Replacing the No documents found error message

Replacing the No documents found message

Tip submitted by
Dimple Rao

Level: Intermediate
Works with: Notes and Domino
Updated: 02-Dec-2002

Typically, when you search a view for documents and no documents are found, you receive the message No documents found. If you find this message unfriendly or unhelpful, you can replace the message with a customized one, such as Sorry, no documents found in this view. This tip works on the Web, but not in the Notes client, and requires that you use a view template to display a view.

In Domino Designer, open the view template you want to customize.
In the template, add a hidden Computed-for-display field named hasDocs. Include the following code as the field's formula.

result:=@dbcolumn("":"nocache";"";<viewname>;<column no>);
@if(@iserror(result)|@elements(result)=0;"0";"1")

Replace the <viewname> with the name of the view that the template applies to and replace <column no> with a column number or "".
Add tags to the template around either the embedded view or the $$ViewBody field to the template:

">the embedded view or $$ViewBody field
Right-click the tag, and then select Text Properties from the menu to open the properties box.
Select the Paragraph Hide When tab, then add the following formula:

@if(hasDocs="0";"none";"default")
Add a second set of tags with the custom message that you want to have appear in place of the No documents found message as follows:

">custom message

The following screen shows an example of a view template with a custom message.
Open the Text Properties box, select the Paragraph Hide When tab, and then add the following formula:

@if(hasDocs="0";"default";"none")
Save and close the view template.

The next time your you search the view, if no documents are found, the message that appears is your custom message.

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