From SNAPPS Labs: Introducing SnappWidgets for IBM Lotus Quickr
Category QuickrWith the introduction of Quickr 8.5 came a massive change in architecture, implementing (as in other IBM products) a more current version of the Dojo JavaScript library. Not *the* most current, but a quite serviceable version 1.4.3. This opened up Quickr Domino for a new level of customization - no more hacking forms and subforms, susceptible to corruption and upgrade blockages. By extending Quickr with Dojo widgets (called "dijit"), one can accomplish what used to take a large effort faster, and do some previously "almost impossible" things like, say, a sitemap.
Well with more than a year of practice under our belts (and a few extra years of just plain Dojo), we're releasing some of the more helpful and useful widgets we've written as SnappWidgetsTM, and will keep adding to the collection as we continue. To start off, though, we'll bring out two widgets that have been some real productivity boosters.
Our attachment organizer SnappWidget adds sorting capabilities to the attachments area of Quickr pages, in addition to exposing the date of the attachment (hidden by default). This is quite useful when you have pages with date-sensitive files attached and need to find just one. Here's a screenshot of this widget:
Our in-line PDF SnappWidget lets you preview PDFs using the Adobe reader plugin instead of the PDF-to-HTML conversion that can lose a lot of fidelity and print capabilities. By keeping the experience in-line, it's easier for end users to view, print, save, and work with PDF files. I detailed this widget's construction and some of the code in an earlier blog post. Now that it's a product, we're including the secondary script (and of course, support). Here's a look at this one:
What's next? We're working on a variation of the in-line PDF one with Quicktime movies at the moment, and other embedding options are on the horizon. After that, you let me know...we've written a couple dozen of these -- most of them more complex or tailored to a very specific need. Whether it's custom development just for you or something generic enough to benefit everyone, we're happy to entertain all ideas. That earlier blog post might give you some ideas. I can say we're working with another well-known partner on a joint product that will be quite a hit for all Quickr shops. More on that soon...and another announcement tomorrow.
By the way, all the previous product announcements now have pages on the website, so feel free to browse www.SNAPPS.com...see you tomorrow.
