UPGRADING TO LOTUS NOTES 6 AND LOTUS DOMINO 6
Upgrading Notes clients
Lotus Notes 6 provides the following options for upgrading Notes clients:
You also have the option of using third-party tools for upgrading the Notes client.

Upgrade-by-mail is an e-mail notification system that notifies users to upgrade their Notes clients and mail file templates to the Notes/Domino 6 design. Upgrade-by-mail requires that you copy all installation files to a network file server or a shared directory that users can access. In the upgrade notification, you specify the path to SETUP.EXE. The notification message includes buttons that users click to launch the Lotus Notes 6 installation program and to replace the design of their Notes mail file. Use Upgrade-by-mail to upgrade Notes 4.6 and Notes 5 users to Lotus Notes 6.

Note Upgrade-by-mail is not available for Domino Web Access (iNotes Web Access) users. Upgrade-by-mail applies only to Notes Client users.

For information about Upgrade-by-mail, see the topic Using Upgrade-by-mail.

Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade works with the Lotus Notes 6 update kits or incremental installers that you download from the Lotus Developer Domain (http://www.lotus.com/ldd/smartupgrade). Like Upgrade-by-mail, Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade sends a notification to users to upgrade their Notes clients. Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade lets you set a grace period in which users must upgrade their clients. When you upgrade from Lotus Notes 6 to later releases, use Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade.

For more information about Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade, see the topic Using IBM Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade.

Administrative installation is a feature of the Microsoft Windows Installer that copies the installation kit to a file server that users access through a network connection. Users launch the installation program from the file server to install Lotus Notes 6 locally on their client machines. You can use administrative installation to copy the installation files to a network file server, then use Upgrade-by-mail or Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade to notify users.

The following table compares the Upgrade-by-mail, Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade, and administrative installation.
OptionAdvantagesDisadvantages
Upgrade-by-mail
  • Upgrades Notes 4.6 and Notes 5 clients and mail file templates
  • Administrator cannot determine when upgrades occur
Lotus Notes Smart Upgrade
  • Establishes a grace period in which users must upgrade their clients
  • Can be used only with Lotus Notes 6 and later releases
Administrative installation
  • Uses the command line option /A to create an administrative image of the Lotus Notes 6 installation on a network file server
  • Can be customized with transforms to create a silent, automated installation, a shared installation, and so on
  • Requires the Windows Installer service, which is part of the Windows XP and 2000 operating systems and is available for, but not part of, Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0
For more information about transforms and silent installation, see the topics Creating a Transform file and Automating client installation.

All the upgrade options require users to have a network connection. For mobile users, users with low bandwidth connection or no connection, these options may not apply. To upgrade these users, you could send Lotus Notes 6 CDs to them.

See also