Lotus Notes Forms

**Rantor** · 30 January 2009, 16:45

Originally posted by thelace View Post

Hi guys,

I've been asked to "convert" some forms and documents stored as forms on a lotus notes database into word docs.

I've tried the usual copy/paste and paste specials but I can't get anything to work well.

Problem? Not only is the formatting wrong (I can tidy that up later if needs be) but I'm losing great tracts of it.

Anybody have any experience of this and how I can convert these forms into word.docs?

Remember, I'm not great at IT, hence the question.

Thanks

I was a notes 'expert' many, many years ago and IIRC there were loads of ways to get the stuff out. When you talk about Notes forms you are presumably talking about Notes Documents and these are stored in the proprietary nsf format.

Assuming you have rights to the notes db, is there not an export to RTF option? I rmemeber a clientco had a recentish Notes implementation with that feature a couple of years ago.

Back in the last century, there were loads of tools for extracting stuff from notes (freebie ODBC drivers etc) and these could be used to populate Access or something like that.

There seems to be other specific tools these days - A quick google showed this but it looks like it might cost a few quid... http://www.integra4notes.com/Web/Int...0?OpenDocument

Notes was a weird product - a real contender killer app in the mid nineties - and I got into it by accident just as it was becoming kerchingtastic. Best of all,it gave me a ticket for the CRM gravy train I've been riding for the last decade.

**DimPrawn** · 30 January 2009, 16:47

Notes was a real contender as the worst piece of non-std, proprietary mungous, crap ever called software.

Thank god it's all but dead and history.

**thelace** · 30 January 2009, 16:50

I'm afraid I agree with DP Rantor.

I left a job once coz I couldn't get on with Notes

I can export things out into RTF, however I have nothing that'll open the file once I have. Oh for the simple life.

**Rantor** · 30 January 2009, 16:57

Originally posted by thelace View Post

I'm afraid I agree with DP Rantor.

I left a job once coz I couldn't get on with Notes

I can export things out into RTF, however I have nothing that'll open the file once I have. Oh for the simple life.

Oh, don't get me wrong, its utter p1sh in a modern context, but I made a killing on it yonks ago.

If it is in RTF you can open it in word or wordpad (or pretty much anything I think.)

DP - in the mid 90s the standards hadn't been standardised for this type of thing. It was bigger than exchange for yonks and had a huge application development base. The replication engine was also good for the time. I sometimes wonder whether it could have evolved into a proper application platform but IBM seemed to drop the ball a bit. Oh, it also didn't take too well to the interweb - Domino bleuughhh

**NickFitz** · 30 January 2009, 16:58

Originally posted by thelace View Post

I'm afraid I agree with DP Rantor.

I left a job once coz I couldn't get on with Notes

I can export things out into RTF, however I have nothing that'll open the file once I have. Oh for the simple life.

RTF is a Word format.

**gingerjedi** · 30 January 2009, 17:38

Originally posted by DimPrawn View Post

Notes was a real contender as the worst piece of non-std, proprietary mungous, crap ever called software.

Thank god it's all but dead and history.

Not at my client site it's not.

They've ditched most features but there are few lingering links that they just havent bothered to migrate so all 500 users have it, so every now and then I have to swat up on something I didn't expect to see again.

**London75** · 30 January 2009, 19:36

Can you get the CutePDF virtual printer and print the forms to PDF from Lotus. Then find a free PDF to .DOCX converter or even leave them in PDF format?

**thelace** · 2 February 2009, 09:30

Thanks guys.

I've exported it in RTF and opened it in word which works, but the formatting of the form is screwed. I haven't got the option to download or use any proprietory software. Is there anything else I can try?

**DimPrawn** · 2 February 2009, 09:43

Originally posted by thelace View Post

Thanks guys.

I've exported it in RTF and opened it in word which works, but the formatting of the form is screwed. I haven't got the option to download or use any proprietory software. Is there anything else I can try?

Take a screenshot and paste it in as an image.

Lotus Notes Forms