How are URLs mapped to Domino forms?

Question

I have an URL that points to a Lotus Domino database, for example:

http://domino853.example.com/db.nsf/wcms/BEC4D26AD7A56823C1257B4B003427A8?OpenDocument

How is that URL mapped to the Domino form?

My first thought was the UNID is looked up in the database, and that the rest depends on the Form item of that document. But that's not the case. The actual form that gets resolved is neither wcms (like in the URL), nor document (like in document.Form), but it is wcms_createdoc. So where could that come from?

Answer 1

After some research, I found it:

1. wcms is an alias for another view.
2. That view has @Text(@DocumentUniqueID) as its first sorted column.
3. And, to select the proper form, it has a Form Formula set.

So this is how it all happens:

1. The view wcms is resolved. Since the URL continues after the view name, the rest of the URL is the key into that view.
2. The first document of the view that matches the key is selected. Obviously, for the DocumentUniqueID there can be only one document.
3. Since the view has the Form Formula set, it is evaluated and maps to the form wcms_createdoc.
4. This form is rendered.

References:

• http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/ls-Domino_URL_cheat_sheet/