Deploying IBM Notes Dictionaries in XTAF format using Widgets
Thomas Hampel
17 December 2014Believe it or not, English is not the only language on our planet...and the Notes client of course needs to provide spell checking capabilities for the most common languages.
For Notes v8.5.1 and above IBM provides dictionaries in XTAF format shipped in a ZIP file which can be installed via File\Applications\Install, but I dont want the average end user to do that alone.
Although the Notes Client installer package can be customized to include additional dictionaries, you probably have deployed the Notes Client already.
So how do you deploy additional dictionaries without building a new client package, preferably in a way that end users can self decide which dictionaires they would like to install?
Main idea is to use Widgets for allowing users to self install dictionaries they need by using a Widget Catalog and thw My Widgets sidebar of the Notes client.
Ok, lets get started...
Preparations
- Download the required dictionary files Passport Advantage
Package is titled "IBM Notes XTAF Dictionaries V9.0", part numbers are :
Mac=CIF0DML
Linux=CIF6BML
Windows=CIF0EML
Build an Eclipse UpdateSite for the XTAF dictionaires
- Extract the packages to a new temporary folder, once completed it should somewhat look like that:
- Now you would create one subfolder for each language and extract EACH of the ZIP files into its own folder, and unzip files one by one.
If you dont like to do this yourself, just put the following batch file into the same folder and run it.
unzipXTAFsites.cmd
It will use 7zip (which you have installed hopefully) to unzip each file to its own subfolder
Once completed you should have 23 subdirectories by now, each one should contain the following:
- Create a new NSF based Eclipse UpdateSite, a new one is recommended for not mixing up with other versions
Make sure to set up a propper ACL, users should have read access only! - Open the newly created database and use the button
to load each of the XTAF dictionaries into the Eclipse Update Site
The result should look like this:
Creating Widgets
- If not already available, create a new Widget Catalog as described here
- In your Notes Client, start creating a Widget by clicking the icon "Getting Started with Widgets...."
- In the first dialog choose "Features and Plugins"
- Enter the URL for the update site.
If you want the connection between the client and the server to use the Notes protocol, use "nrpc://" e.g. "nrpc://your-servername/path/updatesitefilename.nsf/site.xml"
if you want to use the HTTP protocol, use "http://" or "https://", e.g. "http://your-servername.domain.com/path/updatesitefilename.nsf/site.xml""
Click on "Load" to see the list of available features to install.
- Select the language(s) you want to wrap into a widget, click Finish to create a widget.
I do recommend one widget for each language, of course you can also wrap all at once into a single Widget or just use subset of available dictionaries.
Note: You do not need to restart the Notes client when you are prompted. - Within the Widget Sidebar of your Notes Client, choose the new widget and right-click it to publish the widget to the widget catalog
Dont forget to add meaningful details in the new document so that your end users know what the widget provides.
e.g. All Dictionaries for IBM Notes 9.0
and in the details section of the widget, provide a meaningful text explaining how to install a widget, e.g.:
The result should somewhat look like this:
What end users need to do to (manually) install a new dictionary
When not using policies, end users need to...
- Click "File\Preferences\" and select "Widgets"
- Enable "Show Widget Toolbar..."
- This will show the new My Widget sidebar panel on the right hand side of the Notes client.
- Click the first icon
"Browse the Widget catalog"
- Open the widget catalog entry for the language(s) you want to install
- Drag & drop the file attachment "extension.xml" from the catalog into the "My Widgets" sidebar
The Notes Client will now automatically install the dictionary files and will prompt to restart the Notes client.
- After restarting the Notes Client, additional dictionaries are available in "File\Preferences\Spell Check"
How to deploy dictionaries using Domino policies
- Within the Desktop Policy Settings, verify that you have specified the widget catalog server and filename
- In the same document, define a catagory which will be automatically deployed to end users, in this example it is "Autodeploy"
You can of course use the category "Dictionaries" which you have defined when creating the widget itself but this will not allow to fine tune which dictionary to be pushed out.
- Back in the Widget Catalog, modify those widgets which you want to deploy and add the (new) category "Autodeploy" to each of them.
- Once done, the widgets/dictionaries will be deployed to your end users the next time they start the Notes client.
Conclusion
I know there are lots of other methods to roll out dictionaries, e.g. by using File\Application\Install , but I find this too complicated for average users.
Make sure to show the sidebar "My Widgets" to your users...
If you're using a desktop policy, check if you have set the parameter "Show the My Widgets panel in the sidebar:" set to "Yes" in the tab "Widgets" of the applicable policy settings document.
Reference: