How does one do a dynamic table in IBM Notes 8.5.3 or 9.0.1?

Question

I'm writing a Notes Client application. Web compatibility is a secondary concern. The language is LotusScript.

The specification: a form to enter lines from receipts. The lines are all saved as part of the same document so that they can be signed as an atomic unit.

When a line is added, it is to be formatted into a table for presentation. Ultimately, this architecture is like an input/datastore/presentation split.

I've managed to get the data stored and signed, and I think I've managed to get it deserializing properly (the LotusScript debugger makes it difficult to see, but it looks right). The problem now is the UI.

Looking at the Programmable Table, it is always a tabbed table with only one row shown per tab. I need a programmable table which can dynamically have rows added to it for display, without forcing new tabs to be created.

This suggests that I would need to use a Rich Text field to contain a table, but thus far my attempts to get anything to display when I try to update a Rich Text field in edit mode have failed. I am forced to conclude that it is impossible.

I cannot figure out how I'm supposed to do a dynamically-displayed list of tabular data like this. Any advice?

Answer 1

Alternatively, you can build your Rich Text Table in another NotesDocument, which you then save. Then use NotesUIDocument.ImportItem (which is undocumented, but present in the R8.5 mail template) to update your NotesUIDocument.

Don't forget to delete the other NotesDocument when you're done.

Another option is to build the table in HTML in computed text, and re-open the document every time you modify it. I have inherited a system that does that, and I hate it...so be warned :)

Answer 2

I blogged about this a couple of years ago: http://blog.texasswede.com/dynamic-tables-in-classic-notes/

This is a non-XPages solution, but of course you can also use XPages to achieve the same/similar result. It does not use tabs, as each row is a separate table.

Answer 3

Most people just create a table with one row and N columns, with a multi-valued field in each column, and use code to append values to each of the fields in parallel. You don't get borders between rows this way or the ability to do variable formatting of cells, and you have to be careful to avoid letting data length exceed column widths in order to keep everything aligned properly.

If you truly want a dynamic table for presentation with all the bells and whistles that you can get in terms of cell formatting, then the Midas Rich Text API from Genii Software is a commercial solution that can do the job.