• Online, by connecting to a server and transmitting and receiving data as you work with databases on the server.

  Note "Online" in this sense means using Lotus Notes with databases on Domino servers, not using the Internet. For information on connecting to the Internet, see Setting up your Web connection.

• Offline, using local replicas of databases and an outgoing mailbox database, and a dialup connection to servers. Occasionally, you will connect to a server over your telephone line so that you can exchange (replicate) data between your local replicas and the databases on the server.

  Note You can also work with local replicas and/or an outgoing mailbox while on a LAN or broadband connection, but transmission speed for those types of connections is usually fast enough that working online makes the most sense.

  Advantages to working online	Advantages to working offline
  Without local replicas, you save disk space on your computer.	Telephone calls are shorter and cost less because you occupy the server's modem for shorter periods of time than you would if you called the server and remained online with it over the telephone. You don't have to pay for connection time while reading documents.
  Working online with databases on the server, you get and provide the most current data.	Working in an offline replica, opening or saving a large document or refreshing a view in a large database is faster than calling the server for the same tasks. You can also access a database that exists on only one server when that server is unavailable.
  Mail is routed immediately. If mail is addressed incorrectly, you will be notified right away.	You don't have to wait for a message to be sent before you can write the next one. Using replication over a phone line, Notes may be able to send and receive an entire day's mail in less time than it takes to open or send a single long message while calling a server. You can also choose only to send, instead of sending and receiving mail at once.
  	You don't have to worry about Notes disconnecting because your telephone connection is idle too long.

Working offline with most databases simply means creating and using a local replica. When you work offline with your mail, Notes can also can store your outgoing mail temporarily in a separate local outgoing mail database, ready for sending in a batch when you connect to your mail server and replicate. Notes uses this outgoing mailbox whenever you have local mail use specified in your current Location document.

The first time you switch to any location other than Office, Notes automatically creates an outgoing mailbox database for that location (either MAIL.BOX for Notes mail or SMTP.BOX for Internet mail). The mailbox database is created in your local data directory and is called Outgoing Mail. It has both a bookmark and an entry ("Send outgoing mail" or "Send outgoing Internet mail") on the Replicator page. By default, locations other than Office also have local mail use, as described below, pre-specified.

Each time you replicate with your mail database on the server, Notes sends the outgoing mail. When replication is completed successfully, MAIL.BOX or SMTP.BOX empties.

The Outgoing Mail database is used for temporary storage only; do not try to read, create, or file mail in it. You can, however, delete a message from it if you haven't yet replicated and you change your mind about sending the message. For more information on how Notes manages "held" and "dead" mail in the database, or how to release messages, click the yellow question mark icon in the view action bar of the Outgoing Mail database to read its Help.

Local mail use is set by default in the Home, Travel, Internet, and Island locations. If you want to use local mail in Office or another LAN location, you must specify it in that Location document's Mail tab.

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To set your mail for local use

1. (Optional) Switch to a location where you want to work offline.

2. From the menu, choose File - Mobile - Edit Current Location.

3. Click the Mail tab.

4. In the "Mail file location" field, select Local instead of "on Server."

5. Click "Save & Close."

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To delete outgoing mail before Notes sends it

1. Open the Outgoing Mail database by displaying the workspace and double-clicking this icon.

3. Choose Actions - Delete Message.

4. Choose View - Refresh and click OK.

5. (Optional) To edit the message for resending, click the Sent view in the navigation pane, locate the message, make corrections, and send it again.

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Addressing mail while working offline

When you address mail while working offline, unless you have a Mobile Directory Catalog (see below), Notes looks for the recipient in your Personal Address Book. If the recipient is not there, Notes assumes the server will look for the recipient in its Domino Directory when the message is sent during replication. If the server cannot find the name, it sends a non-delivery report to your mail file on the server to let you know the mail was not received.

You may not see this report until the next time you replicate your mail, so make sure that recipients you enter are listed in your Personal Address Book or the server's Domino Directory.

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Using server-based mail features while working offline

If your organization supplies a Mobile Directory Catalog (DIRCAT5.NSF), you can encrypt mail messages and use type-ahead for addresses in your organization while working in your local mail replica. You can also use the catalog to search for addresses and to send mail to public groups.

For more information on searching for addresses, see Finding contacts or Internet e-mail addresses.

To see whether your administrator has set up a mobile directory catalog for you, do the following while working offline:

1. Open your mail and create a new memo.

2. Click Address.

3. Drop down the list next to "Choose address book" and see whether Mobile Directory Catalog is listed.

4. Do one of the following:

• If the catalog is listed, select it.
• If the catalog is not listed, ask your administrator whether your organization supplies one, or if it's listed under another name.

See Also

Replication: the secret to working offline
Using different locations
Mail settings for a location