My first feedback on Domino Designer

HCL Notes/Domino 8.5 Forum (includes Notes Traveler)

Subject: My first feedback on Domino Designer

Feedback Type: Comment

Product Area: Domino Designer on Eclipse (DDE)

Technical Area: Functionality

Platform: Not Applicable

Release: Beta 1

Reproducible: Not applicable

I played around with Domino Designer for Eclipse for some hours now. Here some first thoughts:

- There is no new LotusScript editor. And the new, Eclipse based and class browsing LotusScript editor will NOT make it in 8.5.
This is unfortunate. I was looking forward to that very, very much. But it seems we all have to live with the old editor for at least a year more :-(

- It is possible to install the Subclipse SVN plugin into Domino Designer. And you can rightclick onto a database outline entry and you have the SVN team features there.
But there is nearly nothing to push into SVN: in the file system there are only some status files, no code at all.
So pushing LotusScript code into SVN from inside Domino Designer is still a dream at the moment.

- I'm not sure how to work with views, columns etc since you have no reliable way to get to their properties. They are not displayed in the new, right handed property view. And you can rightclick for example on a column, and choose "column properties", but then the old properties box displays shortly and then dissapears again. Sometimes it stay, sometimes not.

- Having the system of Eclipse perspectives is a good thing. I can arrange all views like I want, and I can save this arrangement, so that I can change between different perspectives at any time.

- The new structure in the left handed outline view is good and logical. I like it.

- I didn't get yet how to manage many databases in that outline. They are all displayed in a flat list, what about having folders or something like that?

- Very bad: I cannot select multiple design elements and set a property like "prohibit design refresh" for all of them at once. I hope this will be fixed.

- Since I don't have a 8.5 server in place, I could not play with XPages yet. But it looks promising.

My overall expression is: someone did a lot of good work for making this new Designer possible. It is a very good start and looks promising.

But at the moment, I have the feeling it might explode any moment when I work with it, and therefore I will not use it in everyday's work.

And it looks like there is still very, very much work to do and problems to solve. But I am sure: it is the right way to go. And when I have to wait one more year to get a modern LotusScript editor, then so be it. I'm pretty sure it's worth the wait.

Feedback number WEBB7F5L67 created by ~Zelda Nimnuplopetsi on 05/30/2008

Status: Open
Comments: