Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers new trial presentation software that handles PDF files (see article below), an online document assembly application, an online service designed to help transactional lawyers draft documents, an online post office box service for managing your mail, and task management software for Macs. Don't miss the next issue.
Present PDF in the Courtroom
By Neil J. Squillante
If Rip Van Winkle were a litigator who fell asleep at his desk for 20 years after reading a complaint, he might very well wake up just in time for the trial. But he might not find any TIFF documents on his trial laptop. "What's PDF?" he would exclaim. "How can I annotate and redact PDF files so I can use them as demonstrative evidence?" He might be tempted to take another nap unless he could quickly find a trial presentation tool that could handle PDF files.
inData TrialDirector Version 5.2 ... in One Sentence
inData TrialDirector Version 5.2 is a trial presentation application that now offers advanced tools for PDF files and supports the MPEG-2 video format.
The Killer Feature
Although PDF is not exactly a new technology, TIFF files remain a fixture in the litigation world. Many litigation support applications cannot annotate, redact, or otherwise handle PDF files as well as they can handle TIFF files.
But litigators have spoken. They want to use PDF files, especially at trial. inData TrialDirector Version 5.2 enables them to do so.
For example, you can view PDF files instantly no matter how large, annotate them using tools such as a highlighter, arrows, and shapes, redact them using all the common colors and styles, navigate to any page, magnify any area, merge and extract pages, add sticky notes and text labels, and print bar codes and slip sheets.
Perhaps best of all, you can present PDF files and integrate them with TrialDirector's full suite of tools such as annotation layers, live annotations, zoom, rotate, and pan, and callout projections. You can also create a snapshot of any page of a PDF file.
Our customers asked for more flexibility for using PDF images when needed so that's what we delivered in Version 5.2 of TrialDirector," inData CEO and President Derek Miller told us.
Other Notable Features
With consumers migrating to HDTVs, they expect higher quality video in the courtroom as well. TrialDirector 5.2 has always supported MPEG-1 video files. Now it supports MPEG-2 as well, which offers much higher quality. It also supports MPEG-4, QuickTime, and DVD-VOB. Importantly, TrialDirector includes an MPEG-2 codec for video playback, eliminating the need to buy one separately.
Other new features include the ability to automatically assign exhibit numbers, customize the presentation toolbar, position the closed captioned transcript text that accompanies video testimony, and sort and edit documents in a new optional grid view.
Also notable is that TrialDirector 5.2 runs on Windows on a Mac using Boot Camp, Fusion, or Parallels. Just as importantly, inData will provide support for these configurations.
What Else Should You Know?
TrialDirector 5.2 is a free update to licensees of TrialDirector versions 5.0 or 5.1 with a current maintenance contract. Single-user licenses of TrialDirector v5.2 start at $595 plus maintenance. Learn more about inData TrialDirector Version 5.2.
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