Accessing application lotus scripts based using Interop.Domino

Question

We have a requirement to access an application built on Lotus Notes script. We need to automate / use this application from outside. This application can be accessed using Lotus Notes client.

Is it possible to access this application using Interop.Domino or is there any other way? Thanks.

Answer 1

This depends on what you mean by "automate / use".

Interop.Domino is an interface to the Domino COM classes: Lotus.NotesSession, Lotus.NotesDatabase, Lotus.NotesDocument etc. These classes can access the data that is stored by your application. Ie, they can read, write and delete the documents stored in the application's database (NSF file).

What Interop.Domino cannot do is automate the application, by which I mean that it cannot drive the application's user interface, display views and forms, enter data into visible fields, click buttons, etc. If that is what you want to do, then you need to use the Lotus Notes OLE classes: Notes.NotesUIWorkspace, Notes.NotesUIDatabase, Notes.NotesUIDocument, etc.

BTW: The answer to your question might also depend on what you mean by "from outside". One important thing to know about both the Interop and OLE classes is that they require an installed Lotus Notes client or Lotus Domino server on the machine they are running on. So if "from outside" means that you want to access the application from a machine that does not have a Notes client installed, then what you're probably going to have to do is install your code on a Domino server and provide a mechanism (eg, a web interface) for your users to interact with it.