Ten Minute Guide to Lotus Notes® 4.6

Understanding Documents and Forms

Starting from the bottom, information entered into Lotus Notes databases is entered into fields. Each field contains a certain type of information, such as a company name, a company area code, and company phone number. To enter information into Lotus Notes databases, you view the fields laid out on a form. After you complete the form, Notes stores the information as a document. Forms are used to enter, read, and edit information. Documents are the collection of those fields of information stored in a non-structured format that you never see. You always see the document information viewed through a form.

You can compare documents to database records that you use in other databases, such as Approach or Access. ...