Ask The Geek: Can TurboLaw forms be used in Star Office?
May 27, 2008
Today’s question comes courtesy of Donald MacLellan - he asks:
Can the [TurboLaw] forms be used in Star Office 8? Are there any plans to go to Linux Ubuntu or some system [other] than Microsoft Windows?
Technically that’s two questions, so here are two answers:
- TurboLaw relies on Microsoft Word (and Microsoft Excel) to create documents and merge case information into the documents, however, once the forms have been created, they are just regular Word and Excel documents and could be opened by any program that is capable of reading Word or Excel format files - including Star Office. However, you will still need Microsoft Word (and Microsoft Excel) to create the documents initially with TurboLaw.
- There are currently no plans to make a version of TurboLaw for any operating system other than Microsoft Windows - although we are not ruling that possibility out, if our customers were to demand it. Right now, however, most of our customers use Microsoft Windows, so that is where TurboLaw will run.
Have a question for the geek? Send it to us at askthegeek@turbolaw.com!
TurboLaw Time and Billing: Always Improving
May 14, 2008
It’s been just under 2 months since we released TurboLaw Time and Billing, and far from resting on our laurels, we’ve been hard at work making constant improvements based on feedback we receive.
Some of the things we’ve improved are:
- Statements now more clearly show a positive balance/credit - as from when you have a retainer
- We now offer a 30-day trial period
- Statements don’t print out the “payment number” that is used internally to track payments (some people found it confusing)
- Bill numbers now start at 1001 instead of 1 (some people found the old behavior confusing)
- We changed the layout of the Choose Template window to make it easier to see the names of templates (especially if they are long names)
- The template editor has been enhanced to allow you to drag & drop merged fields to make customizing bill and statement templates even easier
- You can now change the headings for work/expenses on bills (look under Tools > Settings)
- You can now choose whether bill items are sorted oldest to newest or vice-versa (look under Tools > Settings)
These are just a few of the improvements we’ve made - and we’re always working on more! We take our responsibility to provide you with great software very seriously, and we always listen to what our customers have to say.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions - feel free to drop us a line! You can email us at help@turbolaw.com, or call us directly at (800) 518-8726. We look forward to hearing from you!
Microsoft Word and the Modern Legal Practice
May 13, 2008
The legal community has long had special requirements for documents that most word processing programs just didn’t handle well. Given the amount of time and effort that is spent drafting documents, it comes as no surprise that lawyers and legal staff have often had a love/hate relationship with their word processing programs over the years.
With the new Word 2007, that’s all starting to change.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
Word 2007 includes document templates specifically for legal documents – including documents with line numbers running down the left margin. You can even choose how many lines will be on a page! These documents are formatted to match the classical style of documents, so they aren’t quite as… let’s say “pretty” as TurboLaw documents, but they’ll do in a pinch. And they are included with Word 2007, so you don’t have to do the hard work of trying to lay them out on your own - which is always handy when you are pressed for time.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
Word also includes some basic pleading templates, which include the traditional document heading. They are very useful for whipping up a quick document - if you intend to write and format the entire body of the document yourself.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
Of course, Word’s legal document templates are just a starting point - unlike TurboLaw documents, they don’t merge case information - and they do use a font that resembles a typewriter’s typeface, just to preserve that “classic” feeling. You can, of course, change the fonts to suit your own taste - and if you want to make sure your documents are actually read, you might consider choosing your font with care - there is a great deal of research that has been done regarding how the choice of font can impact how people read. (For more on this subject, see our article on Tips for getting your documents read.)
Not Just Templates
It doesn’t stop with just templates, either. Microsoft has a vast number of resources available for the legal profession, including an entire section of articles filled with tips and how-to guides just for legal professionals. They have articles on how to write better legal documents with Microsoft Word, how to compare documents with the legal blackline option, using documents effectively in court and a number of articles on removing metadata (the “hidden data” in your documents that we’ve talked about before).
Collaboration Made Easy
Additionally, the Internet has made collaborating on a document easier than it ever was before. The American Bar Association notes how the new features of Word 2007 can help with document collaboration (as well as keeping sensitive information private and supporting compliance efforts), and for when the other party isn’t physically nearby, on-line document sharing tools such as Microsoft Office Groove and Google Docs can help “erase” the barriers of distance.
Tips for Attorneys: Getting Your Documents Read
May 12, 2008
We all know about the power of the written word - after all, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” But the words we write don’t do much good if people don’t take the time to read them.
There has been a large amount of research done on how different fonts affect how people read a document, both in print and on the computer screen.
- Text Font Readability Study
- Typeface Readability
- Readability - making pages easy to read by design
- Literature Review - Serif vs. Sans Serif Legibility
Although many of the articles linked here are primarily concerned with legibility on the web, the same rules apply to people reading documents on a computer screen - and it is important to note that different rules apply to the computer screen as opposed to the printed page.
Font, Typeface, What’s the Difference?
Generally speaking, there are two types of fonts - Serif and Sans Serif. Serif fonts are the “classic” fonts, like Times New Roman. They are the fonts you typically see in newspapers. “Serif” refers to the little flowing marks at the edges of the letters. Sans-serif, on the other hand, simply means “without serifs.”
Serif fonts tend to work best in print; sans-serif fonts work better on-screen (and especially when the size of the text is small).
Although we highly recommend reading the articles linked above, here is a summary of the tips they offer for making sure your documents are actually read:
- Use an appropriate font - serif for print, and sans-serif for on-screen reading.
- Choose and appropriate font size - a small font may let you cram more information onto a page, but a larger font makes it easier to read.
- Don’t use lots of different fonts - it is visually distracting. Use just two or three fonts, at most.
- Use fonts consistently - use one font for body text and another for headings. Don’t swap the two half way through your document.
Don’t go overboard with bold, italic, and underline emphasis. If you need to emphasize an entire sentence, try using bold instead of underline, as it is easier to read and is less visually jarring.- If your document will be read on the computer or on-line (such as a web page), avoid using underlining - people will mistake it for a link that they can click on.
- Left-aligned text is easiest to read. Justified text (where the computer automatically adjusts spacing to make each side of the paragraph line up) is only effective with really long sentences, and the uneven spacing can make it hard to read.
- Don’t write entire sentences or paragraphs in ALL CAPITALS. It decreases the contrast between letters, making it harder to read. If you must draw attention to a section of a document, consider using a box to draw an outline around the text, or (if your document will only be viewed on the screen) use a background color.
- If you have long sections of your document, consider breaking it up a bit - use headings and sub-headings to break up long sections of text. Newspapers and magazines - whose livelihood depends on people actually reading their text - know this better than anyone. They will go so far as to take a quote from the text and put it in the margin in big letters, just to break up a long expanse of text.
If you follow these simple tips, you can ensure your documents are both legible and easy to read - which helps ensure that they actually are read. After all, you’ve gone through the trouble to produce your document with the expectation that it will be read - you might as well take a few extra steps to help make it a little easier on your readers.
What’s the difference between a bill (or invoice) and a statement?
April 25, 2008
Let’s face it - the English language can sometimes be imprecise. You get a cell phone bill, but you get a credit card statement. Both itemize the charges made to you - so which one is it, a bill or a statement?
While we can’t make the English language any better, we can at least shed some light on the distinction between bills (or invoices) and statements as they relate to TurboLaw Time and Billing.
In TurboLaw Time and Billing, a bill (also called an invoice) is just what you’d think it is - an itemized list of work done for the client, and how much they owe you for it. For example, a bill might have the following items on it:
- Spent 3 hours in court: $450.00
- Travel expenses to meet with client: $75.00
- On-site meeting: $250.00
- TOTAL DUE: $775.00
This is like a bill or invoice that you might get when you purchase something. We tend to call it a “bill” because you “bill” for your services, while you get an “invoice” for goods - but in practice the two terms are generally interchangeable.
A bill doesn’t say anything about money that might have already been paid - it simply lists the work or expenses you’ve done and how much they total up to.
On the other hand, a statement in TurboLaw Time and Billing is a “statement” of the status of the client’s account at a particular point in time. Each line item on a statement represents either a bill or a payment. As such, it doesn’t offer as much detail as a bill - but it does show payments made towards the account. Statements are often sent out on a regular basis (e.g., monthly - like your credit card statement) to show your clients where they stand (and if they still owe you any money). For example, a statement might have the following items on it:
- Balance forward: $85.67
- Bill #123: $290.00
- Payment #82: $50.00
- TOTAL BALANCE: $325.67
This shows that the client had a balance due of $85.67 from before the period of this statement (if you send out statements monthly, your statement period is usually “the last 30 days”) and that in that time, a bill for $290 was produced, but the client sent in a payment of $50, resulting in a final balance due of $325.67.
To see a sample bill and statement, click on the images below.
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- A Sample Statement
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- A Sample Bill
Hopefully this helps clear up any confusion about what the difference is between bills, invoices, and statements. As always, if you have questions about any TurboLaw product, you can call us at (800) 518-8726 or email support@turbolaw.com.
Ask The Geek: How do I type in documents where it doesn’t carry over to the next line?
April 3, 2008
Many thanks to longtime TurboLaw Document Software customer Candice McKenna-Imlach for today’s question.
In Microsoft Word, in order to keep “typing lines” under each line of text it is necessary to use Word Tables without text wrapping. This means that, when reaching the end of the table cell where text is typed, it is necessary to Tab (advance) to the next form field in order to continue typing text.
Microsoft has some very good (and very free) on-line training courses for learning how to deal with tables in Microsoft Word - here are some courses you can take to learn more about how to use Microsoft Word and tables to make complex page layouts:
More courses are available from Microsoft by clicking here.
Have a question for the geek? Send it to us at askthegeek@turbolaw.com!
Version 2.65 Released
March 20, 2008
Once again, we are very proud to announce the latest release of TurboLaw Document Software - Version 2.65!
This new version includes the following improvements and features:
- “Web Links” tab renamed to “Web Help” and now links to the TurboLaw Help Center
- Improved update utility handles intermittent Internet connection problems better
- Internal improvements to several of the utility files used by TurboLaw
- Improved the wording of messages relating to registration, updates, and subscription status
As always, we recommend that all our customers update to the most recent version. So if you haven’t already, check for updates in TurboLaw by clicking the Update menu and choosing Check for Updates. Or, better yet, choose Update Options and turn on Automatic Updates to be kept up-to-date automatically!
New Website!
March 18, 2008
We are very pleased to announce the launch of our new website!
We’ve completely re-designed our site to make it more accessible and more helpful to our customers. We’ve also added a number of new pages to the Help section, and we’ve expanded our training section as well!
In addition, the new website features our new product - TurboLaw Time and Billing - which is now available.
We hope you enjoy our new website. If you’d like to tell us what you think, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Ask The Geek: How can I send documents in PDF format?
March 10, 2008
To send documents as PDFs (which stands for “portable document format“), you need a program to create PDF files - there are several available on the Internet for free, as well as some from commercial software vendors. The company which popularized the PDF format is called Adobe, and they sell a program called “Adobe Acrobat Professional” which allows you to create a PDF from just about anything. They also give away for free a program called “Adobe Acrobat Reader” which allows you to view a PDF and print it out (although not create a new one).
The best part of a PDF file is that just about anyone can view it - whether using a PC, a Mac, or some other type of device, chances are he or she can open a PDF file and view it. There are PDF viewer programs written for virtually every type of computer ever made, so when you send a PDF, you can generally be assured that the recipient can view it. Over the years, it has become the de facto standard for printable documents on the Internet.
Another great benefit of PDF files is that they strip out all the hidden “meta data” in your documents. You may have heard about “meta data” - this is the data inside your documents that you normally don’t see, but that may contain sensitive or personal information you don’t want disclosed. Creating a PDF naturally strips this information out - which makes PDFs a simple, easy solution to the problem of “meta data.”
Have a question for the geek? Send it to us at askthegeek@turbolaw.com!
Version 2.64 Released
February 19, 2008
We here at Promethean Software Corporation are once again very pleased to announce the release of a new version of TurboLaw - Version 2.64.
This new version includes improvements to the “My Firm” tab, as well as scroll bars on the “User Templates” window - but most importantly, Version 2.64 includes our new digital certificates for documents and for the TurboLaw Toolbar in Microsoft Word and Excel. If you have started receiving messages about an expired digital certificate, this update will resolve those problems.
As always, we base our updates on feedback from our users - we hope you enjoy this new version of TurboLaw!
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