[Lotus Notes Sucks: Example 47]
Customizing Lotus Notes
Problem
To change your preferences, you need to search for the document that stores the preferences. Unfortunately, there are a many. In Microsoft Office, all preferences can be set by clicking Options on the Tools menu.
In Lotus Notes, not only are preferences scattered all over the place, the terminology is inconsistent. Sometimes it's preferences, in other places it is settings.
| Menu | Submenu | Command | Preferences for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actions | Tools | Preferences | Letterhead, signature file, etc. |
| Archive | Settings | Settings for archiving and archives. | |
| File | Preferences | User Preferences | Start up, setting Lotus Notes to start a week on a Sunday (not Monday), stuff about Unicode, notification and something about ports. |
| Location Preferences | More about ports, changing from Lotus Notes' browser to another, MIME settings, SSL, etc. | ||
| SmartIcon Settings | Change the toolbar buttons. | ||
| Replication | Settings | Replication preferences. | |
| Mobile | Edit Current Location | Ports, changing from Lotus Notes' browser, etc. | |
| Locations | Who knows. |
Analysis
The user should not have to know which "document" contains the settings that he wants to change. The user should be able to open one window that contains all the preferences that the user can change. These preferences should be organized by function, not by where or how they are stored in some database.
As it is now, changing preferences involves hunting for the right command.
As mentioned above, in Microsoft Office, all preferences can be set by clicking Options on the Tools menu in most of its applications. Do you want change user options in PowerPoint? Click Options on the Tools menu. How about in Excel? Click Options on the Tools menu. Access? Word? Publisher? Binder? Project? Visio? Visual Basic? Click Options on the Tools menu. You might think Microsoft is evil. Whatever. But at least Microsoft is consistent.
User Interface Guideline Violations
- Interface does not follow established conventions.
- Forcing the user to click unnecessarily.
- Interface uses inconsistent terminology.
- Forcing the user to deal with stupidity.
Conclusion
Lotus Notes sucks.