Lotus Notes - Document Already Deleted Issue

Question

I was recently tasked with modifying a Lotus Notes application in my workplace. Before starting I created a new replica of the live program into my PC drive using Replication > New Replica option.

After I modified it and entered some dummy data, I went back to check on the live program. Only to notice that not only did my dummy data appeared in the live server, but also the form design that I modified replaced the live design (luckily I just added some fields, so its no big issue).

Naturally I deleted the dummy data from the live version view. And when I come back to my test version, when I try to delete the exact same dummy data, I get an error saying

Document locking is enabled. You must lock the document before deleting.

So I did that, which gives me another error saying that document has already been deleted. Meaning that although my original form data was deleted, the view data still remains in limbo. I can open it and see the form's content, but I cannot edit it anymore.

I was lucky that I deleted the dummy data through the live version, but now I want to delete the same data from test version.

Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Answer 1

Important note: If you need a test database which is completely separate to any live database, don't create the test database as a "new replica". Create it as a "new copy" instead (in the Notes client, use File -> Application -> New Copy).

Making your local database as a new replica means that it replicates changes between the local file and whatever server you replicated it from.
Most likely, your Notes client had been previously configured with scheduled replication enabled, so any changes (in either design or data) made in either the local database or server database are automatically replicated to the other. I can't tell you how often it replicates, since that's a configurable option, but it's probably once every few minutes.

In the case of your "already deleted" document, the deletion in the live database would have been replicated to the local database. To make the document disappear locally, simply close and reopen the database (but if prompted to delete documents currently marked for deletion, choose No).

Edit...
Another thing to try to make the local document disappear is manual replication. You can get a list of local database replicas via what the Notes calls the "Open List". This appears by default as an "Open" button immediately below the File menu, or its contents may appear in a vertical bar down the left side of the Notes window if you've ever chosen to dock the Open List.

In the Open List, click the "Replication and Sync" option. Its icon is two curved arrows that almost form a circle.
"Replication and Sync" lists all databases for which you have local replicas. To immediately replicate just one database, find that database title, right-click it, and click "Replicate Selected Application".

If the database is currently open in Notes when replicating, you may also need to manually refresh the view to make deleted documents disappear (the F5 and F9 keys should both refresh the current view, but you only need to press one of them).