TurboLaw 2.80 is coming soon (currently scheduled for the end of April or the very beginning of May), and to help everyone understand what’s changing (and what isn’t), here’s a quick summary of “what’s new” in TurboLaw version 2.80:

No More UAC Prompts

UAC (for “User Account Control”) is a feature of Windows Vista and Windows 7, and it causes those “this program needs your permission to continue” boxes to pop up sometimes. In the case of TurboLaw, you received this prompt every time you opened TurboLaw.

Starting in TurboLaw 2.80, you won’t get this prompt anymore, as we’ve removed the requirement from TurboLaw that made Windows display the prompt in the first place.

Ordinary users will be happy that there’s one less prompt popping up in your face, but network and IT admins will love that this means that TurboLaw no longer requires administrative rights in order to run. For those who use TurboLaw on a Windows Terminal Server or in a Citrix environment, this will make life a lot easier.

No More “Error! Reference source not found!” Messages

When you create a document for a case in TurboLaw 2.80, it looks for the “reference fields” that can cause this message and replaces them with normal grey-shaded form fields. Once all the reference fields have been replaced, it is no longer possible for you to receive the “Error! Reference source not found” message anymore.

Better Spell Check

TurboLaw 2.80 includes changes to make it so that you can check the spelling of words in form fields, which Microsoft Word normally ignores. It also includes a handy Check Spelling button on an updated TurboLaw Toolbar that not only checks the spelling of words in form fields, but it can check the spelling of a document that is currently protected (locked for editing) – something that Word’s own spell-check cannot do.

Additionally, these changes mean that if you do un-protect a document (by using the Edit Document button), Microsoft Word will draw the “red squiggly” underline under misspelled words, even if they are in the gray shaded form fields.

No More “Lost” Forms

When you opened a “blank” form in TurboLaw, the form you were opening was saved temporarily to a “temporary” folder, and it was up to you to remember to use Save As to save the file somewhere permanent if you wanted to keep it. If you didn’t save it somewhere permanent, the file would be lost when the temporary folder was emptied.

In TurboLaw 2.80, you will now be prompted to save your blank form right when you first open it, so you know it’s been saved somewhere permanent and won’t be lost or deleted by accident.

Auto-Sizing Columns and Better Sorting

Some document names in TurboLaw are quite long, and in certain places in the program, it was hard to see what the full name of a document was – especially if there were several that all had similar names.

Starting in TurboLaw 2.80, the columns for document names – as well as for every other column in the program – will automatically change size to fit whatever is being displayed. This way you’ll always be able to see the full document name easily.

Additionally, we’ve added some columns to part of the program that didn’t have them previously, so that you can click on the column heading to sort the list of documents, files, or other information.

Better Network Setup Assistant

The Network Setup Assistant has been completely revised in TurboLaw 2.80, streamlining the process of networking TurboLaw so you can share data between multiple users.

“Search for Help” Built In

In TurboLaw 2.80, you’ll find a “Search for Help” box in the top-right corner of the program. This box lets you easily search our new and improved on-line help center, so that you can get the answers to your questions quickly.

Better Printing Features

We’ve greatly improved the built-in printing abilities of TurboLaw 2.80. In particular, you can now display a “print preview” of things like document messages, case notes, and the full case list. Additionally, this “print preview” window also allows you to export what you see into various file formats, such as PDF, Word, Excel, or several other formats.

Cancel Anything

Certain operations in TurboLaw (for example, creating a document) can sometimes take a while to complete. Previously, you simply had to wait until they were done – there was no option to stop or cancel what was happening.

In TurboLaw 2.80, you now have the option to cancel any long-running operation (e.g., creating a document).

Better Window Resizing

This new version of TurboLaw is much smarter about window sizes, with a much more consistent behavior among all the windows of the program.

No More “Minimized” TurboLaw

Previous versions of TurboLaw would sometimes open up “minimized” at the bottom of your screen, if you had previously closed the program while it was minimized. As of 2.80, TurboLaw will always open up on your screen, and never minimized to start with, so you don’t have to go looking for it.

Saved Document Icons

In TurboLaw 2.80, when you are viewing the list of saved documents for a case, the documents and files now have the same icons you would see in Windows Explorer.

New Tutorial Link

TurboLaw 2.80 includes a new video tutorial link, which takes you to our on-line help center’s video tutorial section. These on-line tutorials are much more comprehensive than the old tutorial.

Customer Experience Improvement Program

The new version of TurboLaw now includes the option for our Customer Experience Improvement Program, which records anonymous usage statistics and sends them back to us. This lets us know how people are using TurboLaw so we can make even more improvements in the future to the features that people actually use.

Better Error Handling

If TurboLaw 2.80 encounters an error it cannot recover from, it is now capable of reporting that error back to us so we can find ways to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Additionally, when an error does occur, you have the option to either exit the program or try to continue – which is useful if the error was just temporary (e.g., if you had accidentally unplugged your USB memory stick with your files on it while you were using TurboLaw).

Better Options & Settings

The various options & settings in TurboLaw 2.80 have been consolidated into a single, easy-to-understand Options & Settings window. This means that there is just one place to go to set all of the available options for TurboLaw, instead of several different menus and windows.

Better Help

Every window in TurboLaw is now linked to our revised Help file, so you can get context-sensitive help no matter where you are in the program.

This new help can be accessed by simply pressing the F1 key on your keyboard, or in some windows by clicking the little question-mark icon on the window’s title bar (just next to the “X” close button) and then clicking on the part of the window you want help with.

This is especially noticeable in the Options & Settings window, where the help which appears is specific to which tab you are looking at.

It Just Looks Nicer

Although making the program look “nicer” might not seem like a big deal, improving the visual appearance of the program has many subtle benefits. The consistent appearance with other Windows programs makes it easier to get started using TurboLaw, since it looks and works just like other programs you are used to using.

Some of the “nicer” look also includes features derived from newer versions of Windows (e.g., “task buttons” like on the Network Setup Assistant) which have been proven via extensive research to be easier to understand and more intuitive to use.

Finally, updating the look & feel of the program just makes it look nicer, and everyone can appreciate a nice, clean, modern appearance. A nice looking program may only add to your day-to-day happiness in a very small, infinitesimal amount, but every bit helps.