A while back I created a little tool for my own use, to keep track of my Notes templates and their version numbers. I also developed a tracking database where we track not only changes to Notes applications, but also other changes to our environment. Things like modifications to Domino Directory and Active Directory, as well as other meta data changes, configuration changes, etc.
I decided to merge those two applications, and create one focused on tracking changes in Notes templates/applications. I thought perhaps other developers could use this application, so feel free to download the template. This is what the application looks like:
After you download the template, use it to create a new Database. In the new database, open the Applications Settings document and enter the application name (should be “Change Tracking”). Also modify the list of systems, this is where the dropdown box in the actual form get its categories from. The only required is one called “System (IBM/Lotus)”, but I also suggest to create one called “System (your company name)”. You can see an example of the configuration document below.
You can now go ahead and load the list of local Notes templates. This is done in the System/Tools section as well.
The next step is to open all templates not containing a version field and update them. Go to the section called “No Version” and open the view, then open each template and select the correct system and enter the application name. Then create the version field using the Template action menu, where you find the action ‘Create VersionField’. Enter your initial version number (major, minor, release and build), then save the template document.
Now when you have all your templates updated with version numbers, you can start tracking changes using the “Add New Entry” button. Hopefully the application is fairly self-explanatory.
The template is using ODS 51, so you need Notes 8.5 or higher to open it.
There is also one known issue that I haven’t had time to fix yet. If you have the setting “Auto-increase build when adding entry” to “Yes”, you have to close and reopen the template document to see the new entry. If it is set to “No”, it shows up immediately. If anyone fixes this, let me know and I will update the template on my side too.
Update: I have fixed the issue. It was as easy as removing the line uidoc.EditMode = False in the ‘Add New Entry’ action on the ‘Template’ form. The download has been updated.
Update 2: I have also modified the template to use DateTime fields in a few places where I used regular text fields. Thanks Kenneth for pointing that out!