You have two options for distributing secret encryption keys: you can electronically mail them to users, or you can save the key to a file and give the users the file. The easier distribution method is mail. The Notes® client automatically uses public key encryption to protect your secret key when it is mailed, and it gives the recipient the ability to add the key to his ID file with a single click. Exporting the key creates a KEY file, which you can put on a disk and hand to coworkers, who then have to use the Import Key button in the User ID dialog box on their own computer to add the key to his user ID.
Consider exporting secret keys to files if you are distributing keys to application users who do not use Notes mail, because only Notes mail users can receive and merge a key via e-mail. Second, if you don't have complete confidence that the recipient's ID file and password are secure, then you shouldn't trust that the mail system is secure enough for something as potentially sensitive as a secret key.
When you mail an encryption key, the mail message is, by default, signed and encrypted.
To export an encryption key to a file that you can distribute on disk: