My latest project involves creating a "slider" application in VB. A VB form will slide out from the left edge of the screen when the user moves their mouse cursor all the way to the left of their Windows desktop. The user then enters a few pieces of information into the VB form and then clicks on a button to create a quote document in a Notes database and initiate a Notes-based workflow process. If you're not familiar with what a "slider" application is like, think of it as a slider window in the Notes 8 client, except without the Notes 8 client. I believe Lotus Workplace Express had something like this, where a portlet would slide out within your browser window when you moved your mouse cursor to the edge of the browser window.

I have wondered how I would accomplish this in Notes 8. When I was at LotuSphere earlier this year, there was a lot of abstract talk about pushing Eclipse-based applications to the Notes 8 client using the Expediter server. I can't remember if a separate Lotus Expediter server was needed to push these types of applications to Notes 8 clients. To me, being able to push out components to users via a central server is a definite plus. However, this would require organizations to set up and administer an Expediter server, and also how to develop Eclipse-based applications. The slider application I'm working on will be distributed to users via a button in a Notes form. Users will click on it to install the VB code and that's it. I know the Expediter process has its benefits, but it seems like a lot of work and overhead for what should be a simple thing to accomplish. Of course, as I program in VB more and more, I may be seeing things less through the IBM/Lotus beer goggles than I used too...

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