What is IBM Notes, Lotus Notes, and NSF file/Extension?

In the earlier days, most people used handwritten letters as a means of communication, but sending letters manually took a lot of time. As time goes by, people prefer emails over handwritten letters. Regular users use normal email clients but organizations use some authentic email clients like IBM Notes and others.

History of IBM Notes/Lotus Notes?

IBM Notes (1995) formerly called Lotus Notes (1989) is a groupware application originally developed by Lotus and later became part of IBM.

Lotus Notes is IBM's enterprise email software. The software has been rebranded and is now known as IBM Notes.

What is IBM Notes/Lotus Notes?

IBM Notes is essentially a desktop workflow application primarily used for email services and it provides some business collaboration functions like instant messaging, email, calendars, blogs, personnel directory, to-do list, micro-blogging, and forums to organizations.

IBM Notes is one-half of the collaborative client-server software platforms and Lotus Notes is the client part of the software platform but Lotus Domino is the server. However, Lotus Domino has also been changed and is now known as IBM Domino Server.

What is NSF file?

NSF stands for Notes Storage Format which stores mailbox data in .nsf file format. The NSF file was formerly known as Lotus Notes. The Notes Storage Facility is a database file that has always been supported by both IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Domino Server.

NSF stores note information such as user email, design information, appointments, metadata, calendar entries, contacts, and attachments, etc., in binary form. NSF files are easily downloaded by the notes client to access the fully functional database in offline mode. If the Notes user modifies, edits, or performs any mirrored changes to the database it is automatically synchronized by the Domino servers to the master database.

Different types of Lotus Notes database formats and structures

v Mailbox.nsf: This type of file format contains your mail, to-do list, and calendar. You may also find this file under some other names, such as a database. nsf and <username>.nsf.

v Names.nsf: This NSF file format collects information from your address book, including contacts, connections, and locations.

v Bookmark.nsf: It Contains your saved bookmarks.

v Busytime.nsf: This NSF file stores your local free time information.

v Headline.nsf: Contains your database membership information.

v Internet.nsf: This NSF file format contains the details of your newsgroup membership (NNTP).

v Perweb.nsf: This file stores web browser information.

Encryption format of NSF file

An NSF file can be encrypted in a different encryption format

Mail Encryption	Port Encryption
Field Encryption	Database Encryption
Document Encryption

 Specifications of NSF file format

Developer:	IBM
Format Type:	Binary
File Category:	Database Files
MIME Type:	application/x-lotus-notes, application/vnd.lotus-notes
Hex Signature:	1A 00 00 04 00 00
Supported Platforms:	Microsoft Windows & MAC Operating Systems
.nsf files stored location:	Notes\Data directory
Supported application:	IBM Notes & IBM Domino

 

Location of the NSF file

The location of the NSF file is based on the Windows operating system you are using and is either single user or multiple users. It saves to different locations on Mac and Linux.

Single User:-

Windows: C:\Programs Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\Data

Multi-User:-

Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Lotus\Notes\Data

Other all Windows: \Users\AppData\Local\Lotus\Notes\Data

Mac OS: ~/Library/Application Support/Lotus Notes Data

Linux:  / {$HOME}/Lotus/Notes/Data

Programs needed to open NSF files

The following programs are important for opening NSF files

v IBM Lotus Notes

v IBM Domino Server

v NSF file Viewers

Conclusion

In the above article, here we discussed all the basic facts about NSF files and their features. In addition, we talked about all the details regarding the NSF file store location and encryption format. This article will be helpful to know about all the details of the IBM Notes/NSF file.

Recommend solution to open or export NSF file into PST, Offce365, EML, etc. 

https://www.mailsdaddy.com/nsf-to-pst-converter/