Handling Document Links
A document link is a hyperlink from a document in one Notes database to a document in another Notes database. Workflow applications are the most common example of document links. Suppose you have a purchase order application that requires a manager to approve a purchase. A user posts an item in the Notes database that hosts the purchase order application. The purchase order application notices the new item and sends a message to notify the manager that a new order needs approval. The notification message arrives in the manager's mailbox like any other message, but it contains a document link that the manager clicks to open the purchase order database and activate the application.
Many Notes applications use document links. The connector must maintain document links so that Exchange recipients can see the content that the links reference and participate in Notes-based workflow applications. You have three options for configuring document links when they arrive in messages at the connector, as Screen 7 shows. All three options let links point to documents on remote Notes servers; the options don't limit functionality to documents on the server that hosts the connector.
The first and simplest option, RTF Attachment, tells the connector to insert the document content that the link points to into a message in Rich Text Format (RTF). This option provides Exchange users with a read-only version of the content and does not enable them to use the application.
The second option, OLE Document Link, preserves document links as OLE attachments. This option provides message recipients with full read and write access to an application, but it requires you to install the Notes client on every desktop. OLE attachments are useful only if an appropriate application is available to service the attachment. Users who have the Notes client can double-click a message's Notes icon to launch Notes and start the application. This option is useful for companies that use Notes for groupware and Exchange for messaging, but it's not a good option for most other firms.
The third option, URL Shortcut, is the most logical--and the most interesting from a technical perspective. This option enables the connector to translate document links into URL shortcuts and pass them to Exchange in the same way messages present other URLs. When message recipients double-click the URL shortcut, Exchange directs them via HTTP to a Domino server, which activates a Domino-enabled version of the application. Users gain full access to application data and code through Domino and a standard Web browser. This functionality is similar to Outlook Web Access; it provides a natural and transparent route to Notes applications. However, this option requires you to run a Domino server.
Migrating from Notes to Exchange
As Exchange becomes increasingly popular, some users want to migrate complete Notes environments to Exchange. Companies that want to migrate can install the connector to maintain connectivity between the two systems during the migration. Nevertheless, migrations of user mailboxes and applications can wreak havoc on a messaging system. To help customers solve the migration problem, Microsoft purchased the MESA Group on April 28, 1998. This acquisition gave Microsoft tools and services that migrate users from Notes or cc:Mail to Exchange. Some of the MESA tools are in Exchange 5.5 SP1, and Microsoft will probably incorporate the rest of the tools into a future Exchange service pack or make them available for download from the Microsoft Web site in the near future.
MESA's Mailbox Converter (MBC) tool converts the contents of Notes mail databases to Exchange format and moves the databases' messages to the Exchange Information Store or personal folders (.pst files). The Connection Agent (CXA) tool uses replication to synchronize the contents of Notes discussion databases with Exchange public folders. Both tools preserve much of the messages' content and structure, including RTF, attachments, OLE objects, and document links. However, because of differences between the Messaging API (MAPI) and RTF formats Exchange uses and the Notes database format, some features cannot migrate between the two messaging systems. For example, the MESA tools drop page breaks, hotspot pop-up text, and margin and line spacing settings when they transfer data from Notes to Exchange. These tools are comprehensive, but I don't recommend migrating data without planning the migration. Many messages in user mailboxes contain little useful information, so you don't need to waste time migrating them. Sometimes I think administrators are better off not migrating any messages.
Application migration is important, especially if you've been using Notes as a groupware platform. MESA's Application Assessment and Planning (ASAP) tool scans Notes databases and provides guidelines for migrating those databases to Exchange. The MESA Application Exchange (MAX) tool migrates the databases' data. MAX scans a Notes database and extracts information about the forms and data structures that an application uses. The tool then maps the data to an Exchange public folder and transfers the forms into Visual Basic (VB) project files. MAX transfers application logic, such as data validation that the Notes @Db-Lookup or @DbColumn functions perform, into VB. Programmers can manipulate the code that MAX produces to complete the migration.
I don't think the most rabid Exchange supporter would assert that any software can completely migrate a product as complex as Notes to Exchange. However, the MESA tools enable most companies to make the transition fairly easily. Many companies use Notes as an email system with a few simple applications (for instance, applications that consist of forms for data entry and review) that transfer easily to Exchange. More complex Notes applications, such as those that route items from user to user via email, are harder to migrate, but the advent of Collaboration Data Object (CDO) Routing Objects for Exchange makes migration more feasible for complex applications.
Simplifying Integration or Migration
Notes and Exchange are currently the two heavyweights on the messaging scene. If you want to integrate Exchange and Notes messaging systems, you'll need to use the Exchange Connector for Lotus Notes. The connector isn't perfect, but it facilitates interoperability between the two systems. If you want to migrate from Notes to Exchange, use the MESA tools. The tools don't make migration automatic, but they provide an excellent starting point. Regardless of the option you choose, make sure you understand both products before you attempt to connect them, and plan to spend time manually configuring your new network. No connectivity or migration solution is perfect, and you'll undoubtedly need to smooth out a few rough edges.
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