APPLICATION DESIGN

Launching objects automatically
You can have a form automatically launch (autolaunch) an embedded OLE object or a new OLE object when a user creates a document or opens one for reading or editing. A new OLE object is one that is blank until users add data.

Note Autolaunching is not supported with custom controls (ActiveX controls) or for Web applications.

The user can change the embedded object and add data to a new object directly in the application that created the object. The IBM® Lotus® Notes® document automatically displays the changes.

When you design a form that autolaunches an embedded object, the object must be the first OLE object in the form. To autolaunch other objects embedded in the form, you must write a script. Users can launch embedded objects manually, except in documents that open as modal dialog boxes.

If you create an object in a rich text field on a form, when users create a document, the object launches. If you don't create the object in a rich text field, when users create a document, Notes launches the first object that appears in the form. When users subsequently open the document for reading or editing, the first object in the document launches.

The following are ways to launch OLE objects:

Launch an object automatically

The object can be a spreadsheet, a word-processing document, a graphic presentation, a database, or a multimedia object. You can autolaunch objects created in any registered OLE application.

Launch a new object automatically

A new object is blank until users add data. You can autolaunch a new object in any registered OLE application.

Launch an object in-place or out-of-place

The object launches in-place if it launches within the Notes document. The object launches out-of-place if it launches in the application that created it.

Define the conditions under which objects are launched

The object launches only when it is created or when it is opened in Read or Edit mode.

Use the form open in a modal dialog box to create documents

The object launches into a modal dialog box that the designer uses to specify actions users can take with the object.

Hide the Notes document

You can hide the Notes document when the object is launched or when the launched object is closed.

Hide the original embedded object in documents

You can hide the original embedded object and display only the most recent, updated version of the object in a document.

See Also