Decipher domino error messages

Jake Howlett, 19 April 2001

Category: Miscellaneous; Keywords: error

How many times have you read an error message from the Domino server that you thought meant one thing only to find the cause was something else altogether. It happens to me all the time!! For example, the screen shot below:

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"Item not found exception". What do they mean?? If you have years of practice like myself then you will know that a likely cause of the above error is an <input> element on a form that doesn't have a corresponding Notes field of the same name.

What we need is somewhere to list all the common (and the not so common) errors and what their most likely cause is. Then all you need to do is take a look at the list and see if any of the likely causes listed could be the source of your problem.

I've created a database to record them all which you can access here:

http://www.codestore.net/errors/

Feel free to bookmark this shortcut so you have easy access to the list. I've kept the shortcut nice and simple so you should hopefully be able to remember it in the head-scratching moments of frustraion.

Obviously I welcome your help. Together we can make it THE place to come when Domino's riddles are getting too much for you. You can the either suggest a solution to a listed error or create a new error document if you think there's one missing.

Finding the Error:

If you are using Internet Explorer and you often get a page that looks like the one below and never see one like the one shown above you may be even more confused than ever.

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If you would rather see errors as Domino intends you to then you will need to alter your browser settings. In the Internet Options dialogue box (Tools - Internet Options) go to the Advanced tab and remove the tick from "Show friendly HTTP errors", like below:

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