Fun versus function
I was recently asked, "Why would Macromedia Flash files be so important for Lotus Domino sites, which are mainly content driven?"

Domino sites basically hold Domino forms and views. As a Lotus Domino developer, you can create a great content-intensive Web site with linked framesets that hold read-only Domino forms. You might think Flash would distract users from the tasks at hand.

I believe it all depends on your imagination. Check out http://members.nbci.com/raz786/example2.html. This example shows how a simple Domino form can make use of Flash in a way that's both fun and functional. Here, the company icon and its Web address fade in behind the text.

In this case, I've used an animated GIF (Graphic Interchange Format). I placed this GIF in my Image Resource library. Then, in my Domino Form Design Properties tab, I selected this image as my background color.

Can you believe I was able to produce the animation in that example within minutes? By using the Flash Publishing tool, I was able to publish this animation as an animated GIF. The Flash Publishing Option allows me to publish any Flash files created in Flash into not only SWF (Shockwave File Extension) format, but also GIF, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), MOV (QuickTime Movie), SMI (Self-Mounting floppy disk Image), and EXE (Executable).

I chose Publish Settings from the File menu. When I selected GIF, I was given a number of options that allowed me to manipulate my GIF file.

I also used the Flash Alpha controls to make my animation subtle so it wouldn't affect the Web users' ability to read the form. Yet I've managed to make my Web users aware of my company's URL and its associated logo.

Flash input text boxes
Ok, Flash has a few great features, but you still don't see much advantage in using it with Domino. But wait, there's more! You can create Flash input text boxes, enabling your users to input text. This information would then automatically update the fields on your Domino form.

By assigning variable names to these text boxes, you're able to use actions to pass the variable to a server-side application like Domino. You can also replace the value of a variable by reading it from a server-side application.