WD97: Word 97 Supports ODMA

ODMA is the Open Document Management API. ODMA provides applications with a consistent method to integrate seamlessly with clients from document management systems (DMS).

ODMA is a standardized, high-level interface that enables you to transparently access a DMS from your desktop program, such as Microsoft Word 97 for Windows. With ODMA, these services appear to be an extension of the program.

Common DMS software packages will replace the standard Open and Save dialog boxes in Word with customized dialog boxes that provide security and version control functions such as:

• a way to enter or remove a document
• Controlled access to documents
• Locks on any document when checked out
• Some degree of security when distributing documents
• A means for quick searches on the names of documents in the system
• A means of tracking access to the document system

In order to enable ODMA functionality in Word or Office, you must install a DMS system along with the Word or Office software.

NOTE: Microsoft Word 97 for Windows and Microsoft Office Binder 97 are ODMA-compliant applications. When you add a Word 97 document from file or add a new Word 97 section to a binder, Word 97 remains ODMA-compliant.

Described below are the specific calls and steps an ODMA-compliant application goes through during integration with a DMS.

When an application first wants to interact with the document management environment, it does an ODMRegisterApp call to the ODMA Connection Manager (ODMA). It will typically do this as part of its startup, but it can delay it until the user actually initiates interaction with the document management system (DMS). ODMA returns a handle for the application to use for identification in all subsequent calls. When the application exits, it calls ODMUnRegisterApp to return the handle.

As part of this registration process, ODMA will search the Windows Registry for a registered DMS in the following key: It tries to connect to the first DMS whose key has a sub-key of DEFAULT. The value for the DMS key itself is for an executable provided by the DMS vendor. This is typically a .DLL whose function is to translate the ODMA calls into calls to the DMS client's own integration API. If the user has not already logged in to this DMS either directly or from another application, then the DMS client puts up a log-in screen. Once an application has registered with ODMA, it either continues with API calls, or can switch to a COM interface. ODMA then becomes essentially a transparent traffic manager, passing ODMA calls through to the appropriate DMS client. The DMS client implements the COM interface, as an aggregation of that in ODMA.

NOTE: Applications do not register with ODMA. They provide an additional API call that the Connection Manager uses to "wake up" the DMS integration, which returns an interface Id.

Requests for new documents and searches go to the default DMS. If the application provides a document id that is for a different DMS, the Connection Manager starts the DMS client if it is not already connected, and passes the call to it.

All dialogs for searching, selecting and setting properties of documents, as well as log-in, come from the DMS client. In ODMA 1.0, neither ODMA nor the application provide any dialogs.

To open a document, the application calls ODMSelectDoc and the DMS displays a dialog for the user to select the document and version required. The application calls ODMOpenDoc to ask the DMS to retrieve a work copy for the application to open.

To save a new document, the application calls ODMNewDoc to get a temporary document Id, ODMSaveAs for the user to complete a profile, ODMOpenDoc to get a filename to save to and ODMSaveDoc to let the DMS know it can take the file. ODMCloseDoc completes the process and tells the DMS to delete the local work copy of the file. For more information about ODMA, please see the following Web site:

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SOFTWARE VENDORS

The following is a list of Document Management System (DMS) vendors:

DOCS Open

Hummingbird
1 Sparks Avenue
North York, Ontario
Canada M2H 2W1
Telephone: (416) 496-2200 or (877) 359-4866
Web Address: http://www.hummingbird.com (http://www.hummingbird.com)

Technical Support:
Telephone: (850) 942-5000
Fax: (850) 942-8085
E-mail: support@pcdocs.com

Documentum

DOCUMENTUM, INC.
6801 Koll Center Parkway
Pleasanton, CA 94566
Telephone: (925) 600-6800
Fax: (925) 600-6850
Web Address: http://www.documentum.com/ (http://www.documentum.com/)

Technical Support:
Support Hotline: (925) 600-6860
E-mail: support@documentum.com

GroupWise

Novell, Inc.
1555 North Technology Way
Orem, UT 84097
Telephone: (888) 321-4272
Web Address: http://www.novell.com (http://www.novell.com)

Technical Support:
Telephone: (800) 858-4000
Web Address: http://support.novell.com/ (http://support.novell.com/)

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.


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