Reducing DOLS download time with the client installation media

The DOLS Client Pre-Installer media is an alternative to having users install subscriptions from the server over a slow connection. The CD or DVD includes client drivers and IBM® iNotes® file sets. You can add database subscriptions, custom file sets that were created for the subscriptions, and custom programs intended to run after the installation.

About this task

Perform the following steps to add subscriptions, custom file sets, and custom programs:

To add a subscription

Procedure

Create new replicas of all databases belonging to the subscription. Any database you add to the CD must have the same replica ID as the original. For example, you cannot make a new "copy" of a database with the Notes® client, because copies have new IDs.
In the directory \Content\Subscriptions on the CD, create one folder for each subscription. Name each folder with the replica ID of the main database of the subscription. For example, \Content\Subscriptions\72638271927F46D8.

The hidden field ReplicaID in the Offline Configuration Profile Document contains the database's replica ID. If you open the Offline Configuration Profile Document in Notes®, open document properties, click the Fields tab, and select this field, you can copy and paste the ID to create the folder name.
In each subscription folder, add the subscription itself in a directory structure exactly matching the directory structure under the Data directory on the Domino® server. For example, if the DOLS-enabled mail database joe.nsf was located in \Data\Mail on the server, you would add the following:

\Content\Subscriptions\72638271927F46D8\Mail\joe.nsf
If the subscription has a directory catalog, create a DirectoryCatalog folder under \Content\Subscriptions\ID and add a replica of the catalog. For example, if you wanted to add a directory catalog to the joe.nsf subscription, you would add the following:

\Content\Subscriptions\72638271927F46D8\DirectoryCatalog\nameofcatalog.nsf
Optional: Open the Offline Configuration Profile Document of the original subscription on the server. Click the Rules tab and add the names of the subscription's Required and Optional databases to the Required and Optional fields.

To add a custom file set

Procedure

Add custom file sets to the directory \Content\CustomFilesets on the CD. Each custom file set should have an EXE file and an INF file, both having the same name.
Open the Offline Configuration Profile Document of the original subscription on the server. Click the Services tab and select Custom services. A Custom services to install offline field appears. Add the custom file set commands to it.

To create a custom program for the DOLS subscription

About this task

To create a custom program to run immediately after installation:

Procedure

Create a file called DOLSCONTENT.INI in the directory \Content on the CD.
Make the first line [DOLS]; the second line SetupProgram=; and the third line SetupCommandLine=. You can also add the optional setting Nowait. When you add Nowait, the DOLS Pre-Installer will not wait for the custom program to finish running before displaying the "Setup Complete" dialog box.
Add the name of the program you want run to the SetupProgram= line. Add any specific commands you want to the SetupCommandLine line. For example, if the first thing you want to happen after installation is for the user's Explorer browser to open to the URL of the subscription offlineapp.nsf, add the following to DOLSCONTENT.INI:
```
   [DOLS]
```
```
   SetupProgram= C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IexploreEXE
```
```
   SetupCommandLine=http://www.foo.com/offlineapp.nsf
```
```
   Nowait=1
```

Distributing the CD to users

About this task

After you've prepared the CD, distribute copies to your users. The installer runs automatically when the user puts the CD in the drive. If it does not run, the user should double-click setup.exe on the CD.

If users delete a subscription from the Domino® Sync Manager, they must run the CD installer again, then re-install the subscription to restore it. If they install the subscription from the server, they'll only get the online version of it, with none of your customizations.

Note: See the readme file on the CD for system and browser requirements, tasks for administrators and users, and more reference information.