TechnoLawyer: Business Productivity/Word Processing

Coming December 4, 2007 to TechnoFeature: Learning new software is like learning to cook — you need to practice and can always benefit from experts. In this article, attorney and experienced Acrobat user Roy Greenberg shares his top ten tips for Acrobat 8 Professional. If you think you know Acrobat, think again. Roy has purposely focused on ten little-known features with an emphasis on sending PDF documents to people unfamiliar with the program. Although this article won't help you make better lasagna, it will enable you to cook up better PDF files. Plus, Roy's tips have no calories.

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Coming November 27, 2007 to TechnoFeature: t's 4:30. You need to fax a 40-page document to one person and email it in PDF format to another person ASAP before the close of business. Sound familiar? In this article, attorney David Hiersekorn reviews Zetafax Duo 2007, which combines PDF automation and desktop faxing, and integrates with Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. David shares how he has integrated Zetafax Duo 2007 into his practice as well as his likes and dislikes.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming November 29, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Andrea Cannavina discusses the three primary options for digital dictation, Jeff Scott Olson reviews PaperPort used in conjunction with ScanSoft PDF Converter Professional, Caren Schwartz discusses the ins and outs of choosing the right accounting/time-billing software, Douglas Folk offers some sound advice to anyone having trouble with a faulty laptop touchpad, and Lewis Kinard provides a tip for using a laptop and an external monitor with Windows XP (plus a strange predicament you may experience with multiple monitors). Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers intelligent scheduling software (see below), a free office suite, and a time-billing program for Mac OS X. Don't miss the next issue.

Balance for Your Balancing Act
By Taeho Lim

Got too much to do? Get in line and join the club pal. Better yet, break free and take control of your life. That's the promise of Life Balance, "The To Do List for Real Life" from Llamagraphics. Life Balance is intelligent scheduling software. Just tell Life Balance what you care about and the program can help you prioritize what matters the most and set your schedule accordingly.

Life Balance uses "fuzzy logic math techniques" to help you better manage your schedule. Specifically, depending on your priorities, how much time and effort you want to put into each task, and how much you actually get done each day, Life Balance will make recommendations about your schedule.

Life Balance offers a number of other unique features as well. For example, the outliner can group your smaller tasks into larger projects. You can also quickly switch around the tasks in your project with a simple click and drag of your mouse. Most importantly, you can literally work on your matters one step at a time with a feature that adds only the next step to your to-do list after you have finished the previous one. Seeing the next task instead of every task keeps you focused and prevents you from feeling overwhelmed.

Life Balance can automatically schedule routine tasks that it notices, provide alerts for impending deadlines, integrate with your Palm OS device, and create pie charts that break down how you spend your time. In the Life Balance User Community you can share tips for best using the software.

Life Balance works with Mac, Windows, and your Palm. The Palm-compatible version costs $39.95 while the Mac and Windows versions cost $64.95 each. You can also purchase a Mac+Palm or Windows+Palm bundle for $79.95. Learn more about Life Balance.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming November 9, 2007 to Fat Friday: Mitchell Herbert explains how to get the best tech support from Dell, Caren Schwartz responds to a recent post about the stability of Time Matters 8, David Garretson provides a few Treo 650 Bluetooth headset tips, David Caracappa adds to Neil's TechnoLawyer Summer Mix with some of his favorite tunes about the law, technology, and more, Rush Wels reveals which word processor has a built-in Rosetta Stone so to speak. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming November 8, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Anthony Elliott reviews the password management tool Password Safe, Harold Noack reviews his experience using Amicus Attorney with PCLaw (plus we provide some additional tips), Katrina Curfiss discusses the three key features of Tabs3 for time and billing, Adobe's Rick Borstein shares some helpful information about Acrobat Professional 8 and email archiving, and Karen Dunson reviews NCH Swift Sound for your digital dictation needs. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers timeline creation software (see below), PDF software for power users, and redaction software. Don't miss the next issue.

One Click Timeline Charts
By Taeho Lim

Every picture tells a story. So does every litigator. A timeline enables lawyers to tell their stories visually — much like a picture does. Seeing is believing as they say. Regardless of whether a series of events transpired seconds, minutes, hours, or years apart, seeing them all in sequence in a timeline can have a tremendous impact on clients, jurors, judges, or colleagues.

Progeny Software designed Timeline Maker Professional 2.0 so that even computer novices can quickly create professional-looking timelines. To start, you simply enter events and then select the type of chart you want with one click. The event entry screen uses a table interface similar to a spreadsheet. A built-in legal spell checker corrects any typos. Alternatively, you can import events from other applications to further expedite the process of creating a timeline.

Once you've quickly mastered the basics, you can change the appearance of your chart with one click by selecting from the built-in library of graphic themes and styles. You can also define your own style by adding your logo and using your firm colors.

In addition to smartening up your timeline, you can enhance the events within it as well. For example, you can include photos, audio and video clips, and add links to PDF files or Web sites. You can also color code events to make them easier to follow (e.g., one color for your client and another color for the opposing party).

The purpose of a timeline is to show it to others. To help you do that, Timeline Maker Professional features a wealth of output options. You can print timelines on any printer at any size. You can export a timeline as a graphic (JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG), or in PDF or HTML format. You can also integrate your timeline into any PowerPoint presentation with one click.

The built-in presentation viewer enables you to show your timeline using Timeline Maker Professional itself. And the "Package for Sharing" feature creates a .zip file that you can send to anyone for output or viewing with all the files intact. The free downloadable "Timeline Maker Viewer" means that others can view your timeline without owning a copy of Timeline Maker Professional.

Timeline Maker Professional runs on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. You can try it for free for 30 days. Pricing starts at $195 for a single-user license. The price drops significantly with each new user you add. Licenses come with unlimited free support and a 60 day money back guarantee.  Learn more about Timeline Maker Professional 2.0.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming November 2, 2007 to Fat Friday: David O'Connell responds to a recent TechnoFeature about biglaw associate salaries, Kerry Hubick explains how to use Styles and insert Excel files in Microsoft Word, David McConnaughey reviews his experience using a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard and the Logitech Cordless Desktop S510, James Atkins reviews Roboform for password management, and Robert Price shares a tip for scanner paper jams as well as a review of his Xerox Documate 252. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming November 1, 2007 to Answers to Questions: David Hudgens reviews his experience using Time Matters and PCLaw, Michael Gabriel reviews eCopy Desktop for converting PDF files to Word/WordPerfect (and more), John Courtade explains how he uses Pivot Pro to switch from landscape to portrait mode on his multiple monitors, Sanjay Singh provides some tips for managing case-related email in Outlook, and Malcolm Gregson reviews Legalmaster for time-billing and user-defined case management. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a "getting things done" Web application (see below), a utility for creating a table of authorities in Microsoft Word, and an online office suite. Don't miss the next issue.

What Is Your Next Action?
By Taeho Lim

Back in law school, you may have used mnemonics and acronyms like IRAC to help you with exams. Now apivision.com has a new acronym for lawyers looking to organize their daily routines and long-term projects: Nozbe, which stands for N(ext Action) O(rganize and Process) Z(ero Problems). Simply put, Nozbe aspires to keep busy attorneys like you looking ahead at all times

The first set of features for Nozbe revolves around looking at your Next Action. Nozbe enables you to quickly jot down digital notes and tasks and add them to your schedule. Next, you can group your tasks and notes into projects and matters. Move tasks and notes between projects as necessary and arrange your folders based on your preferences. Finally, just as pro athletes always say they play the season "one game at a time," Nozbe enables you to designate a certain task as the main one you need to complete next.

Nozbe also provides features to help you Organize and Process your work. Group your tasks under "contexts" so you know what to do next and where to do it. For example, you can designate what you need to do at Home, at the Office, or what Errands you need to run. In addition, Nozbe enables you to attach pertinent files to your projects. Finally, Nozbe provides a number of ways to access your account, including printing your to-do lists on A4, pocket, and wallet-sized paper, and logging in via iPhone and other smartphones as well as iGoogle and Netvibes. Mac users can download a Dashboard widget.

If Nozbe sounds like a system for David Allen's Getting Things Done that's because it is. Overall, Nozbe claims to make it easy to share and delegate work, as well as edit your actions. In addition, the API enables you to connect Nozbe to your existing applications. Those in need of further guidance can contact Nozbe founder Michael Sliwinski personally.

Nozbe offers a free account for up to 5 projects, a $4.95/month Basic account for 30 projects, a $9.95/month PRO account for 100 projects, and the high-end Super! account for $14.95/month for 1,000 projects. Learn more about Nozbe.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.