One of the most common oppositions we hear from IT professionals and business managers against shifting away from Microsoft Office is this:
We cannot change away from MS because we are using MS Office in conjunction with this and that application
First day at the office after a week on vacation. And a busy day too.
My company has decided to introduce common layout on our letter stationaries. Huh ?
So my job was to consolidate all the individual letter templates, contract templates etc. to a common company layout. Fantastic decision. The rest of the world did this in the late 80's I think.
OK now, we are using Lotus Notes in several versions and OpenOffice.org. We have decided to use the Swing Integrator from Swing Software (http://swingsoftware.com) and I can only recommend this solution.
Well, I started out making the blank letter template and decided to do some house keeping also, so I cleared all the data fields that was transfered, but not in use. Fascinating how little effort it takes to speed up a computer system. I also decided to improve the layout by removing (hiding) the field labels in case the field doesn't receive any data.
After that i was asked to look into the mail merge template to see if I could figure out what was wrong with it. I found out, that the data exchange wasn't very accurate, because about half the mapped data fields actually missed the target. No wonder why it didn't work. Ok, now it actually works, but I still have an error message on the screen, but I don't have the right (skills) to debug the thing.
I actually made it work, and tomorrow I'll try to run a massive test and see if its possible to mail merge several hundred (or 1,000) letters.
Se how easy it is to set up the field mapping (from Notes field to OpenOffice.org field):
I was trying to help my Norwegian colleges find out why our Lotus Notes to OpenOffice.org integration didn't work properly. I have used several hours figuring out what the problem was.
Of cause field mapping must be accurate and in this case it's also case sensitive. And of cause: all required data must be available in the Notes-document.
Hokus pokus. It works.
Here is a movie that shows how it works
-Solutions needs to add value !
Traditionally we think of laptops, servers, network, Windows operating system and pc programs when the talk comes to IT in business matters. But if you want to get the best of your IT investments, it's important that you don't make your discissions based on the amount of features and functions. Much more important things must be taken into consideration.
It's no big deal to buy a new server or to install an update to the database system. The challenge comes when we want to exchange the new technology into actual valuable working processes in the organization. One of the conditions for creating value is that the staff, customers, subcontractors and so on can and will learn how to use what comes from the investments. This can only happen if the investments has been
Today, words like Web2.0, mobile access and on demand as well as the technology behind it, is setting the agenda. Everything must be accessible from the web and from mobile devices. For instance, users can read mail and see customer information from CRM systems. Mobile access has limited functionality, but covers most of the needs.
We are going away from the traditional computer installed program. The trend is going towards focusing less on individual features and we accept that the applications work a little bit different from what we are used to.
This is a healthy development, because it's more important that a function is adding value to the people using it, for instance by enhancing collaboration, than adding a bunch of new buttons. Many has already discovered this by changing from Microsoft Office to the free and open OpenOffice.org. With a simular investment you can both install the software (free) and develop templates and macros as well as train the users in how it works. This is because the expenses moved from licenses to organizational implementation.
By doing this, you spend money on adding value, not only on making it work
...or ND8 as we prefer to call it, was released last Friday. I've been trying it out for some time now, and I must say that it looks great. I am looking forward to go deeper into the designer client as soon as I get some time.
I have already looked at two parts:
Del.icio.us
