Migrator for Notes to Exchange 4.16.3 - Scenarios Guide

Command-line switches for running the desktop migrator in silent mode

When the SSDM runs in a silent mode, the program can obtain some entry values from the operating environment—from the Windows Registry and Outlook initialization files—and some values can be obtained from parameters in the notesdtapp.ini file. Some values can also be provided by command-line switches appended to the program command when the Desktop Migrator is run. For example:

In this list of available switches for the notesdtapp command, the /silent switch is the only one that does not have an argument:

Configuration of silent mode in notesdtapp.ini

When Silent Mode is configured, the migration team configures the application in advance within the notesdtapp.ini file to determine what will migrate, the target for each migrated data type, and the filters and other configuration elements for the migration. For example:

... tells SSDM to migrate only archives when launched by the end user and to place the migrated data in the user server-based personal archive.

Various degrees of the silent mode option can be configured depending on the flexibility and control you want to provide to the users. However, the mode is commonly configured to run as "silently" as possible, which means users are able to complete their migrations by entering their Notes passwords.

Providing program entry values in notesdtapp.ini

If the Self-Service Desktop Migrator (SSDM) is configured to skip certain screens, the program must have an alternate method to obtain the information that would be collected from fields on those screens. The program can obtain some values from the operating environment—from the Windows Registry and the Outlook initialization files—but some values can be provided by parameters in the notesdtapp.ini file.

When an value is specified in the INI file, the value appears as the default if the corresponding screen and option appear in the program run, or will be the prevailing value if the screen and option do not appear.

Any of the migration choices in the Specify Data for Migration screen can be specified in notesdtapp.ini using these parameters:

A value of 1 sets the option to "yes" (the data type is migrated if the screen does not appear), or sets the check box to be selected by default. A value of 0 sets the option to "no," or sets the check box to be empty by default. If a feature is disabled by AppDoesXxxx=0 (see Hiding certain user choices on the Specify Data for Migration screen), the corresponding INI-file parameter is ignored.

Usually these parameters are used provide the necessary values when the program is configured to skip the Specify Data screen using MigrateWhat=skip or MigrateWhat=silent (see Hiding entire screens from the user).

If the program finds more than one eligible Outlook profile on the user computer, or does not find a profile, the program displays a Select Profile screen to prompt the user to specify the profile. If one eligible Outlook profile is found, the program assumes it is the correct profile and the Select Profile screen does not appear.

You can configure the end-user program to skip the Select Profile screen but the program must be able to determine the correct Outlook profile. You can specify the user Outlook profile in notesdtapp.ini using:

Specifying the user Outlook profile in the INI file is useful only if:

The program does not need the ProfileName value if only one eligible profile is found on each user workstation.

If MNE finds more than one mailbox in the selected Outlook profile, MNE displays a Select Mailbox screen to prompt the user to designate the target mailbox. If only one mailbox is found for the selected profile, MNE assumes it is the correct mailbox and the Select Mailbox screen does not appear.

You can configure the SSDM to skip the Select Mailbox screen, but in that case (or if more than one mailbox is associated with the Outlook profile) the program must be able to determine the correct mailbox. You can specify the user target mailbox in notesdtapp.ini using:

Specifying the target mailbox in the INI file is useful only if:

The SSDM does not need this MailboxName value if one and only one mailbox will be found in the user’s Outlook profile.

You can specify the destination folder (path) for the user migrated archive in the [General] section of notesdtapp.ini using:

... where <path> is the full UNC path relative to the user computer.

This value, if necessary in a particular program run, would otherwise be specified in the Specify Directory screen.

The default for this parameter is the Outlook Default Directory which the program can determine from the operating environment. This parameter is necessary only if you want user migrated archives to go to a location other than the Outlook Default Directory.

The Self-Service Desktop Migrator (SSDM) lets you specify date limits and ranges for messages to be migrated—to migrate only messages timestamped on, after, or before a certain date, or within a particular date range. You can also specify a maximum size limit for attachments. The date and size filters can be specified during a program run on the Select Date and Size Filters screen, However, the screen is hidden by default (see next section) and the filters can be defined by these parameter settings in the [Filter] section of notesdtapp.ini:

The AttachSize value is numeric in kilobytes. You must enter the date parameter values in an eight-digit, slash-separated format as shown, with a zero preceding any single-digit month or day. The defaults for the parameters are null so no filtering occurs.

Hiding entire screens from the user

You can customize the Self-Service Desktop Migrator (SSDM) program to make some of its screens "silent" (invisible to the end user) or to conditionally skip a screen, making it visible only if the program cannot find information from the operating environment or in the notesdtapp.ini file. The display option for each screen can be set to one of three parameter values in the notesdtapp.ini file:

The show, skip or silent mode can be applied to each of ten program screens by setting parameter values in the [Screens] section of notesdtapp.ini for the following:

The visibility of the Enter Password screen (occurs between the Selection Summary and Migrating Data screens) cannot be set or changed in the notesdtapp.ini file. This Microsoft prompt for the user Exchange login credentials can appear if the Outlook profile is configured to require login credentials. If this screen is mandatory, a completely "silent" run of the program may not be possible. Even if you set the other screens to silent mode, the program might still prompt the user for Exchange login credentials.