Understanding the IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.x client directory structure

Files created during install of the Notes client

Directories and files are created in two installation phases, the Microsoft Software Installer (MSI) install and feature provisioning. In the MSI install phase, files of Notes Core, Lotus Expeditor Runtime, and Lotus Domino Admin (if selected by the user) are created based on user customizations from the UI and MSI transforms settings. (For more information on the transforms settings, refer to the topic “Customizing Notes install using the tuner” in the Lotus Domino and Notes information center).

In the provisioning phase, plug-ins of Lotus Expeditor and applications (Lotus Domino Designer, Lotus Sametime®, Notes Composite Applications Editor, IBM Lotus Connections, and IBM Lotus Symphony^TM) are created based on the user customizations from the UI and provisioning manifest settings: install.xml.

After the client is installed, you'll see the following file structure:

<PROGDIR> / ( Program Files Directory as defined during install)

Notes Core: DLLs, executable files, and other resource files
Notes.ini: Client configuration file
JVM /: Java^TM Virtual Machine (JVM) for Notes client
Licenses /: Product license files including non_ibm_license
icc /: DLL files for Crypto
xmlschemes/: Schemas use for DXL validation
xsp/: Xpages JAR files and Themes
Framework/:
RCP/
deploy/

extras/
presetfeeds.opml: Default Feed options

kithistory/: Stores updated install manifest files:
lastInstall.xml
install.8.0.0.200xxxxx..xxxx

.keystore.JCEKS.IBM_J9_VM.install: The keystore that Notes provides for security.
install.xml: Provisioning manifest file
eclipse/: Plugins for XPD Platform
scripts/: Contains three debug level setting files for CAI
plugin_customization.ini: This file is used to set the default preference values for preferences defined by other plug-ins.
rcplauncher.exe: Platform launcher executable
rcplauncher.properties: This file is generated by the installer and contains a set of properties utilized by the platform launcher executable.
startcollector.bat: ISA log collector utility (Windows®)
startcollector.sh: ISA log collector utility (Linux®)
Shared/: Plugins for shared applications that are configured in install.xml.
Eclipse/: Plugins for applications
.provisioning_rc: Provisioning status file; if you cannot find .provisioning_rc, it means that the provisioning process failed to launch or was terminated before the status could be determined.
uninstall.bat: Script file to uninstall the Notes client

<DATADIR> / (Data Files Directory. For all client single mode, it is defined during installation; for multi-user mode, it defaults to \local Settings\Application Data\Lotus for Windows XP)

Notes Common Data Files: For a multi-user install, the common data files are stored at :\Documents and Settings\All Users\ Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data\Shared for Windows XP, and in C:\ProgramData\Lotus\Notes\Data for Windows Vista.
Activities\: Activities configuration information
Autocorr\: Auto correct resource
Domino/ : Resource files for Domino Designer and Xpages
Help/ : Contains help files for the Notes client

IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT/: Contains diagnostic log files for Notes Core:
SmartUpgrade\: Log file for client Smart Upgrade

nsd_W32I__<year

 

_<Month

 

_<Day

 

@<time

 

.log: Diagnostic log for client crash

properties/: (Xpage properties files)

acf-config.xml
proxy-config.properties
xsp.properties

theme/
LowVisTheme.css: Cascading style sheet for Low Vision configuration

workspace/: The workspace is used to store instance data between client launches and contains the configuration data for the client. The initial workspace is created during the first install.

.config/ : (User Configuration Data Area)
rcpinstall.properties: User-specific instance of the system properties file for Notes Client. This file contains many critical properties, including the default logging and tracing configurations and settings for the JRE.

config.ini: Standard properties file for configuration of components at run time. For a full list of the supported properties, refer to the Eclipse run time options document. This file is critical to successful launch of the client.

args.properties: Captures the options that are typically loaded with rcplauncher in order to ensure that, when the platform is restarted, the same options can be applied to the launch.

org.eclipse.core.runtime/: Contains Eclipse Core Runtime data
org.eclipse.equinox.app/: Contains RCP launcher cache data
org.eclipse.osgi/: Contains cache data of OSGI bundles that need to be loaded at client launch.
org.eclipse.update/: Contains Eclipse Update manager data

.metadata/: (User Instance Data Area)
.plugins/: stores state data for each plugin

Logs/:
LotusInstall.log: Record of the whole installation process
provisioning.log: Record of feature provisioning
error-log-x.xml: Error log data
trace-log-x.xml: Trace log data
Log_viewer.xml: XSL Transform required to view error log
Trace_viewer.xml: XSL Transform required to view trace log

applications: For a multi-user install, un-shared features will be provisioned into this location.

.rcp.lock: Used to help determine if a valid Eclipse instance is already running. If this file contains inaccurate information, it may prevent the client workbench from being displayed.

xsl: Data for XPages

Client configuration properties

Notes.ini. For all client and single-install modes, the Notes.ini file is created in during installation. For the multi-user mode, this file is created at that location for data of All Users (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data for XP) during installation.

The initial Notes.ini file has only a few lines:

[Notes]
KitType=1: ( 1 – Workstation 2 – Server)
Directory=C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\Data : ( Data Directory Path)
InstallType=2: (2 - All client install 6 - Notes client only)
InstallMode=1: ( 1: Standard Client, 0 : Basic Client)
NotesProgram=C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\ :( Program Files Path)

For more information, refer to the developerWorks® Technical Library document, “Lotus Notes/Domino notes.ini settings.”

Install.xml. This file is the client install manifest. It contains a complete list of the default set of features to be installed and enabled in the Notes runtime client. During the product installation process, the install manifest corresponding to the chosen install configuration is processed (replacing any supported variables) and copied to {install.dir}framework/rcp/deploy/install.xml.

The location of this file then passes to the platform provisioning component to begin the provisioning process. For more information, refer to the Lotus Expeditor Information Center topic, “ Preloading certificates for initial install and provisioning of signed plugins.”

Files created and modified during setup and launch and run

As users launch a client (including setup) and operate the features, there are file changes related to the creation and modification of user instance data and client runtime data. Below is a list of the user private files and runtime data files that are changed as the client runs.

User Private Instance Data:
<DATADIR>\

bookmark.nsf: Database for bookmark/history function
Cache.NDK: Cache of all design elements
cluster.ncf: Lists the Notes canonical server name for primary and others.
desktop8.ndk: Lists the Workspace pages and database information in pages
headline.nsf: Database for headline
JOBSCHED.NJF: Scheduled Replication Job list
localfeedcontent.nsf: Local store for feed
names.nsf: Database for contact
notesbook.nsf: User private record.
user.id: Notes ID file

notes.ini: Client configuration file. For all client modes, this file is created in <PROGDIR> during installation and modified to update user information at setup; for multi-user mode, the file is created for each user in their private data directory(XP is @nowiki@5Local Settings\Application Data\Lotus\Notes) as the user sets up client.

<DATADIR>\Workspace/.metadata(RCP Instance Data Area)
.plugins\

com.ibm.rcp.managedsettings\: Contains data for client setting policy provider, those files are obfuscated and stored with a checksum.
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.alertmanager\: Contains data for Sametime alert settings and autostatus settings.
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community.impl\: Contains Sametime community configuration data
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.imhub\: Contains Sametime local contact list
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.people.impl\: Contains Sametime person cache
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.login\: Contains Sametime login information
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.palettes\: Contains image resources for Lotus Sametime (such as emoticon images)
com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.primarybuddies\: Contains primary contact information
com.ibm.content.operations.registry\: Contains cache of operation URL map
com.ibm.notes.client\: Contains WSDL data for applications
com.ibm.portal.app\: Contains data for CA applications
com.ibm.rcp.csiviews\ : Contains view status of each application
com.ibm.rcp.personality.framework\personalityWindowState\: Stores window display state for the user.
com.ibm.rcp.portal.app\: Contains URL data for each application
com.ibm.rcp.search.ui\: Contains search history data
com.ibm.rcp.topologyhandler\: Contains perspective data of each view.
com.ibm.productivity.tools.autosave\: Contains autosaved Symphony doc
com.ibm.productivity.tools.service\: Contains perspective map of editor

org.eclipse.core.runtime\ ( Plugins Preference data area): Stores preference data based on each plugin):
.settings\com.ibm.notes.branding.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.notes.desktopsets.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.notes.mail.quota.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.notes.managedsettings.provider.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.notes.secsets.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.aaf.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.accounts.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.ca.utils.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.content.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.jfaceex.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.locationmanager.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.managedsettings.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.net.http.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.offline.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.portal.app.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.roaming.service.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.search.ui.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.security.update.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.toolbox.admin.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.toolbox
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.topologyhandler.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.topologyhandler.ui.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.rcp.ui.prefs
.settings\org.eclipse.core.resources.prefs
.settings\org.eclipse.ui.workbench.prefs
.settings\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.calendar
.settings\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community
.settings\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.imhub
.settings\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.location
.settings\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.login
.settings\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.policy


Client Runtime Data:

<PROGDIR>
diagindex.nbf: File that tracks diagnostic files created
ini.nbf: .ini list table
log.nsf: Database to store logs of client
pid.nbf: Process ID table of all Notes process (deleted and recreated)

IBM_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT\: Stores diagnostic logs for Notes Core:
console.log
ENVDEBUG.TXT
SEMDEBUG.TXT
nsd_W32I_<SysName>_<year>_<Month>_<Day>@<time>.log
SmartUpgrade\SmartUpgrade.log

workspace\logs\: Stores logs for Notes installation and plug-ins that are running:

LotusInstall.log
provisioning.log
rcplauncher.log
error-log-x.xml (x: 0~5)
trace-log-x.xml (x: 0~5)
sodc_crash_win32_<SysName>_<year>_<Month>_<Day>@<time>.log

workspace\.config\ (RCP Configuration Data Area)

org.eclipse.core.runtime/: Contains data for Eclipse Core Runtime
org.eclipse.equinox.app/: Contains cache data for RCP launcher
org.eclipse.osgi/: Contains cache data of OSGI bundles that must be loaded at client launch
org.eclipse.update/: Contains data for Eclipse Update manager

Table 1 describes the relationship between user information and data files.

Table 1. Relationship between data files and operations

	Related User data	Operation Scenarios for file change
Basic client configuration	Notes.ini	Users changes configuration via File > Preferences > Basic Notes Client Configuration
Bookmark	Bookmark.nsf	User creates bookmarks
Operation history	Bookmark.nsf cor.urimap.cache	User opens .nsf document; User accesses Web pages or .nsf database
Home Page settings	Bookmark.nsf	User changes Home Page setting
Workspace	Desktop8.ndk	User adds database links; changes page settings; (Server updates the database information)
Replication configuration	JOBSCHED.NJF	User configures replication schedule
Location settings	Names.nsf	User adds/changes Location documents User changes current location.
Server connections	Names.nsf	User adds/deletes server connections
Certificate	Names.nsf	User accept Certificate creation as access database; Certificate downloads from server based on policy configuration.
Accounts	Names.nsf	User configures Sametime login User configures Activities login User adds account via Contacts or Preferences
Contacts	Names.nsf	User adds/deletes contact list
Web browser configuration	com.ibm.rcp.ui.browser.launcher.prefs	User changes Web browser settings (Default Browser, Browser history setting)
Web browser history	Workspace\BrowserHistory	User accesses Web page with Embedded Browser
Widget configuration	com.ibm.rcp.toolbox.admin.prefs	User sets up widget catalog location
Feeds configuration	com.ibm.rcp.feedreader.providers.prefs	User changes Feeds configuration via Preferences
Feeds data	localfeedcontent.nsf	User adds subscription
Activities	\Activities\server.xml	User sets up Activities
Search history	.metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.search.ui\searchHistory.xml	User submits search via SearchBar
Search options settings	com.ibm.rcp.search.ui.prefs	User changes search options settings via Preferences
Symphony configuration	com.ibm.productivity.tools.standalone.prefs	User changes settings via Preferences
Symphony autosaved doc	.metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.productivity.tools.autosave\	If user configures File recovery in Preferences, edited document will be auto saved into com.ibm.productivity.tools.autosave, based on Preferences setting.
Symphony Recent Files list	com.ibm.productivity.tools.standalone.prefs	As user opens a document for editing
Sametime configuration	com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community.prefs com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.login.prefs com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.chat.logging.prefs	As user sets up Sametime or changes community settings As user sets up Sametime or changes login user name and settings As user changes Sametime content logging settings
Sametime Local Contact list	.metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.imhub\buddylist.xml	As user adds/deletes/changes contact and group
Sametime Contact Person cache	.plugins\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.people.impl\PersonCache	As user adds contact to Buddy list, person information and picture will be downloaded into this cache.
Same Primary Contacts	.plugins\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.primarybuddies\primbuds.xml	As user drags Sametime contacts into Primary Contacts panel.
Window settings	com.ibm.rcp.ui.prefs com.ibm.rcp.personality.framework.prefs	As user changes window display settings (Window mode, Toolbar setting) As user changes DEFAULT_RESTORE_TABS_PREFERENCE
Window State data	.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.personality.framework\personalityWindowState\com.ibm.rcp.platform.personality.config.xml	As user opens a display window or changes window display settings
Sidebar State data	.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.personality.framework\personalityWindowState\com.ibm.rcp.platform.personality.config.xml	As user opens & collapses sidebar, or user enable sidebar display of features. Sidebar state data are stored at section.
UI Toolbar state	com.ibm.rcp.ui.prefs	As user configures Toolbar settings

Files remaining after client uninstall

With a regular uninstall method, almost all client files are removed. Those that remain are listed below.

<PROGDIR>\
license\
nlnvp.dll: NSF Hook
notes.ini
dbghelp_x86_v6.8.40.dll (for Windows)

<DATADIR>\
bookmark.nsf
Cache.NDK

cluster.ncf
desktop8.ndk
diagindex.nbf
frstrings
headline.nsf
ini.nbf
JOBSCHED.NJF
localfeedcontent.nsf
log.nsf
names.nsf
pid.nbf
ticket.idt
user.id

workspace\
.config\
.metadata\
applications\
logs\
.rcp.lock

FAQs

What files can the user delete and/or change without impacting client run?

Table 2 lists the relevant files, whether they can be deleted, the impact of deletion, and how to resolve an incorrect deletion.

Table 2. Result of deleting files and how to resolve if incorrectly deleted

Files	Deletable or not	Impacts if deleted	How to resolve wrong delete action
bookmark.nsf	Yes	Loss of user bookmarks, Home Page settings, and history. This file can be recreated at launch.	Automatically restored on relaunch
desktop8.ndk	Yes	Loss of previous desktop data	Automatically restored on relaunch
names.nsf	No	Client cannot be launched.	Copy a names.nsf or re-setup the client.
localfeedcontent.nsf	Yes	Loss of some feed content	Automatic on relaunch
headline.nsf	Yes	Loss of some user data	Automatic on relaunch
JOBSCHED.NJF	Yes	Los of replication scheduled data	Automatic on relaunch
Notes.ini	No	Client cannot be launched	Copy an original notes.ini file and re-setup client
Cache.NDK	Yes	Loss of some user data	Automatic on relaunch
User.id	No	Client cannot be launched if it cannot get an appropriate user ID	Copy a user ID
Other files (NTF, .in ) in <DATADIR>	No	Client cannot be launched, or some features won't work well.	Copy appropriate files into folder
Files in <PROGDIR> and JVM folder	No	Client cannot be launched, or some features won't work well.	Repair client or reinstall
Files in Framework folder	No	Client cannot be launched, or some features won't work well.	Repair client or reinstall
Files in <DATADIR>\workspace\.config	Yes	Loss of previous runtime data. Updated features with Eclipse update won't work.	Can be recreated at launch, and updated features must be reinstalled.
Files in <DATADIR> workspace\.metadata	Yes	Loss of user configuration and preferences data.	Can be recreated at launch, but user must re-configure features.
Files in <DATADIR> workspace\.sodc	Yes	Loss of configuration of Symphony editor.	Can be recreated at launch, but user must re-configure features.
Files in <DATADIR> workspace\applications	No	If there are deployed non-shared features in this folder, Client cannot be launched, or some features won't work well.	Repair client or reinstall
Files in <DATADIR> workspace\logs	No	Loss of log information	Automatic on relaunch
Others	No	Some features won't work well since Other files are mostly resource file of features.	Repair client or reinstall

Your Notes client cannot be launched or a feature does not work properly after some configurations and operations. How do you fix this issue?

This situation is generally due to data file changes (runtime data, user instance data) associated with feature setup or other operations. To resolve the issue, try the following:

Reset workspace configuration data. With client launcher mechanism, runtime data (such as plug-in dependencies, plug-in extension point/contributions, plug-in bundles information, and caches) must be created and stored in the RCP Configuration Data Area (<PROGDIR>\workspace\.config) as the basis of the next client launch.

If a user performs an operation that leads to a client hang or crash, the corresponding bad runtime context information may be retained in the Configuration Area, and then client cannot be launched the next time due to bad context runtime data.

To resolve bad state situations, use the following command to re-set the client configuration data:

<PROGDIR>\notes.exe -rparams -resetconfig

Note that -resetconfig was originally designed to restore the base configuration defined in the install.xml. However, now that all installed features are merged into the install.xml, a -resetconfig will not likely help this situation, but you might be able to combine the -resetconfig with a modified or older install manifest file.

Reset user private data. As stated above, user private data is updated in user data files and preference files with feature configurations and operations. When users perform operations that lead to a client hang or crash, the corresponding user data or status will be updated inthe data files and will cause the next client launch to fail.

To resolve this issue, you can manually reset the user private data based on the relationship between features and data files described in Table 1 above.

For example, suppose a user wants to add a widgets catalog from a blog site, but in his review he entered the wrong name for the .nsf file, and now the Notes client cannot launch without crashing.

To resolve this problem, find the data file (com.ibm.rcp.toolbox.admin.prefs), which contains the widget setup information, and delete this file or change the line entry (toolboxCatalogLocalDBName=) of the file to the correct .nsf file name.

Repeat setup of the Notes client. If you are still unable to fix the problem with the above methods, back up your private data files (there is a list of private data files for backup at the end of this section), clear the data files for initial client status and re-setup the Notes client. To do this:

1. First, delete the files in <DATADIR> (bookmark.nsf, names.nsf, localfeedcontent.nsf, Cache.ndk, Desktop8.ndk..) and the delete files in <DATADIR>\workspace

2. Second, revert the Notes.ini back to initial status as follows:

[Notes]
KitType=1: (1 – Workstation 2 – Server)
Directory=C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\Data: (Data Directory Setting)
InstallType=2: (2 - All client install 6 - Notes client only)
InstallMode=1: ( 1: Standard Client, 0 : Basic Client)
NotesProgram=C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\: (Program Files Directory)

3. Then, launch and set up the client.

Some features don't work properly after some configurations and operations. What can you do?

Sometimes a feature is not working properly or the client status is not what the user wants, or worse, the user has no way to roll back their previous operations since not all user data/statuses can be reset via the user interface.

To resolve this problem, modify the appropriate data based on the listings in table 1. For example:

If a user cannot see Day-at-a-Glance in the sidebar, they can check corresponding line entries in the file:

.plugins\com.ibm.rcp.personality.framework\personalityWindowState\com.ibm.rcp.platform.personality.config.xml

and verify whether there is a <ShelfState> tag for “com.ibm.workplace.ui.sidecalendar.views.SideCalendarViewPart” in the <SidebarState> section.

If there's not, add

<ShelfState bottomIconBarIndex="-1" collapsed="true|false" expanded="false|ture" id="com.ibm.workplace.ui.sidecalendar.views.SideCalendarViewPart" index="3" ratio="13108" topIconBarIndex= "-1"/>

to the <SidebarState> section.

How do you determine whether the appropriate features are installed?
There is a spreadsheet file (Files Map for Notes Client.ods) that lists installed directories and files map based on application and components. You can compare the installed client with that file list, to verify if the appropriate features are installed.

For application plug-ins, use the plug-in information in [Plug-ins Details] via Help --> About IBM Lotus Notes Panel, and verify if features plug-ins and dependent plug-ins are installed and enabled.

Your client cannot be uninstalled cleanly. What can you do?
In a Windows environment, you might encounter problem whereby the Notes client cannot be uninstalled cleanly. You may get a message from the installer stating that there is an existing Notes client installed when you re-launch the client install.

This problem cannot be resolved even by deleting all files in <PROGDIR> and <DATADIR> as there is some information stored in the System Registry file.

To resolve the problem, refer to the Microsoft Support article, “Use the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility to remove Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003.”

The Notes client installation is based on the Windows Installer, so you can use the Windows Install Clean Up tool to remove files and Registry information related to the Notes client (see figure 1).

Figure 1. Installer Clean Up window


NOTE: Make sure to remove any remaining footprints in the System Registry database.

After the Notes client uninstall, you can check if there are related items remaining in following locations:

-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Lotus\Notes
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Lotus\Notes\8.0
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\IBM\Lotus\Expeditor
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Products\<Product ID>
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\<Product Code>\
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\
-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs

What files should be backed up before attempting a reinstall?
As described above, user private information is stored in data files, so you should back up these data files to seamlessly migrate/upgrade the Notes client. Files to back up include Names.nsf, Bookmark.nsf, Notesbook.nsf, Localfeedcontent.nsf, Desktop8.ndk, and User.id.

Conclusion

You should now have a good idea of the file changes with respect to the Notes 8.5 installation, setup/running, and uninstall phases in the client's life cycle, as well as how general user operations change the files. We also provided some representative problems and fix methods in FAQ's section, based on our extensive testing experience of the Notes client.

Resources

developerWorks Notes and Domino product page:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/products/notesdomino/?S_TACT=105AGX13&S_CMP=LP

Notes and Domino discussion forum:
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd85forum.nsf

Lotus Notes 8.5 information center:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/domhelp/v8r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.notes85.help.doc/fram_what_new_85_r.html

Lotus Expeditor information center:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/ledoc/v6r11/index.jsp

Microsoft's Support site:
http://support.microsoft.com/

About the authors

Chih-Hung Chiang is a Lotus software developer based at IBM's Massachusetts Lab in Littleton, MA. He joined IBM after finishing his Doctoral degree in Computer Science in 2007, working on the Expeditor Platform UI project where he focused on the launcher UI area.

Hong Tao Wei is a Lotus software tester based at IBM's China Lab in Beijing, working as a Notes Installation Testing leader. He joined IBM in 2004.