HELP WE're losing Lotus notes in two weeks 1

[chubby]

Problem 1: We are losing lotus note 4.0 in two weeks. For some reason the Navy is banning lotus from the network.

Problem 2: Can I backup all the data and/or export that data in a usable format to be used in the Micro office suite i.e access, excel?

PLEASE I NEED HELP...I need to capture all the data in notes.

Background:
OS Win NT 4.0 (network)
17 End Users
two years of data...
Programs Access 2000, lotus notes 4.0

 

[delvoria]

Lotus Notes Address Book's can be exportd into MS Excel, but it doesn't always list every field...try it - if it doesn't work, I would do a lot of print screens...

 

[drumdip]

You can, at the user level, copy your Notes data to a CD Rom for access at a later date.

You will need to have a off-line Notes Client to view Notes data from the CD if you no longer use Notes in the office. (ie: Local databases only)

There are tools to migrate notes to Exchange, etc. That will probably happen at the server level.

I have included instructions for copying Notes to a CD if you are interested.

The following steps are necessary to put a database onto a CD or other read-only media:

1. First, create a local replica of your mailfile on the computer with the CD burner. To do this, use File / Replication / New Replica and then leave the server as "local" and specify a file path and name (eg. C:\TEMP\BHOLN.NSF).

2. Once the local replica is in place, select the database icon and open it using CTRL+SHIFT+double click (this will expose hidden views)

3. Once in the database, press CTRL+SHIFT+F9. This key combination will rebuild all of the views in the database. This includes both open and hidden views, as
well as server-based or local folders. It is important to build the view indexes before copying the database to the CD or other read-only media as, if they are not created and stored in the NSF file prior to adding it to the read-only media, Notes will attempt to create them and will not be able to because it cannot write to the media.

Note 1: this could take quite awhile depending on the size of the file and the number of folders in it. Good opportunity for a coffee

Note 2: If a view is not built, pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F9 will cause Notes to build the view. If the view is already built, pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F9 will cause Notes to update the view, not rebuild it.

4. [Optional] Create the full-text index for the database if you intend to query the database using Notes' full-text indexing capabilities. You can do this using the File / Full Text Search / Create Index command. This index must be created prior to putting the database on the read-only media for the same reason described for view indexes in Step 3 above.

Note 3: Most CD mounting software conforms to the ISO 9660 standard which does not allow for periods in directory names. When creating full-text indexes in
Notes, it by default creates a directory with the extension .FT (period - FT) which is against the ISO 9660 regulations. For example, if your database is called
DATABASE.NSF, then Notes will create a subdirectory called \DATABASE.FT underneath the directory which contains the file DATABASE.NSF.

To workaround this issue, do the following: rename the full text index directory to the same name as the database, but with no extension (i.e. \DATABASE instead of DATABASE.FT). This new directory name must be the same as the database name.

Notes will now see the new directory and use the full-text index files inside of it. It does not require the .FT extension to be on the directory name. The .FT is only
used as a naming convention when creating the directory for full-text indexes so that those directory names wouldn't show up along with the other directory names in the File - Open Database dialog box.

5. Use whatever CD writing software you like to copy the file (and full text index directory, if you have created one) to the CD-ROM (preferred), or do an operating system level copy (such as using the DOS or OS/2 COPY command) of the .NSF file from the writeable media which you are currently using onto the media which will be used to press the CD or other read-only media. Be sure that you do an operating system level copy during this step and not a File - Database - Copy from within Notes as using Notes to copy the database will remove the view indexes.

Important note re: Notes R5 and R4 databases on CD-ROM
Also, be aware that Notes databases on a CD can only be viewed by the same major version of Notes that the Notes database was indexed with. Your mailfile is an "R4" mailfile. The view index and full text index are improved with each major version, i.e., R5 can't read R4 DB on CD, etc. To work around this with old CDs you may still want to view, you can copy the .nsf file to your local system, follow the procedure above, then re-create the views (and index) in the R5 client and re-create your CD-ROM.

Your data will be safe, but a new CD-ROM will be necessary to use it with an R5 client

 

[paoconnell]

You can export your Notes data most easily as a 1-2-3 worksheet. You'll need to:

1. Navigate to (or create) a view that shows all the document fields you wish to export. This view should not be categorized--causes problems with importing.

2. From the Notes menu, select File/Export. For the Save As Type, choose "Lotus 1-2-3 Worksheet." Type in the filename with an extension (I suggest .wk4). On the next screen, select "All documents" and choose whether or not to export the field titles. press OK and your file will be exported.

Note: Some fields may be truncated to whatever the maximum spreadsheet text field length is.
Structured text is another way to export data without truncation, but you'll have to look around for utilities or code snippets that can import this into a database.

Good Luck!

 

[chubby]

Thanks a million, all of your information was very useful
paoconnell/drumdip you guys sure know your stuff.

 

[ecantu]

U can use DECS or LotusScript to connect to an ODBC datasource.

If U use LotusScript build an agent that reads all documents in a view, connects to the ODBC and inserts data for each document.

If U use DECS U can simply syncronize the key fields.