Connecting to a Connections server

Log into IBM Connections servers to access Connections content from the sidebar applications.

Before you begin

These steps describe how a user can connect to a Connections server. To provision this for a group of servers, use a policy. For more information, see the article on Creating a Connections settings document in the IBM Domino wiki. For information on configuring the plug-in to work with SSL, see the article on Using INI settings to configure the IBM Connections features that are available in the IBM Lotus Notes client in the IBM Connections wiki.

You need the following information to connect to the Connections server:

  • The Web address of the Connections server (not just the server name, but the full Web address, like https://activities.example.com)
  • The username and password you use to log into IBM Connections.

About this task

When you first open a Connections panel in the sidebar, if a connection to the server is not available, you are prompted to verify connection information. The following steps describe how to log in from the Activities panel of the sidebar:

Procedure

  1. In the Activities panel of the sidebar, click Show Connections preferences to open the Connections preferences window.
  2. Fill in the following fields in the Connections Server Settings section:
    Field Description
    Server URL Type the Web address of the IBM® Connections server, beginning with either https:// or http://

    For example: https://enterprise.example.com

    If you know that the server requires a secure, encrypted connection, begin the address with https://

    Some administrators change the context roots that are used to access IBM Connections features. If the web address that you normally use to access the Activities feature has a value other than <server_name>/activities, specify the server URL using a syntax similar to this: http://enterprise.example.com/activities

    Note: Your administrator might have already provided a value for this field using an administrative policy. If so, do not change the value.
    User name Type your user name for logging in to the IBM Connections server.
    User password Type the associated password.
  3. Only required if you are instructed to perform this step by your administrator: If Tivoli® Access Manager or Computer Associates eTrust SiteMinder are configured in your environment, click Advanced, and then select the appropriate option.

Results

The Activities sidebar should now display a list of your activities. Connecting to the Activities server also creates the necessary connection for the Files and Status Updates applications.

What to do next

The next time you log in to Notes®, you are logged in to the Connections server automatically.