An enhancement is requested to improve the handling and recovery of the bookmarks.nsf file in HCL Notes. In some situations, Notes fails to start and displays a generic “File already exists” error, which is later identified as being caused by a corrupted bookmarks.nsf. The current and only effective mechanism to resolve this issue is to manually rename or remove the corrupted bookmarks.nsf file, after which Notes recreates a new file on startup.
While this workaround allows the client to function again, it results in a complete loss of all existing bookmarks, as there is no built-in repair, recovery, or restore mechanism for bookmarks.nsf. Additionally, Notes does not provide clear diagnostics, logging, or error messaging to explicitly indicate bookmark file corruption or explain how such corruption occurs, particularly when multiple users are affected around the same time.
It is requested that HCL Notes be enhanced to include a supported repair or rebuild option for corrupted bookmarks.nsf files, improved detection and user-friendly error handling, and optional backup or recovery capabilities to prevent data loss. Providing better diagnostics would also help administrators understand root causes and prevent recurrence. These improvements would enhance stability, reduce manual intervention, and significantly improve the overall user experience.
