I love features that save me time and require less mouse clicking. I think one of my favorite R7 features is the SmartIcon that will close ALL open windows. Many times I have too many windows open, and I just get tired from clicking all those X's. This SmartIcon proves very useful to me. Just click it and all open windows close at once.

There is another new SmartIcon which will turn the LotusScript debugger on/off. This feature is very useful and much more convenient than the menu selection we had previously. The button even looks depressed (not unhappy, just selected) when the debugger is turned on, and the prompt that tells you the debugger has started no longer pops up, making you click OK. This is definitely a small time-saving feature.

There will be a new element that we can create called "Web Services." The feature is not fully functioning in Beta 1, but IBM claims that you can use either Java or LotusScript to create such services. This should be good news for those die-hard LotusScript writers. Web services are similar to agents, only they are stand-alone. If you need an explanation on what these are and why you might add them to your applications, you can find a link at the end of this article.

You can modify Notes elements from the design views instead of opening them first. You can modify the name, alias, and comments, much like renaming a file in Windows. For example, single click on the name of a Form. The Form name will become highlighted. After you change the name, you hit Enter. The modified date and modified by columns of the form will be updated to reflect the change.

Closing
Well, that should give you an overview of what to expect in the new release. There seems to be a small bundle of some useful features that you can use. Make sure to check out the links following this article, if you are interested in learning more.

Kim Reddington is the Principal Consultant/Developer of Deluxe Technologies, is a Principal CLP and has been Developing and Consulting in Lotus Notes since 1995. She can be reached via email at kreddington@deluxetechnologies.com, or you can view her company Web site at http://www.deluxetechnologies.com.