design, configure, and program applications. Depending on the object being edited, there can be up to five primary design panes. They include the following:
- Design pane
- Object pane
- Programmer's pane
- Work pane
- Action pane
It's important to understand the relationship between the development panes and design elements. These development panes are selectively displayed based on the design element being edited.
For example, all five panes are available when editing a form. Fewer development panes are presented when editing an agent or view. We'll talk more about the design elements in the next chapter. In the meantime, understand that the panes displayed will vary based on the design element. In Figure 3.1, you'll notice that all five development panes are displayed.
Figure 3.1 Development panes of the Domino Designer client