TechnoLawyer: Business Productivity/Word Processing

In his recent review of Firefox in our Topical Compilation newsletter, Fred Kruck begrudgingly returned to Internet Explorer thanks to certain sites that don't work in Firefox. TechnoLawyer member Bernard MacArthur has some advice for Fred: "There is a plug-in for Firefox that you might find useful: http://ieview.mozdev.org." This plug-in enables you to open a Web page in Internet Explorer while in Firefox.

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A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

On December 8, 2004, we distributed several reviews of Google Desktop Search in our Topical Compilation newsletter. A number of TechnoLawyer members have since pointed out Google Desktop Search's limitations and its competition. For example, Sandor Boxer writes "Until I stop using Eudora as my e-mail program and WordPerfect for word processing, Google Desktop Search will not have much value." Regarding the competition, Ed Poll writes "I really like X1.  It works like a dream and indexes my entire drive, including WordPerfect files. Try it, I think you'll like it."  Meanwhile, Douglass Shachtman writes "Since I am also a WordPerfect user, I followed Dave Stratton's advice and downloaded Copernic; it has been fantastic."  Finally, several members have written with caveats about Google Desktop Search's privacy implications.

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A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

A TechnoLawyer member has asked us to pass along the following: "Just a warning for those using WordPerfect 11 and HotDocs.  The latest WordPerfect 11 service pack will not work with HotDocs.  Apparently the internal definitions for some macros were changed.  HotDocs posted a fix, though it did not work for us.  The only repair that worked for us was to upgrade to WordPerfect 12.  However there is a service pack for WP 12 too.  I am waiting to hear from HotDocs to see if that service pack is safe to use."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent Fat Friday newsletter, Daniel Markham pointed readers to a free Microsoft utility that removes metadata from Word documents.  TechnoLawyer member Roger Boyell has since tried it, writing "I downloaded the M$ metadata removal tool and found that it corrupted several of M$ Word's features, particularly the page numbering.  Recall the law of unintended consequences."  TechnoLawyer member Larry Vollintine had a different take, writing "I just tried the free download Meta data remover program from Microsoft on a large lease and it seems to work. Thanks for the suggestion."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Regarding the recent criticism of WordPerfect, TechnoLawyer member Roy Greenberg writes: "I long ago learned not to install the first release of any software. For those of you considering WordPerfect 11, be sure to download the substantial patches that were released to remedy bugs in the program. You can find them at Barry McDonnell's great WordPerfect Web site. I had trouble finding these patches at the Corel Web site (which is either undergoing renovation or has been significantly modified as of late)."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Regarding Barbara DiFranza's recent question about recipients unable to open her PDF files, TechnoLawyer member John Laster offers the following advice: "Check your document security in Acrobat. It gives you an array of choices, e.g., allowing recipient to print, edit, etc. Using that feature has solved a bunch of our .pdf problems."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Regarding a recent question from someone seeking a PIM, TechnoLawyer member Al Goldberger writes: "We use a program called Info Select. It's kind of a free form database that uses an outline structure. We put each matter as its own "topic" and then have subset tabs for notes, correspondence, pleadings, research, etc."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

With all the talk of large PDF file sizes lately, TechnoLawyer member Mohsin Ladha offers this tip: "Please check out CVista PdfCompressor Desktop Edition on CVISION Technologies Web site.  The software compresses PDF files quite well."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

It seems that an increasing number of applications can create PDF files.  A TechnoLawyer member has notified us about yet another, writing: "Please add OpenOffice to the list of programs which can produce PDF files.  It is also free!"

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.