The TCP/IP tab
On the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) tab, shown in Figure E, you specify general IP information for the location.

FIGURE E


On the TCP/IP tab, you specify general IP information for the location. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Specifically, here you enter the DNS (Domain Name Server) addresses for the location being defined. Windows may be able to hold different setups for different network cards, but it only has one set of DNS settings for all of them.

Network card tabs
There are separate setups for two different network cards. Figure F shows the one for Token Ring.

FIGURE F


Here's the setup for Token Ring. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Figure G shows the setup for a wireless Ethernet card.

FIGURE G


Here's the setup for a wireless Ethernet card. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Both of these use static IP addresses. One has WINS (Windows Internet Naming Service), and one doesn't. Figure H shows the setup I used on my ThinkPad's built-in Ethernet for Lotusphere 2001, where DHCP was in use.

FIGURE H


Here's the setup I used at Lotusphere 2001. Roll over picture for a larger image.

IExplorer tab
Your proxy server settings or Internet Explorer are managed with the IExplorer tab, shown in Figure I.

FIGURE I


The IExplorer tab manages your proxy server settings or Internet Explorer. Roll over picture for a larger image.

I don't have Netscape Navigator installed, so Netswitcher doesn't show a page for it. The Help says that it only shows this page when it detects Netscape Navigator, just like it only shows a page for AOL Instant Messenger if it's detected. What I do know is that it works just fine with both Microsoft and Netscape HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) proxy servers.

NetSwitcher will also, as you saw from the tabs in the figures above, manage NetWare connections. I use NetWare at just one location, and everything works just fine. However, as I don't use it anywhere else, I can't comment on its ability to switch Netware settings. Nor can I comment on the management of Eudora or Outlook email clients or on the handling of network dialup connections, because I don't use them at all. The release notes on NetSwitcher's Web site, at http://www.netswitcher.com/v3notes.htm, talk about improving the support for these mail clients. I also can't tell you much about the one NetSwitcher plug-in that I could find. It's the one that handles issues with Microsoft's Client Services for Netware.

Bottom line
When I arrived at Lotusphere 2001 and took my laptop to the networking area, I checked the directions that Lotus had provided. I used these to make entries on my Ethernet adapter tab and on my TCP/IP tab in NetSwitcher. I also deleted the proxy server settings. There was no proxy server at Lotusphere. I saved the setup under a new name and switched to it. Then I connected to the network, and it worked.

NetSwitcher enables me to get working at any of my regular locations as quickly as at my own desk. I tend to carry my laptop in suspend mode while I travel, rather than shut down, so I can open it, get it out of suspend mode, switch network location, and connect. That means that I'm up and running in about one minute flat at that location. If I were to carry it shut down, I'd either need to switch locations just before I shut down, or start it up, switch locations, shut down, and restart. But either way, not having to fiddle with network locations and reboots saves me about five to ten minutes every time I connect to another network, and I don't have to remember or write down all the network nitty-gritty. Go look at the Netswitcher site and read the customer comments. In my experience, they're all justified. And all that for just nine dollars!

Mick Moignard has been working with Notes for nearly ten years. He's a Principal CLP with Unipart Advanced Learning Systems, a Lotus Premier Partner in the UK. Contact Mick at mick_moignard@unipart.co.uk, or via http://www.uals.co.uk.