Lotus Notes Traveler Companion FAQ 

We have assembled a list of the most common questions and answers about Traveler Companion below. If you are having problems with Traveler Companion, please look over this information first to see if your question has already been answered. If you are having problems with sending encrypted mail after upgrading to Companion version 2, please see topic 8. If you need to submit feedback or a bug report please read topics 10-12 for instructions.

2. What is Traveler Companion and what can it do for me?
 
Traveler Companion is an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch application that works with your existing Lotus Notes Traveler mail account to allow you to read encrypted Notes mail on your Apple device. Version 2 of Traveler Companion adds the ability to compose, reply to, or forward encrypted mail messages. All messages sent from Traveler Companion are encrypted using Notes standard encryption.
 
3. What do I need to have to use Traveler Companion?
 
You need an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad with at least firmware level 4.0 to use Traveler Companion. You also need an existing Lotus Notes Traveler mail account on your device. Your Lotus Notes Traveler server must be at at least version 8.5.1.1 and it must have Apple encryption support enabled. If you're not sure if you meet these requirements, please ask your Lotus Notes Traveler or Domino administrator. You must also have a Notes ID stored in your mail file or placed in a credential vault. Please see question 7 if you're not sure how to store your Notes ID in your mail file.
 
4. How do I install Traveler Companion?
 

Traveler Companion is available from the Apple App Store. The simplest way to install it is to use the App Store app on your device to search for Traveler Companion and then install Traveler Companion from its app entry. Traveler Companion is provided by IBM at no cost but is an unsupported application.
 
5. Once Traveler Companion is installed how do I configure and use it?
 
To configure Traveler Companion, open your Lotus Notes Traveler mail account on your device, find an encrypted mail message, and activate the Traveler Companion link it contains. If you don't see a link, please read question 6 to see how to solve this. Activating the link will launch Traveler Companion and bring up a settings panel. Your server address will be pre-filled, but you should verify that it is correct. The server address will usually match the server address in your Traveler mail account settings. You will also need to fill in your Lotus Notes Traveler user name and password. This is the same user name and password that you would use to visit the Lotus Notes Traveler server user page and will often be the same as the user name and password specified in your Lotus Notes Traveler mail account settings on your device.

There is a button labeled "Require SSL" that controls whether Traveler Companion is allowed to connect to a server using an unencrypted connection. We recommend that "Require SSL" is always set to Yes unless your Traveler administrator instructs you specifically to change it.

Once your settings have been successfully saved, Traveler Companion is configured and ready to use. When you activate a Traveler Companion link in an encrypted email, you will be prompted for the password for the Notes ID stored in your mail file or credential vault. Once the password has been successfully entered, Traveler Companion will download and display the encrypted email.

 
6. I don't have a Traveler Companion link in my encrypted mail messages. What should I do?
 
You will need your Lotus Notes Traveler administrator's help to fix this. There are two possible causes. First, your Lotus Notes Traveler server may be on an older code level. Traveler Companion requires at least version 8.5.1.1 of the Lotus Notes Traveler server. This fix level version was released in January 2010 and can be obtained from IBM Passport Advantage or Fix Central. The release notes are available from http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24019529&aid=2. If your Lotus Notes Traveler server is at the latest code level, your administrator may not have turned on support for Traveler Companion. The instructions for enabling this support are available in the release notes at the above location, and are reproduced here for convenience:

To enable this feature:
 

1. Edit the file <domino data directory>\traveler\cfg\NTSConfig.xml.  (This step is only required for Traveler server versions before 8.5.3.  As of 8.5.3, the property is set to true by default.)

In the section of the file under <COMPONENT COMPONENT_TYPE="TrueSyncServer">, add this line:

    <PROPERTY NAME="TSS_APPLE_ENCRYPT_ENABLED" VALUE="true"/>

Save and close the file.

2. Perform either (a) or (b) below depending on the product version and address book template:

a. For Traveler/Domino 8.5.2.x with a names.nsf at the 8.5.2 or higher template version, set the External Server URL in the Server document as described here:

http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/dominowiki.nsf/dx/External_Server_URL_setting_for_Apple_devices_LNT852
 

b. For Traveler/Domino 8.5.1.x with a names.nsf at the 8.5.1 or below template version, set the External Server URL in notes.ini as described here:

Add the following parameter to the notes.ini file for your Lotus Traveler server:

    NTS_EXTERNAL_URL=http(s)://(external url used by device)/servlet/traveler

The value of this parameter should be the URL used by Apple devices to connect to the Lotus Notes Traveler server. If there is a proxy in front of Lotus Notes Traveler, then this URL will be the host name of the proxy instead of the actual Lotus Notes Traveler server. For example:

    NTS_EXTERNAL_URL=https://hostname/servlet/traveler

3. Restart the Lotus Notes Traveler server.

Once this process has been completed, encrypted mail messages will contain a link for Traveler Companion.
 
7. How do I know if I have a Notes ID available for decrypting mail messages, and if I don't, how do I fix this?
 
For mail decryption to operate, the Lotus Notes ID file must be either uploaded to the mail file or placed in a credential vault by your Domino administrator. If you are able to send and receive encrypted email from Lotus iNotes, you should already have a Notes ID file available for Traveler. To check your Notes ID status and, if necessary, upload your Notes ID file to the mail file:
1.    From a computer where you Lotus Notes or have a copy of your Notes ID file, open a web browser to http://yourserver/servlet/traveler.
NOTE: If your server is using SSL then open a web browser to https://yourserver/servlet/traveler.
2.    Select Manage the Notes ID. If you already have a Notes ID available the page that appears will tell you this. In this case it is not necessary to proceed any further.
3.    Select Upload the Notes ID.
4.    In the Notes ID File field, enter the location of your Notes ID file.
5.    In the Password field, enter your Notes ID password.
6.    Select Upload Notes ID.

 
8. I have upgraded Traveler Companion from version 1 to version 2, but when I send encrypted mail from Traveler Companion it is not delivered. How do I fix this?
 
Some users have reported problems with sending encrypted mail messages through Traveler Companion after upgrading from an earlier version. This can be caused by corrupted or mismatched settings. If you experience this problem, please try deleting Traveler Companion and re-installing it from the Apple App Store. Once the app has been re-installed, it can be reconfigured using the method in topic 5. After reconfiguring Traveler Companion, you should now be able to send encrypted mail.
 
9. What do I need to do if my password changes?
 
Depending on the security policies that your organization has in place, you may be required to change your passwords periodically. If your Lotus Notes Traveler password changes, you will need to change your Lotus Notes Traveler password in the Traveler Companion Settings panel.
If you need to change the password on your Lotus Notes ID file, you can do so through Lotus Notes Traveler or Lotus iNotes. If you are using a vaulted Notes ID, you may also change your password through the Lotus Notes client. These instructions are for using Lotus Notes Traveler to change your Notes ID password. Please see the Lotus Notes Infocenter for information on using the other procedures.
NOTE:You only need to change the password once, so if you have changed your Notes ID password using Lotus iNotes or Lotus Notes, you do not need to follow this procedure.
To use Lotus Notes Traveler to change your password, perform the following procedure:
1.    Open a web browser to http://yourtravelerserver/servlet/traveler. You can do this from another computer or from your Apple device.
NOTE: If your server is using SSL then open a web browser to https://yourtravelerserver/servlet/traveler.
2.    Select Manage the Notes ID.
3.    Select Change the Notes ID Password and follow the instructions.
Once your password has been changed, you will need to supply the new password the next time Traveler Companion prompts you for your Notes ID password.
 
 
10. I have a support contract for Lotus Notes Traveler. What kind of support am I entitled to for Traveler Companion?
 
Traveler Companion is not officially supported by IBM and is distributed on a purely as-is basis. We do try to fix bugs that users discover, but because the application is as-is, this is done on a best effort basis and we cannot make guarantees about fixing specific issues. If you are having problems with Traveler Companion, you should not contact IBM support to open a PMR unless you believe that your problem is related to the Lotus Notes Traveler server itself. However, there is a system for sending a bug report if you believe that you have found a problem with Traveler Companion itself. Please read question 11 for further information. For all problems related to the Lotus Notes Traveler server or clients that do not have to do with Traveler Companion, please use the normal IBM support process to open a PMR and receive help.

11. I think I have found a bug in Traveler Companion. What should I do?
 
If you think you have found a problem with Traveler Companion, please send us a bug report with your feedback. This will help us fix your bug and improve the experience for other users. You can do this by sending an email to traveler@us.ibm.com. Be sure to include a detailed description of what device you have, what behavior you are seeing and what you expected instead. For problems with the rendering of emails, screenshots are often helpful. You can take a screenshot on your Apple device by holding down the power button and pressing the home button at the same time. If you are having problems configuring Traveler Companion, you should contact your Lotus Notes Traveler administrator first to ensure that your settings are correct. Again, if you have a Lotus Notes Traveler problem that is not related to Traveler Companion, do not send it to the above email address as that will cause delays in getting help. Instead, you should open a PMR using the normal IBM support process as specified in your support entitlement.
 
12. I have submitted a bug report. What happens now?

When you submit a bug report, we will read it and try to recreate the problem. If we're unable to do so, we may contact you for further information. Once we've recreated the problem, we will prioritize the bug for possible correction and inclusion in a future code update.