It took me a few hours to figure out that I needed the SUMMARY field flag, so I thought I’d save you the struggle if you ever need to create a view with custom columns.

I was trying to create a view that showed the custom fields I’d added to an RSVP message: RSVPCampaign, RSVPCode, and other details. I had created a Lotus Notes button that sent me an e-mail with the information in hidden fields. I successfully processed the extra fields using a LotusScript agent. I wanted to create a view that showed the results so that I didn’t have to keep clicking on the button and checking my mail. Using a view would make it easier for me to share these tools with other people, because I figured out how to create a button that creates a view.

I couldn’t figure out how to get my custom fields to display, though. They showed up in @DocFields, but @IsAvailable(RSVPCampaign) was always false.

I read about all of the functions in the Formula language. I experimented with @GetField, field names, and other ways to access data. I dug through documentation and websites (most of which assumed people already knew things like this). Frustrated, I opened the properties dialog and started systematically going through the fields on my RSVP messages.

It took me several passes to notice that the regular fields had “Field Flags: SUMMARY” and my custom fields didn’t.

After some quick searching, I realized that I needed to set the summary field flag. So I rewrote my RSVP mailing function to include lines like this:

Dim item As NotesItem
Set item = New NotesItem(doc, "RSVPCode", code)
item.IsSummary = True

I tested my new RSVP mailing button, and my view worked!

So if you’re stumped because your custom fields don’t work in view selection formulas or in column formulas, set the summary flag on the field when you set the field, and you should be good to go.

I wonder how I could’ve learned that faster. Reading other people’s source code would help. Forums are useful, too. Part of it involves picking up the jargon so that I know how to phrase my searches. Anyway, I fixed it! =D