So because it didn't work, I can't be sure about PKZip for Lotus Notes, but what I've seen doesn't impress me, for the following reasons.

Notes version-dependant
It appears to be Notes version-dependant. I can understand that sometimes this is inevitable, but I don't like it and would look for alternatives. Version dependency in a client-installed program just increases support hassle, because every Notes client upgrade then requires something else to be done too. That blows the use of upgrade by mail in Notes 5 and Notes 6 Smart Upgrade straight out the window.

Complex installation
The end user install is too complex for most end users--not so much the install of the various bits of the software, but the update of the Notes mail file. I fear that it would create a whole bunch of support calls, especially if people don't have designer access to their mail file to be able to replace the design. However, the manual does explain how the administrator can do the changes. If I were to use PKZip for Lotus Notes, I would go that way, because then the administrator can sign the database, or better, the template, and so eliminate the ECL violations, which in themselves will create support calls.

The state of the supplied design template
The fact that the supplied design template had not been re-signed in total by PKWare didn't impress me. Good Notes development shops creating a shipping product just don't ship unsigned code.

Mail file design changes
Most seriously, mail file design changes, whether done by end-users or by the administrator, are a no-no at most shops. They hugely raise the Total Cost of Ownership of the whole Notes infrastructure.

Overall, it did not come across to me as a product that had been built by people who really understand Notes.

ZipMail
Unlike PKZip, ZipMail (at http://www.mk-net-work.com) is marketed purely on the savings of compressed attachments, both in terms of disk space in mail files, and in reduction of network volume. It doesn't try to do anything else. The installation is quick and painless, but does require Notes to be stopped while it's done. I took all the defaults on the install, except where it asks whether the configuration details are to be stored in an INI file or the registry. I took the INI file option, and the resulting zmln.ini file was placed in my c:\windows directory.

Next time Notes is started, ZipMail is ready to go. Creating a mail message and doing a File-Attach action brings up a slightly different Attach File dialog, as shown in Figure G.

FIGURE G


The File-Attach action brings up a slightly different Attach File dialog. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The only obvious difference between this and the standard Notes attachment dialog is the "ZipMail compression" checkbox. Note also that there is a new icon in the system tray, too. When you select one or more files in the dialog and hit OK, ZipMail compresses them then and there, with a progress dialog, into a single zip file. It then sticks it in the mail and summarizes the process, as shown in Figure H.