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Clippings is the official newsletter for Lotus Certified Professionals.
This monthly newsletter is your ideal source for news, certification
and exam updates, and technical resources NOW brought to you jointly
by LotusUserGroup.org,
THE VIEW, and
IBM
Lotus Certification.
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| In This Issue: |
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| PROGRAM MANAGER'S NOTE |
As anticipated, Lotusphere 2009 was filled with lots of excitement and energy and from an education perspective, Lotusphere 2009 was one of the most successful in recent memory. We led off with our Instructor and Training Partner Day (more about that in this issue's "Instructor's Corner"), sponsored an ambassador suite for Lotus Certified Professionals, and ran our deeply discounted testing sessions.
In addition, we had an extremely dynamic pedestal presence and for the first time this year, hosted ancillary sessions specifically for the training and certification audience. Without a doubt, Lotus Education had a substantive impact at Lotusphere 2009.
As Certification Program Manager, it is always a highlight for me to spend time working the Q&A area near the certification testing lab as it enables me to meet folks face to face that I typically only communicate with electronically. This year was no exception. Thanks to all the folks who took the time to come by, whether it was to introduce yourself or to ask about our many professional certification paths. I also appreciate the feedback on exams, certification development, and the running of the testing center itself. The input of the community is integral to the success of the program.
Though it is a small component of the overall conference, certification testing took off at Lotusphere 2009, perhaps due to returning to a more accessible location (in the Swan) and perhaps due to the incredible promotion offered by our business partners. There was a 37% increase in test delivery over last year. Many people took this opportunity to "try their hand" at the new Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5 certifications; still others saw this as a perfect venue to "catch up" on updating their certifications... a task which is easy to put off during the rest of the year as our professional lives become increasingly demanding.
Thank you,
Sara Nicklin
Lotus Professional Certification Program Manager
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| SPONSORED BY: THE VIEW ADMIN2009 AND LOTUS DEVELOPER2009 BOSTON |
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Reserve your seat for real-world Lotus training so you can increase productivity and efficiency in your company, advance your skills, and squeeze the most from your current environment. In a time when you're expected to tackle more projects with fewer resources, you need to be sure your skills are fine-tuned for the challenge. Doing so keeps you, your company, and your platform viable. One registration gets you into your choice of new and updated expert know-how sessions, one-on-one consultations, hands-on labs, networking opportunities, and more.
Take advantage of savings of up to $200 when you register today at Admin 2009 or Lotus Developer 2009!
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| FROM LOTUSUSERGROUP.ORG |
If you're not a member of LotusUserGroup.org yet, now is the best time to sign up. THE UC VIEW is sponsoring new members who sign up between now and February 27. Anyone signing up for a free LotusUserGroup.org membership will automatically be entered in a drawing for a free subscription to THE UC VIEW.
LotusUserGroup.org is the online community for Lotus IT professionals. Membership is free and benefits include:
- Free subscriptions to informative newsletters that give you tips, best practices, guidance, and information on what you need to know to make your job easier and get the most from your Lotus enterprise
- Participation in online webinars by leading Lotus experts
- Exclusive discounts
- Event listings
- User group listings and information
- News and information you need to know about the Lotus community and technologies
- Blogs, trivia, surveys, and much more
When you sign up today, you are automatically entered into a drawing for a free subscription to THE UC VIEW. THE UC VIEW online knowledgebase is the industry's leading independent resource for unbiased, practical tutorials and articles on topics such as:
- Smoothly integrating Microsoft Exchange and Sametime
- Integrating workflow applications
- Integrating collaboration tools with mobile devices
- Training methods to maximize team workspaces
- Case studies that explain how businesses are using IBM's UC2 technologies to:
- Speed up development cycles
- Integrate worldwide business processes
- Foster innovation through ad-hoc workspace environments
- Make it easier to find, reach, and collaborate with individuals and groups globally
THE UC VIEW offers the most comprehensive guidance, instruction, and best practices — without sales pitches or hidden agendas — for your Unified Communications projects with Lotus technologies such as Sametime, Quickr, and Connections.
Everyone who signs up for a FREE LotusUserGroup.org membership now through February 27 will be automatically entered into a drawing for a free subscription to THE UC VIEW. The winner will be drawn in March and notified by email.
Membership is free. Sign up today! Sametime Mobile Connect is a Sametime client designed specifically for Smartphone and BlackBerry devices, providing the awareness and chat features that use the same buddy lists and groups already configured in a user's Sametime Connect or Notes-embedded client. In this tutorial, created and moderated by world-class expert Gabriella Davis of the Turtle Partnership and sponsored by GSX Groupware Solutions, you get step-by-step instruction on configuring your Sametime server in a way that allows Smartphone and BlackBerry users to install Sametime Mobile Connect by browsing to a URL. You learn the ins and outs of Setting up an OTA (over the air) install for Sametime Mobile Connect software from a BES, and we drill down into the best configuration options and features for Sametime Mobile Connect based on your device. Plus, Gabriella shows you how to identify the real-life limitations of Sametime Mobile Connect.
Check out the video tutorial today! Every year the Lotusphere Opening General Session seems to top the previous year. And one of the biggest buzzes in the community is the speculation on who the guest presenter for the Opening General Session will be. Well, this year was no exception. If you didn't hear, Bob Picciano, general manager for Lotus Software and WebSphere, gave a small hint in his pre-Lotusphere interview on LotusUserGroup.org. LotusUserGroup.org ran a Guess Who contest, where members could enter into a drawing by guessing who the guest speaker would be. Thousands of guesses came in and we drew the winner last week. Congratulations to Craig Boudreaux of Baton Rouge.
The guesses were all over the place, but check here to see the top 20 most common guesses. In this Whitepaper, Paul Mooney, a Lotus guru who needs no introduction, describes how in today's economy, reducing the loss of critical information services has become an even more pressing matter. By exploring the cost of downtime of an organization's messaging systems, he shows how effective monitoring helps reduce "fire fighting" and the waste of usually limited technical resources. Readers will get valuable insight into what they can, and should, monitor and the different ways they should approach enterprise mail servers monitoring.
Check out the article here. If you haven't checked out all the podcasts, news, reviews, blogs, videos, and contests from Live from Lotusphere, be sure to check it all out now! Here are some samples:
News
- Lotusphere IDOL Winners: Interview with Two University Students Who Won the Lotusphere IDOL Contest This Year
- Lotusphere Wrap-Up Review
- RIM and IBM Announce Deeper Collaboration, New Mobility Tools
- At Lotusphere IBM and SAP Announce Alloy, First Jointly Developed Software Product
- Plus, links to many others
Podcasts
- Dwight Morse
- Warren Elsmore
- John Dunderdale
- Chris Crummey
- Paul Mooney
- Rob Axelrod
- Henry Ferlauto
- Libby Ingrassia
- Chris Miller
- Julian Robichaux
- Plus, links to many others
Videos
- Lotusphere 2009 closing session with Ben Zander
- Jamfest Lotusphere 2009
- Come to Lotusphere 2009 in Beautiful Orlando Florida
- APlus, links to many others
And you can check out blog posts through PlanetLotus. If you haven't checked it all out recently, go there now!
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| SPONSORED BY: THE VIEW |
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| GURU GUIDANCE |
If you have Lotus Symphony installed (either standalone or integrated with a Notes 8.x client), you can use LotusScript and the OpenOffice UNO ("Universal Network Objects") API to write directly to Symphony documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Here's a quick primer for writing to a Symphony spreadsheet via LotusScript.
Overview
Because Lotus Symphony is based on the OpenOffice code base, you can use the OpenOffice UNO API to access Symphony as though it were OpenOffice. If you are familiar with using COM objects to write to Microsoft Excel, you will find that using the UNO API to write to a Symphony spreadsheet is a very similar process: You get a handle to the program, create a new spreadsheet, write data to the cells, and either leave it open or save it when you're done. You will use Variants to reference the API objects either directly (via CreateObject()) or indirectly (as the result of a function call).
Creating the Spreadsheet Object
The first thing you need to do is create the Symphony spreadsheet object. You should use code like the following:
Dim xServiceManager As Variant
Dim xDesktop As Variant
Dim xSpreadsheet As Variant
Dim xWorksheet As Variant
Dim args() As Variant
Set xServiceManager = CreateObject("com.sun.star.ServiceManager")
Set xDesktop = xServiceManager.createInstance("com.sun.star.frame.Desktop")
Set xSpreadsheet = xDesktop.loadComponentFromURL
("private:factory/scalc", "_blank", 0, args)
Set xWorksheet = xSpreadsheet.Sheets.getByIndex(0)
This will create a new spreadsheet and give you a handle to the first worksheet. A few things to mention here:
- This will not only create a new spreadsheet, but it will launch Symphony on the user's desktop as well. See the end of this article for information on making the spreadsheet open in the background (in a hidden state) instead.
- This is Windows only.
- If you don't have Symphony or OpenOffice installed, this obviously won't work.
- If you have BOTH Symphony and OpenOffice installed, it's hard to tell which one will open up. I've had inconsistent results, but at least one of them should get launched. And I've never had both of them launch, so it should be one or the other.
Writing Text to a Cell
To write text values to one or more cells, use code like this:
Dim xCell As Variant
Dim col As Long, row As Long
For col = 0 To 5
Set xCell = xWorksheet.getCellByPosition(col, row)
Call xCell.setString( "column " & col )
xCell.CharWeight = 150
Next
Column zero, row zero is the first cell in the worksheet. Here you simply get a handle to a spreadsheet cell and use setString() to write text to it. Setting the CharWeight property is completely optional — I just did that to make the text bold.
Writing a Number to a Cell
Writing number values is similar; you simply have to use the setValue() method rather than the setString() method, as shown below:
row = row + 1
For col = 0 To 5
Set xCell = xWorksheet.getCellByPosition(col, row)
Call xCell.setValue( col )
Next
Writing a Date to a Cell
A date value is treated as a specially formatted number value. Here's how that works:
Dim dateNum As Double
dateNum = Today
row = row + 1
For col = 0 To 5
Set xCell = xWorksheet.getCellByPosition(col, row)
Call xCell.setValue( Fix(dateNum) )
xCell.NumberFormat = 75
dateNum = dateNum + 1
Next
Luckily the OpenOffice number value for a date is the same as the LotusScript number value for a date, so no special conversion is required. The only trick is to set the NumberFormat property or the cell to 75.
Writing an Array of Values to Many Cells
If you have a lot of data to write to a spreadsheet, it's much more efficient to store the data in an array and then write the entire array to a range of cells, like this:
'** DANGER: the number of rows and columns in the array you create
'** must be exactly the same as the rows/columns in the range you write to.
'** Otherwise you may get an error.
Dim xCellRange As Variant
'** you can also use getCellRangeByPosition(left, top, right, bottom) here
Set xCellRange = xWorksheet.getCellRangeByName( "A4:F4" )
Redim arr(0) As Variant
Redim rowData(5) As String
For col = 0 To 5
rowData(col) = "rowData " & col
Next
arr(0) = rowData
Call xCellRange.setDataArray(arr)
There are two things to keep in mind here: first, the array is always a multidimensional array with rows as the first dimension and columns as the second. In the code above, if there were three rows of data, we'd set arr(0), arr(1), and arr(2) as arrays of data. The other thing to watch out for is that the array you create has to be EXACTLY the same size as the range you're writing to. If it's a different size, you might get an error.
Saving and Closing the Spreadsheet
Saving and closing the spreadsheet is pretty straightforward:
Dim saveArgs() As Variant
Call xSpreadsheet.storeToURL("file:///c:/whatever.ods", saveArgs())
Call xSpreadsheet.Close(True)
Notice that there are three front slashes after "file:" in the file path above. If you want to save to a non-ODF format (such as Microsoft Excel or PDF), you can set arguments for the second parameter in the storeToURL() call. For example:
Dim saveArgs(0) As Variant
Set saveArgs(0) = xServiceManager.Bridge_GetStruct
("com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue")
saveArgs(0).Name = "FilterName"
saveArgs(0).Value = "calc_pdf_Export"
Call xSpreadsheet.storeToURL("file:///c:/whatever.pdf", saveArgs())
Call xSpreadsheet.Close(True)
Look online for more FilterName values you can use (such as "MS Excel 97"). Also, because you have the spreadsheet open visibly to the user, you don't necessarily need to save and close it. You can always just leave it open in the foreground, and give the user the option of naming and saving it or discarding the whole thing.
Opening the Spreadsheet in the Background
Another option is to open the spreadsheet in the background so it's not visible to the user. To do that, add the following lines to the code from "Creating the Spreadsheet Object" above:
'** add this just before the call to loadComponentFromURL()
Redim args(0) As Variant
Set args(0) = xServiceManager.Bridge_GetStruct
("com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue")
args(0).Name = "Hidden"
args(0).Value = True
Then you can write data and save as normal. If you want to write data in the background first and then present the finished sheet to the user, call this code when you're ready to display the sheet:
'**make the spreadsheet visible
Dim xCurrentController, xFrame, xContainer
Set xCurrentController = xSpreadsheet.getCurrentController()
Set xFrame = xCurrentController.getFrame()
Set xContainer = xFrame.getContainerWindow()
xContainer.setVisible(True)
Keep in mind that if you DON'T make the spreadsheet visible and show it to the user, you MUST close it when you're finished, like you did when you saved it above. Otherwise you'll end up with multiple instances of Symphony running in the background.
Also, if you have the standalone version of Symphony and it hasn't been opened yet, the Symphony splash screen and welcome page might appear even though the spreadsheet is hidden. I'm not sure how to work around that.
For More Information
Here are some good sites for additional information:
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| EDUCATION NEWS |
The Learning Continuum Company (TLCC) announces three new distance learning courses for Domino developers and administrators. Learn about all the new features in 8.5, including XPages. Take the course at your own pace and at your place! The course installs on your local Notes client as Notes databases. There are many activities and demonstrations you do right in Domino Designer or Administrator. Need help? An expert TLCC instructor is a click away!
Notes Domino 8.5 System Administration Update (available now) - is for the experienced Domino 8.0 Administrator who wants to learn the new features of Domino 8.5 and prepare for the 956 certification exam to re-certify at the 8.5 level. It covers:
- How to use the new Domino Configuration Tuner to fine tune your servers
- Take advantage of the Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) to store attachments
- Use Dynamic Policies to simplify management of user configurations
- Take advantage of the new ID Vault to store user ID files
- Use the Notes Shared Login to allow Notes users to use their Windows authentication
Notes Domino 8.5 Application Development Update (available in February) - is for the experienced Domino 8.5 developer and covers the new features in 8.5 including the all new Designer client, XPages, new Web development enhancements, themes, and more! This course will prepare you for the 951 exam to re-certify to Notes and Domino 8.5. This course covers:
- How to use the new Eclipse-based Domino Designer 8.5 client
- Enhanced HTML Generation option and the Dojo rich text editor
- New @functions, LotusScript and Java methods and properties
- How to use CSS and Enhanced HTML generation to change the appearance of all views in a database
- How to create XPages
- Learn to combine a view and a document on one XPage
- What's new in Composite Applications and widgets
Using XPages in Domino 8.5 (available in April) - is for the experienced Domino 8.5 developer who wants to take a deep dive into XPages, including the programming model. It covers:
- How to use the new XPage editor to create XPages
- Show data from different Domino documents and views all on one Web page
- All the XPage controls including how to validate data, show views, and use simple actions
- The programming options in XPages such as server-side JavaScript, the Expression language, and Java
- Use the built-in Ajax support to allow type ahead and partial page refreshes
- Advanced techniques such as repeat controls and building custom reusable controls
- Using session and application variables to store information
- Java integration
TLCC also has Notes and Sametime user courses, as well as a complete line of Notes and Domino application development and system administration courses.
Special Offer for Clippings Readers!
All TLCC courses and packages from TLCC qualify for a 15% discount! (5% for any course/package already on sale.) Your discount will be automatically taken off your order.
At Lotusphere, the IBM Lotus Education team announced the IBM Multimedia Library for Lotus Notes, a comprehensive, new training solution featuring more than 1,000 short video tutorials in 11 languages. The IBM Multimedia Library for Lotus Notes focuses on key skills-development areas for new Notes users and advanced users with targeted content for end users, remote users, administrative assistants, and Help-Desk support.
The IBM Multimedia Library for Lotus Notes is a key offering with cost-effective "no-travel training" options.
Learn more about the IBM Multimedia Library for Lotus Notes.
This intermediate course is designed for experienced Lotus Domino 8 administrators who require early exposure to new Lotus Domino and Lotus Notes 8.5 features that affect system administration, and who will be responsible for updating an existing Lotus Domino and Lotus Notes 8 environment to Lotus Domino and Lotus Notes 8.5.
These Notes Domino 8.5 Certification Paths and Exams have been released and can be accessed here.
- Exam 951: IBM Lotus Notes Domino 8.5 Application development Update
- Exam 956: IBM Lotus Notes Domino 8.5 System administration Update
- Exam 952: IBM Lotus Notes Domino 8.5 Application development Foundation Skills
- Exam 980: IBM Lotus Notes Domino 8.5 System Administration Operating Fundamentals
Due to continued demand, Lotus Certification is postponing the retirement of both IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 7 Update Exams until April 30, 2009.
Test 701: IBM Lotus Notes Domino 7 Application Development Update
Test 702: IBM Lotus Notes Domino 7 System Administration Update
The corresponding certifications will also be available until April 30, 2009.
With Lotus® Notes® and Domino® 8.5, world-class business e-mail and collaboration take another exciting step forward, offering new approaches to enhance efficiency and creativity, while extending the value of current investments.
This white paper guides you through the newly released, innovative, and open features of Notes and Domino 8.5. It is a must-read for any existing or potential user of Lotus Notes and Domino, from the casual user to the administrator or application developer to the line-of-business executive.
This course prepares Lotus Domino 7 or 8 system administrators to support a migration to a Lotus Domino and Lotus Notes 8.5 environment.
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| RESOURCES/PUBLICATIONS |
In the developerWorks article entitled, " Integrating Web applications with WebSphere Portal V6: The JSPPage custom theme," John De Binder (Senior Managing Consultant, IBM Software Services for Lotus) shows you how to integrate existing frameset and non-frameset applications into WebSphere Portal V6.x. By utilizing a custom portal theme, the external application can be integrated into a portal on its own page with few to no changes in the application. The single custom portal theme can be used to integrate several different applications in the same installation. In the Domino Power article, " Exploring Domino Web Access Lite: The New Low-Bandwidth Option in Lotus Domino 8.01," Barry Rosen (Managing Consultant, IBM Software Services for Lotus) discusses some of the basic functionality of and troubleshooting for Domino Web Access Lite, a new capability within Domino Web Access 8.01. DWA Lite uses an improved page architecture optimized for empty-cache or low-bandwidth scenarios. It helps support traveling users, users logging in from kiosks, dial-up users, or anyone with constrained bandwidth. The article is intended to provide administrators with a high-level resource for investigating and using the new feature set of Domino Web Access Lite. In the ISSL ExpertBriefing: IBM Education podcast, Dianne Young (Global Programs Director for Lotus Education), David Leaser (Business Development Manager — Lotus Education), and Sonia Malik (Education Offerings Manager — IBM Software Services for Lotus) discuss the value of training and the costs to an organization of having an untrained workforce. The podcast also explores the challenges and trends in corporate training and what training methods and tools are available to meet the skills development needs of Lotus and WebSphere Portal technical practitioners and users. The ISSL ExpertBriefing's podcast series on ibm.com gives you the chance to hear the technical practitioners and solution experts at IBM Software Services for Lotus discuss Lotus and Portal technology topics and share what they've learned working on a variety of projects for companies spanning different industry segments. For more information, see the ISSL ExpertBriefing Center Web site.
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| EVENTS |
October 12-15, 2009 /San Diego, California
Mark your calendars for the 2009 WebSphere Portal Technical Conference, the largest annual event dedicated to WebSphere Portal business solutions and technical strategies.
Tracks and partial sessions listing:
- What's New in WebSphere Portal
- WebSphere Portal Basics
- WebSphere Portal Development
- WebSphere Portal Administration
- Customer Case Studies and Industry Solutions
These one-day seminars are specially designed to quickly teach the skills needed to successfully deploy and manage Lotus products. With content developed by our services groups and taught by our top consultants, these seminars will quickly supercharge the skills of Lotus developers and administrators.
Each seminar will focus on specific skills that might include one or more of the following focus areas:
- Portal administration: Best practices for a successful WebSphere Portal implementation
- Portal development: Portal framework and application architecture for performance
- Domino development for the new millennium: Understanding the Java Eclipse framework, composite applications, and mashups
- Performance management and upgrade strategies for Notes Domino 8: ND8 Upgrade strategies and performance management
- Social networking: Social software through strategic enablement steps of community development
- Web content management: WCM V6.1 Installation, site creation, document integration, and personalization
As part of the Lotus Technical Seminar series, 'Lotus Technical Workshops' will be offered in Australia spanning more than a single day. Japan has also been added to the 2009 lineup of Technical Seminars.
Lotus Connections 2.0: Social computing for business
16 - 18 February 2009 — Sydney
25 - 27 March 2009 — Canberra
Lotus Web Content Management V6.1: Developing a Web content solution
11 - 13 March 2009 — Melbourne
Lotus Sametime 8: Building solutions for the communications and collaboration platform
25 - 27 February 2009 — Sydney
18 - 20 March 2009 — Melbourne
IBM WebSphere Portal V6.1: Application integration with WebSphere Portal Server
16 - 18 February 2009 — Melbourne
4 - 6 March 2009 — Sydney
Bookmark the Lotus Technical Seminars home page for the 2009 WW schedule.
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| INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER |
This annual event, held on the Sunday before Lotusphere in Orlando, was a tremendous success. As is custom, three interconnected and interdependent communities — Lotus Certified Instructors, Training Partners, and Lotus Education — came together to discuss strategies, initiatives, and development plans for the coming year. With a 20% increase in attendance over 2008 and a more spacious venue, communication and collaboration came easily to all attendees. Though this event always sparks lively discussion, this year participants seemed more engaged and enthusiastic than ever.
Highlights included an overview of Lotus Education's mandate; an introduction to the new Community Courseware initiative; and the presentation of the 2008 Instructor Awards. The event ended with a superb meet-and-greet networking reception hosted by Element K.
Lotus Education thanks everyone who attended the event for their enthusiasm and participation — and looks forward to seeing you in 2010. For those interested, the presentation has been added to the LE Instructor Forum.
Look for all 2008 Award winners to be announced on the instructor private pages in the coming days.
If you have upgraded your certifications, need to add courses to your portfolio, or have a general question related to teaching Lotus courseware, contact the Instructor Program Administrator for your region/geography:
Most of these are located on the Certified Lotus Instructor Private Site.
Only Instructors with an IBM ID can access this site.
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| Masthead & Subscription
Information |
LOTUS EDUCATION
LOTUSUSERGROUP.ORG
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Program Director: Scott Treggiari
Editor: Erin Durkin
For information from LotusUserGroup.org: Clippings@LotusUserGroup.org
Clippings is brought to you jointly by LotusUserGroup.org, THE VIEW, and Lotus Certification.
LotusUserGroup.org supports the worldwide community of Lotus technology professionals. We provide support and tools to encourage:
- Communication and collaboration to facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences among Lotus professionals
- Technical expertise in Lotus software
- Growth of community via local and virtual user groups
- Collaboration between community members and the Lotus software organization and other vendors/business partners
Membership in LotusUserGroup.org is free. Click here and register to become a member.
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