Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers an online Flash-based office suite (see article below), software for comparing Excel spreadsheets, document management software, software for accessing your firm's litigation docket via Outlook, and a gadget that transforms your iPhone into a universal infrared remote control. Don't miss the next issue.
Not Your Father's Office
You can't swing a pair of "7" skinny jeans in New York City's East Village without hitting a trendy restaurant featuring exposed brick walls, servers with nose rings, deconstructed dishes, and cocktails that require an ingredients search on your smartphone. It's fun to be hip, but hip doesn't work so well when it comes to word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. As a result, most law firms have eschewed hip online suites such as Google Docs, preferring to stick with dowdy but feature-rich and reliable Microsoft Office (think Cheesecake Factory). But a newcomer to the world of online office suites claims to have the functionality law firms need.
Live Documents … in One Sentence
InstaColl's Live Documents is an online Flash-based office suite consisting of Live Writer, Live Spreadsheets, and Live Presentations.
The Killer Feature
Unless every organization with which you work switches to Live Documents, you'll still have to deal with Microsoft Office files. And even if that happens, what about all your existing Office files?
Live Documents features what it calls non-lossy Microsoft Office round tripping, which offers two benefits. First, you can import Office documents without losing any existing formatting. Similarly, you can export to Office formats.
Second, if an Office document contains a component that Live Documents does not support such as a macro, Live Documents will preserve the functionality of that element throughout the importing and exporting process.
Other Notable Features
Each of the applications in the suite include collaboration tools. For example, multiple people can work on a document simultaneously. Changes appear instantly. You can also review every change made to a document, including who made each change and when. Your clients do not need a Live Documents subscription of their own. You can either export and email them a Word file, or send them a password-protected link for reviewing the document online. You can specify permissions such as view only.
Live Documents also offers document management. You can tag documents with a client/matter number and keywords, and organize documents using workspaces — similar in concept to folders but with more flexibility. For example, you might place a brief in two workspaces — one for the matter to which it pertains and another for model briefs.
But what about document creation? InstaColl claims that its applications offer the most critical features. For example, the word processing application Live Writer supports rich text, lists, tables (including rules and shading), images, charts, and comments. Also, what you see is what you get in terms of printing (you need not export to print your documents).
What Else Should You Know?
Live Documents works in any Web browser that can run Adobe Flash Player 10. You can use Live Documents for free if you can stay within the limits imposed — 60 documents and 100 MB of storage. Otherwise, Live Documents Premium costs $13.99/month per author (people who can create new documents). An unlimited number of people can edit and review documents. Alternatively, you can host Live Documents on your own server at a customized price depending on your needs. Learn more about Live Documents.
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So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
