User response in mail

[mgreich]

Here is my situation:
I was asked to find a way to automate the use of a form that is used as a security request form. The form is filled out and then based on what is selected different supervisors will get emails sent to them with a link to the request form. I'd ultimately like to be able to send some sort of email that just say "Bill Johnson has requested Admin access" and would allow the supervisor to select "yes" or "no". I don't want them to be able to see the entire form, just know that someone has requested access to something that they deal with. That would then get sent to the person that changes the security access rights. I can't seem to find a good way to do this. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pmonett]

You say "the form is filled out". Am I to understand that said form is in a specific db, or is the form included in the user's mailbox ?
Without more information, from where I sit it seems that you should be able to do the following :

- create a Security Request db with a Request form, default access Author. Add another form, SecReqNotification, destined to be used as mail form for the administrators.
- when a user fills in a Request, use the SecReqNotification to create a mail for the Admin with the required details and functionality (Approve/Refuse buttons). The workflow functionality should obviously refer to the original document in order to record the result.
- if Approved, a simple Memo could be sent (via the Approve button code) to the person in charge of making the change. The Memo should probably contain a link to the original request, so that the security officer can enter the time of completion.

Pascal.

 

[mgreich]

Yes, I did set up a seperate database. I have a Security Request form constructed. I have a "Submit" button on that form that saves and sends a doc link of the form to the administrators. How can I send a different form from the original form (ie. send "SecReqNotification" from "Security Request") with the ability for interaction, then based on the response send a memo back to the security access person? I'm quite new to Domino so the programming part is giving me some headaches. I'm kind of just learning as I go. I know what I want to do, but I'm struggling to get it done.

I appreciate the help.

 

[pmonett]

You first need to have the SecReqNotification form done.
Then, you need to use LotusScript to do the send part. In LotusScript, you can easily create a new document object. When you do that, however, the kind of form it is is not specified. The form to use is stored in the document data in a field named "Form". Therefor, when you create a new document object in Script, you can set the form to use simply by creating a field named Form, and entering the name of the form in it. Finally, in Script you can send the document with the NotesDocument.Send method, and you can also specify whether or not to send the design with it.
Now that you know how to send the proper interactive message, you can obviously design the response code in the form in order to get the return notification from the user.
If you need help, just keep posting here. I or someone else will pick up for you.

Pascal.

 

[mgreich]

Thanks a lot for the help.

I am using @functions in this database. I'm not very familiar with LotusScript. I can get another form created from the original form by using a field called "Form" with the value of the name of the form I would like to use for a response. That form gets sent just fine. And the response works well also. The problem is that the original form isn't getting saved. The only form that is getting saved is the second one. What I'd like to do is save a copy of the full original form then based on how the form is filled out different supervisors get a message with the name of the person and what has been requested (info from the original form, but not the entire form) and a field for their input. Again, thanks for the help, I'm just learning this on the fly and gradually getting the result I'm looking for.

 

[pmonett]

Right, let's take this one point at a time.

I can get another form created from the original form by using a field called "Form" with the value of the name of the form I would like to use for a response

Not quite, you can create a new document and specify in the Form field the name of the form that should be used to display it. You are not creating another form.

The problem is that the original form isn't getting saved

You mean the original document. Now, what do you mean, it's not getting saved ? How can you open it if it wasn't saved ?

save a copy of the full original form

Neither, you want to save a copy of a document. The form is only used to display the document. The form is design, the document is data.

Next, why do you want to make a copy of something you already have ? There is no need, especially if you send links to the original document. Making a copy is going to skew the links, or just take up space in the database.

I think I am having trouble understanding what it is you wish to do. We are talking a different language, or having semantic issues, and that does not help. But hang on in there and we'll get through this.

Keep working on it, and keep posting !

Pascal.

 

[mgreich]

Let me explain how the process for delegating security access works right now. Maybe that will give you a better idea of what I'm trying to do.

We have a form with several different fields. There many different security options for many different things. Each has an option to either provide access or remove access. Right now the form is filled out by a supervisor. It is then sent to our Network Admin. He then sends the form to the people responsible for different security requests. He may have to send it to five different people or he may be able to do it all himself. It just depends what is requested. They either OK or deny the access request and the form gets sent back to the Network Admin to make the changes.

I have essentially the same form set up in Lotus. I have it working so when the form is filled out and the document is saved it is sent to the correct people (depending on which fields were filled out). This is OK, but I have a request from my boss (the Network Admin) to make the process a bit more private. Let's say I have an access option to access a directory called "Personnel" and Bill is in charge of saying who gets access and who doesn't with respect to just that directory. Jane fills out a request and that is one of the security options she is requesting access to. I would like a document created in it's entirety(with all the security changes requested). That doesn't need to be sent to anyone, just saved in the database. But because Jane requested access to "Personnel" Bill will need to be notified. My idea was to create a mail message with just the info related to that person and then allow them to either check confirm or deny and send the message to the Network Admin ("Jane" has requested access to "Personnel" on "7/7/06". Click either confirm or deny.) Bill would get this message. Upon clicking either confirm or deny, the Network admin would receive a message from Bill saying that access has either been confirmed or denied. The Network Admin will then make the changes.

The idea is to get the requests processed much faster and also maintain a bit more privacy. We would also like to maintain records of who requested what and who confirmed and who denied and so on. I Hope that helps to clarify what I'm trying to do. I'm part way there, I just can't seem to complete it.

Thanks again.

 

[pmonett]

What I would do in your case is keep the form in the database, and just send links to the people who need to do something.

Sending the form via mail negates all possibility of keeping something private, since once the mail is sent, you have no control over what the recipients do with it (copy, forward, etc).

Sending out only doclinks ensures that you have the possibility of tracking who updated what and when and, additionally, provides the access control that you need to lock things down when required.

I would put all the functionality in the form in a database, and send links to the people concerned. They follow the link, do what is needed on the document, save and leave. All notifications can then be processed centrally, without hassle.

Pascal.

 

[mgreich]

Would it be possible to populate seperate documents based on the fields from the main doc for different people and send those out? Essentially pulling the info from the main document that each person (supervisor) actually needs to see. They can then either confirm or deny the portion of the request they are responsible for. I basically need different supervisors to sign off for different portions of the form. I don't want them to have the ability to change anything on the original doc, just either confirm or deny. I'm struggling with a good way to do this. I guess it would be the same as filling out a paper form, giving it to your supervisor, they would sign it saying that it is "ok", and they would fax it to the network admin that processes the security changes. Ideally I would like to isolate the protion of the form each supervisor is responsible for, but I guess it would still work if there was a way that they could basically confirm or deny the request right on the doc. It would have to be set so each supervisor would only be able to sign for their portion. Do you have any ideas/suggestions on the best way to go about this?

I do understand what you are saying about the doc links and that is how I currently have it set up. I guess I'm just trying to fine-tune the database now.

Again, thank you so much for your help.

 

[pmonett]

You could put the various info in seperate docs, but that would probably be a major headache in keeping things synchronized.
I think it would probably be easier to keep all relevant data in the same document, showing the various users the parts they need with subforms and hide/when formulas.
In each subform you could design an individual validation procedure, and thus monitor the workflow.

Pascal.