This Legal Files QuickStart Guide contains some of the critical information you need to get started with using Legal Files. For the full guide, click here: Legal Files User Guide.
This QuickStart Guide covers:
Here's how to add a new Legal Files user:
- Click on Utilities
- Click on Administration
- Click on User Maintenance
- The Single User Chooser window will appear. Click on the New button.
NOTE: Adding a User requires appropriate security rights.
The fields in the Add New User window can be used as explained below:
1. User Name - Click the three dots next to the User Name field to open the Name Card Chooser window. Search to see if this Users Name Card has already been created. If so, select it; if not click the New button on that window to add a new Name Card for this User. Save & Close.
2. Login ID, Password - Enter a Login ID and Password for the User. See the Password Guidance section (below) for additional information.
NOTE: In certain security environments, User Login IDs and Passwords may need to match network credentials. Legal Files sometimes displays a different value in the User Chooser window, or may do so inconsistently. As long as the credentials appear correctly in a Users record under User Maintenance, this display may be disregarded; Users will be able to access Legal Files.
3. Security Group Name - Use the lookup icon to select the Security Group for this User.
4. Type - Use the lookup icon to select this user's type, a method of categorizing Users.
5. Initials - Enter the user's initials. This data can be used when generating documents and custom reports.
6. Status - Set to Active by default; see Inactivating Users below for more information.
7. Locked - Defaults to No. But if User login attempts are limited, this can change to Yes when the maximum is reached. Reset to No to unlock a User account.
8. Options/Overrides: Make the choices most applicable for each User.
- Options
- User Mode – May display options if a User is given multiple settings in System Access. Select an option for the default value.
- Start Page – Depending on the User’s license(s), this list may vary. Most will have: My Files List, Heads Up, Manage My Day, and Eligibility.
- Manage My Day / Users / Name Cards – Controls whether the User has access to these areas of the application.
- Client Header – Options include Yes or No. This setting allows the insertion of a client’s header image at the top of the application. Visible only to Client Portal Users. Defaults to No, which uses the Legal Files default header.
- Overrides
- Administrator Privilege on Reports - Allows Users to run query reports to which they have access; results will also include files to which that User does not have access. This override control does not grant reporting access to private files.
- Allow Full Access All Files - Check this if you want the User to have full access to files, and to have the ability to run reports on all files, even if the User is not assigned to a file. This override control does not grant access to private files. Default is unselected.
- Prevent File Creation Contact/Legal/Office – Click the checkbox of any File Type, and this User cannot create new files in that Type.
9. System Access - Select the mode applicable to this User, from the following choices:
- Client/Server – Desktop: For Users who need access to the desktop application.
- eBill – Application Mode: For Users who need access to Legal Files’ eBilling
module. - eBill – Invoice Upload: For Users who need the ability to upload invoices to Legal
Files’ eBilling module. - Mobile – Application Mode: For Users who access Legal Files from iPads or
iPhones. - Web – Application Mode: For Users who use the web application.
- Web – Client Mode: For “limited access” Users who use the web application, but can only access specific Action Items in specific files.
- Web – Portal Mode: For “limited access” Users who use the web application, but can only access specific files.
10. Team Management – Make the choices most applicable for each User. a.
- Select the checkbox next to the appropriate Team(s) the User should be a member of.
- When you double-click the Team name, you can select the Role, Manager, Signer, and Access Only values for that User in that Team.
- This list can be exported to Excel if needed.
11. Open File Wizard Access – Make the choices most applicable for each User.
- Select the checkbox next to the appropriate Open File Wizard(s) that the User should have access to assign users/teams to. For each row, select whether the User has access to assign individual users, teams, or both.
12. Calendar Groups – Make the choices most applicable for each User.
- Select the checkbox next to the appropriate Calendar Group(s) the User should be a member of.
- NOTE: The columns for Original, Blind, and Carbon are only for use in the Legal Files desktop application.
13. Report Trees – Make the choices most applicable for each User.
- Select the checkbox next to the appropriate Report Tree(s) the User should have access to.
14. Doc Template Trees – Make the choices most applicable for each User.
- Select the checkbox next to the appropriate Doc Template Tree(s) that the User should have access to.
15. Microsoft Office – the Exchange Email Address must be populated for the 365 web add-in and synchronizer features to work for the User.
NOTE: The License Purchased and License Used columns track this data for each license type. Checkboxes in the Access column will be grayed out when all licenses in a given type are in use. Inactivating any User’s license in a license type will activate the checkbox again.
NOTE: Within Select Options, setting Manage My Day to Yes will give Users the ability to select Manage My Day as their start page in Preferences. However, setting Manage My Day to No will remove Manage My Day as a start page option in Preferences, and the Users' start page will be My Files.
Considerations when Adding a User
For more information on each topic, please see the Legal Files Administrators Manual.
Inactivate a User
Where to find it: Utilities / Administration / User Maintenance
A User’s status can be changed if a User no longer needs access to Legal Files. Change the value in the Status field to Inactive. The license this User was using is now available to be assigned to another active User.
After setting it to Inactive, a hyperlink appears next to the status field. Click the Remove user hyperlink to remove this User from Teams, Calendar Groups, Open File Wizard Access and Assigned Users, My Users, Report and Document Template Management, and Wizard Triggers – in one click.
Copy User Preferences and Default Searches
Copying an existing User’s preferences and default searches is a best practice recommendation. Administrators can push saved preferences one field at a time, or as an entire group.
Where to find it: Upper right corner / Preferences
Pushing Preferences Field-by-Field: Administrators can push a single field on any tab in the User Preferences window to some or all other Users.
1. Right-click on any User Preferences field (i.e., My Start Page on the Misc. tab).
2. You will see a list of all Users. Click the checkbox before the name of each User whose preferences are to be affected, then click OK. A confirmation message appears upon conclusion.
Pushing Preferences as an Entire Group: Administrators’ User Preferences window includes additional buttons: All Users, Select Users, and Copy Search.
- All Users: Clicking this button will allow you to override all Users’ preferences with those of the Administrator (or other Users with appropriate rights); excludes auto-route and calendar assistant preferences. You will see a list of all Users whose preferences are to be affected. A confirmation message appears upon conclusion.
- Selected Users: Clicking this button will allow you to select specific Users for whom to override their preferences with those of the Administrator (or other Users with appropriate rights); excludes auto-route and calendar assistant preferences. You will see a list of all Users. Click the checkbox before the name of each User whose preferences are to be affected, then click OK. A confirmation message appears upon conclusion.
- Copy Search: Clicking this button will allow you to select one User’s Advanced Search settings (i.e., search settings on My Files, Name Cards, Documents, etc.) to override one or more other Users. Click the lookup icon on the User From field. By default, you will see a list of all active Users; inactive Users can be found by clicking the Inactive checkbox, then the Search button (Inactive Users’ settings can be pushed out). Click the lookup icon in the Users To field, then check the checkbox next to each User whose preferences are to be affected, then click OK. A confirmation message appears upon conclusion.
- The two checkboxes at the bottom of the window also allow you to copy the Advanced Search settings for Custom Windows and Custom Window Query Reports.
Adding a New User to Existing Team(s)
Where to find it: Utilities / Team Management
- Click on Team Management from the Utilities menu, opening the Team Management Chooser window. By default, Active Teams are shown; to display Inactive Teams, click the Inactive checkbox, then click the Search button.
- To modify an existing team, double-click its name.
- Click the Add New button, check the box next to the desired User, and click OK.
- Click Save & Close to save this User to your team. Repeat as needed to add all members to the team.
To Replace Users on One or More Teams:
Where to find it: Utilities / Team Management
Use the Launch Team Replace button at the bottom of the Team Management window.
This opens the Team Management – Replace User window.
- Select the User to Assign and User to Replace in the top section of the window.
- The Teams section is a search to find the Teams that the User to Replace is currently a member of.
- Select which Teams you want to replace the User on and click the Finish icon at the top of the screen to complete the process.
User Assignment Wizard to Assign or Grant Access to Files
Where to find it: Wizards / User Assignment
- Begin by filling in the fields in the Assignment Action portion of the User Assignment Wizard window.
- Choose whether it is an individual User or a Team you will be affecting with this by choosing from the dropdown list.
- Choose whether you intend to Assign or Grant them Access to the File(s). See Administrator’s Manual for discussion of the difference between Assigned to a File vs Granted Access.
- Search for the file(s) that you will want to assign or grant access to. NOTE: The upper portion of the Affected Files section of the window is the Advanced File Search.
- Once the file search is complete, a list of files matching your search criteria displays. Click Add or Add All to choose the files you want to affect.
- Once all the files you want to affect are displayed in the right side list and you are ready to complete the process, click the Finish Flag icon (in the upper left corner of the window).
- A window displays prompting if you want to "Assign This User To This File?”
Other Wizards to Consider
Depending on how you have configured Legal Files, you may find these additional wizards helpful. Refer to the User Guide and online Help manual for more details.
- Calendar/ToDo Reassignment - Use this wizard to assign one User to another User's Calendars and To-Dos across one or more files. The Users are selected from the Single User Chooser window, which allows you to pick from active and inactive Users.
- Reschedule Calendar - This wizard lets Users re-assign Calendars – for themselves or from one User to another -- over a specified date range, either in a single file or across multiple files.
- Reschedule To-Do – This wizard lets Users re-assign To-Dos – for themselves or from one User to another -- over a specified date range, either in a single file or across multiple files. Proper security rights required for access.
Creating New Team(s)
Where to find it: Utilities / Team Management
- Click on Team Management from the Utilities menu, opening the Team Management Chooser window. By default, Active Teams are shown; to display Inactive Teams, click the Inactive checkbox, then click the Search button.
- To start a new team, either:
- Double-click the name of an existing Team and then click the Copy icon to duplicate an existing team to be modified, or
- Click the New button to open the Team Management Detail window.
- Fill in the Team Name field. To save, click the Save (not Save & Close) icon.
- Now that the template is saved, an Add New hyperlink appears above the Team Members window. Click this to add Users to this team.
- The User Chooser window appears. Select the first User by clicking the check box before the User's name, and click OK. To remove Users from a team, click the garbage can icon next to Users’ names in the Team Management Detail window.
- The User is saved to the team. Now double-click the User's name to open the Team Member Detail window.
- Use the Grant File Access checkbox to allow the User file access without file assignment. An Access Only column on the Team Management Detail window flags Users with access only. This setting is also observed in Open File Wizards and User Assignment Wizards.
- Select a Role for this team member. The role will become important if using Work Flows to assign To-Do's or Calendars to Users.
- Select a File Manager or File Signer position for this User, if needed.
- File Manager Positions are a series of three numbers (1, 2, and 3), and each file can only contain one of each series; i.e., only one File Manager 2 on a file. File Manager is used to identify who the primary or the “go-to person" is on a file.
- File Signers are Users who can sign correspondence for the file and are included in documents through Document Generation.
- Click Save & Close to save this User to your team. Repeat as needed to add all members to the team.
- Saving the template above also inserted an Add New hyperlink above the Categories window. Use Team Categories to group teams together. A team can belong to more than one category. Categories help filter team lists when applying teams to functions. Click this hyperlink to add the Team to an existing Category or create a new one if needed. Team Status and Category are filters available throughout the application.
- Saving the template above also inserted an Add New hyperlink above the Access window. This window also allows administrators to add Users with simple file access to the Team.
Add a New User to Calendar Group(s)
If the new User needs to appear in select Calendar Groups, the User must be added to those groups.
Where to find it: Utilities / Calendar Group Mgmt
- Click on Calendar Group Mgmt from the Utilities menu, opening the Calendar Group Management Chooser window.
- To modify an existing group, double-click its name.
- Click the Add New hyperlink, and click the check box before the name of each User who should belong to the group you are creating. Click the OK button to return to the Calendar Group Management Detail window.
- Click the Save & Close icon to save your Calendar Group.
Add New User to Open File Wizard - File Assignment/Access Tab
If the new user opens files with Open File Wizards, the User needs to be given proper access.
Where to find it: Utilities / Open File Wizard Tpls
- Open the Open File Wizard template(s) that the User will need to use.
- Click the File Assignment/Access tab, and then click the Add New hyperlink to reveal the User Chooser window. Click the checkbox before the names of Users who should be able to assign Users to files using this wizard. Click OK.
- Legal Files automatically gives the selected Users the ability to add Users individually and
as Teams. Deselect the appropriate row or column to configure these rights as needed. - Repeat steps 1-2 for all desired Open File Wizard templates.
Add New User to Document Template Group(s)
If the new User will generate specific documents, the User may need to be given proper access.
Where to find it: Utilities / Document Templates
- When a Template Group is highlighted, this window shows the Users with access to this folder of document templates. To add a User, click the Add New hyperlink in this window and select the User(s) to add.
Add New User to Report Management Tree(s)
If the new User will run specific reports, the User may need to be granted the appropriate access.
Where to find it: Utilities / Report Management
- When a Tree Name is highlighted, this window shows the Users with access to this folder of reports. To add a User, click the Add New hyperlink in this window and select the User(s) to add.
NOTE: If the Tree view is being used to manage report access, set the User preference to Tree. Preferences / Actions / Crystal Report View / Tree
Create a New User Rate Template
If the new User is assigned rates, the User's rates need to be defined.
Where to find it: Utilities / User Rate Template Mgmt
- Follow the navigation path above to display the Single User Chooser window.
- On the Single User Chooser window, double-click the name of the User whose rates are to be defined. This opens the User Rate Template Management window.
- Click the Add New hyperlink above the Rates window. This opens the User Rate Detail window. For more information on Rate Template Management, please see the Legal Files Administrators Manual.
Save your entries by selecting the Save & Close icon.
About Heads Up Display
Use the Heads Up list view to display all your Heads Up notices. The Heads Up notification window can be displayed as its own window from the Heads Up hyperlink under the Manage section on the left side of the Legal Files window or within the Manage My Day view. Regardless of how it is viewed, Heads Up is a notification window that periodically polls Legal Files for new messages.
Up to 250 messages displayed in Heads Up are stored in their appropriate action items search lists, such as Calendar, Email, Phone Log, etc. When you remove an item from Heads Up by clicking on the trash can icon in that row, you are only deleting the shortcut. The item is not deleted and remains in its action item search list.
Any Heads Up notification you remove can be restored by clicking the Undelete Records Deleted Today arrows at upper right of the Heads Up display. You will then see a list of the items removed that day; click the arrow in the first column of a row to restore that record. To return to your standard Heads Up view, click the refresh arrows at upper right. Removed items may be restored only during the same day; that list will be cleared the following day. See below for instructions on deleting single or multiple Heads Up items.
Explaining Heads Up Notifications
On any individual Calendar or To-Do, you can get a notification in Heads Up as many as five times.
- Notification 1: If the User assigned to the record is not the User who created the event, the assigned User will get a Routed Event in their Heads Up. This event will be titled as “Routed Calendar” or “Routed To-Do” and the Due Date will append the Description. This event will not automatically clear out of the Heads Up window; it will need to be deleted if desired. As explained above, only the notification is being deleted, not the actual Calendar or To-Do.
- Notifications 2-3-4: If the event has any of the three reminder days set, then the assigned User will get a Reminder in their Heads Up window. The associated icon will be a lightbulb. These reminders only appear on the reminder date (as defined in the event itself) and will automatically disappear the very next day, even if you do nothing to it or don’t log into Legal Files that day.
- Notification 5: On the actual due date of the event, the event will appear in Heads Up. Much like the initial Routed event you will get when assigned (if you aren’t the creator of the event), the event itself will remain in Heads Up until you either delete it or change the status of the event to Done or Kept.
Displaying the Heads Up List
Click on the Heads Up hyperlink on the upper center area of the main window to display just the Heads Up List window. This view allows you to see at a glance the basic contents of the notice. From this view, you can
- Click on the Reference column’s hyperlink to open the referenced file. Legal File’s Open File Number displays in this field for files using that field.
- You can also click on the Trash Can icon to remove the item from the Heads Up list. Removing the item from the Heads Up list does not remove it from the Legal Files database; it remains in its corresponding action item until you remove it from that location.
Opening a Heads Up Item
- Single-click on the corresponding action item icon in the Heads Up list or double-click on a Heads Up listing to open the details window for that item.
- The details window displays as a separate pop-up window for the selected item.
- You can manage every aspect of this action item from here, as detailed in the Using Action Items section of the full guide. Close the detail window to return to the Heads Up list.
- If the record you want to open is a document, you can open documents directly by clicking the View Document icons (the extension displays).
- If the record has been routed to you manually or automatically, a Route Detail icon appears before the Date column; click this icon to display information about the routing, Forward, or Reply to routing.
Deleting a Heads Up Item
- To remove items from your Heads Up Display:
- To delete items singly, click once on the trash can icon in the first column of the item’s row. This immediately removes the notification with no further action from you.
- To delete multiple items:
- Right-click anywhere in the Heads Up display to reveal a multi-select column of checkboxes at left. To turn off multi-select mode, right-click again, shift-click, or perform a long-held click.
- Click the check-box of each item to be deleted.
- Click on the trash can that now appears in the upper right corner of Heads Up.
Note that removing an item from Heads Up does not delete the item from its corresponding Action Item list.
If you have the appropriate security rights, you can close one or more files. To close a single file manually:
- Navigate to the File Setup window of the file you want to close. In the General File Information window, set the Status field to Closed.
- The Closed File Information pane appears at right; complete the information according to your business needs.
- The Closed File # field can be manually populated or may auto-populate if configured to do so by your administrators.
NOTE: The quantity and names of fields displayed may have been modified by your administrators.
- The Closed File # field can be manually populated or may auto-populate if configured to do so by your administrators.
- In the History pane, the Current File Status has been automatically set to Close. Click Save & Close.
Where to find it: Utilities / Team Management
Team Management allows for easy assignment of Legal Files Users to files and provides additional ways to view Calendars, To-Do’s or E-mails. Teams can consist of one or more individuals. Users can also be assigned to more than one team. Users’ roles and those who should be File Managers can be determined at the team level by administrators.
Creating a New Team
- Click on Team Management from the Utilities menu, opening the Team Management Chooser window. By default, Active Teams are shown; to display Inactive Teams, click the Inactive checkbox, then click the Search button.
- To start a new team, either:
- Double-click the name of an existing Team and then click the Copy icon to duplicate an existing team to be modified, or
- Click the New button to open the Team Management Detail window.
- Fill in the Team Name field. To save, click the Save (not Save & Close) icon.
- Now that the template is saved, an Add New hyperlink appears above the Team Members window. Click this to add Users to this team.
- The User Chooser window appears. Select the first User by clicking the check box before the User's name and click OK. To remove Users from a team, click the garbage can icon next to Users’ names in the Team Management Detail window.
- The User is saved to the team. Now double-click the User's name to open the Team Member Detail window.
- Use the Grant File Access checkbox to allow the User file access without file assignment. An Access Only column on the Team Management Detail window flags Users with access only. This setting is also observed in Open File Wizards and User Assignment Wizards.
- Select a Role for this team member. Role will become important if using Work Flows to assign To-Do's or Calendars to Users.
- Select a File Manager or File Signer position for this User, if needed.
- File Manager Positions are a series of three numbers (1, 2 and 3) and each file can only contain one of each series; i.e., only one File Manager 2 on a file. File Manager is used to identify who’s primary or the “go-to person” on a file.
- File Signers are Users who can sign correspondence for the file and are included into documents through Document Generation. NOTE: File Manager positions are not required but Legal Files recommends at least identifying File Manager 1 for all files. The File Manager 1 is identified in many Legal Files Software reports and can be used in Work Flows and Document Generation templates. File Managers can also be created manually in File Setup, under the Managers tab.
- Click Save & Close to save this User to your team. Repeat as often as needed to save all members to the team.
- Saving the template above also inserted an Add New hyperlink above the Categories window. Use Team Categories to group teams together. A team can belong to more than one category. Categories help filter team lists when applying teams to functions. Click this hyperlink to add the Team to an existing Category, or create a new one for this team, if needed. Team Status and Category are filters available throughout the application.
- Saving the template above also inserted an Add New hyperlink above the Access window. This window also allows administrators to add Users with simple file access to the Team.
The ABC Firm operates in many offices. The Legal Files Administrators may create Team Categories for each office as well as for each practice area (i.e., “Litigation” or “Fraud” as well as “Chicago” and “Dallas”). Users can be on multiple teams: Bill and Sally work in Fraud, but in different offices. Each belongs to the relevant city team, but both are members of the “Fraud” team.
Replacing Users on One or More Teams:
Use the Launch Team Replace button at the bottom of the Team Management window.
This opens the Team Management – Replace User window.
- Select the User to Assign and User to Replace in the top section of the window.
- The Teams section is a search to find the Teams that the User to Replace is currently a member of.
- Select which Teams you want to replace the User on and click the Finish icon at the top of the screen to complete the process.
To use a Team when Assigning Users to Files:
Teams may be assigned to files during the file opening process, or after a file has been created.
- To assign a Team to a file during the file opening process, either:
- When using an Open File Wizard, the Assigned User step must appear, and the Lookup Team icon must appear to the right of the Assigned User field, or
- When creating a file manually, click on the Assignments tab and then click Add Team hyperlink.
- The Team Chooser window appears. Click once on a Team name to see its members and their roles. Click OK to assign the Team to the file. Users who were granted file access without being assigned to the file will display in the Access section of the File Setup window.
Legal Files allows Users to be assigned to more than one team! If a member of support staff assists more than one manager or attorney, put that staff member on both teams.
To Use a Team When Viewing Calendars or To-Dos:
- In the Advanced Search window, click the drop-down or lookup icon on the Assigned User / For / User To field and select the Team whose Actions you need to search.
- Click Search to show all of these Actions for all members of that Team.
Where to find it: Utilities / Administration / Custom Prompt Management
The term “prompt” refers to the name of a data field in Legal Files. One of the most appreciated features of Legal Files is the ability to rename, hide or make mandatory many of the fields throughout the application. This is done through Custom Prompt Management.
The following is a guide for how to customize your application utilizing Custom Prompts:
- The Window field is a drop down listing all Legal Files windows containing fields that may be customized. Select the Legal Files window you want to configure.
- The Field column displays the original field name.
- The Value column is used to change the original field name to one of your choosing. To change it, find the row of the field you want to change and type the new name in this column of that row.
- The Is a Required Message column contains a checkbox at the right edge. Check this box to make a field required/mandatory in the application. The field in this column will then become active so that you can customize the error message Users will receive if they fail to complete this field in the application.
EXAMPLE: If, on the File Setup window, you had renamed Type/Category 1 as Matter Type, and you then made this field required/mandatory, you should customize the Is Required Message column with “Please enter a Matter Type.” - The Hide column contains a checkbox. Once selected, the field will not be displayed in the window. Use this feature for all fields unnecessary to your use of Legal Files.
- Click the Submit button on the Custom Prompt Management window to save your changes. You will need to Log Off and back into Legal Files to see your changes in effect.
EXAMPLE: To decide how to customize your File Setup window, remember that this is the window from which ALL of your Legal Files will begin. So, the best values to capture here are those that apply to all or almost all of your files.
Where to find it: Utilities / Administration / Pick Management
Use the Pick Management feature to manage all your pick lists from one central location. You can insert new or update existing values and view active or inactive pick list items. Both sides of the Pick Management window can be exported to Excel.
To manage pick lists:
- Click on the Utilities heading icon to display the Utilities menu. On the Utilities menu select Administration.
- Select Pick Management in the Application Management section. This opens the Pick Management window. From this window you manage all pick lists.
3.In the Pick Type (left-hand) column:
- Locate the name of the pick list you want to manage. Above this column, you can enter the name of the list and click the Apply Search button to scan the list quickly. Using the percent sign (%) as a wildcard will let you enact a "contains" search on a portion of the list name.
- Tip: To know the name of a pick list: Click on the lookup icon on any pick list. The name at the top of the column/right column will tell you the name of the pick list to manage.
- In the Pick Management window, click once on the name of the pick list to manage. The values contained in that list will populate on the Pick Items (right- hand) column of this window. If no values exist in this list, you see a "No matching data found" message.
4. In the Pick Items (right-hand) column:
- To add a new value: Click the New button, enter the value in the Add New window, and click the Save & Close button.
- To amend/correct an existing value: Click once on the value to amend, click the Update button, amend/correct the value in the Pick List Item window and click the Save & Close button.
- To inactivate an existing value: Click once on the value to inactivate, click the Update button, change the Status to Inactive in the Pick List Item window and click the Save & Close button.
- To view the inactive values in the selected pick list, click the Inactive checkbox in the upper left corner of this window, and click the Apply Search button.
- For the Calendar Event, Note Category, and To-Do Type pick lists, there is an additional option to select a Color value for specific values. This adds a color dot to most views of those Action Items.
Click Close to finish in this window.
