TechnoLawyer: Automation/Document Assembly/Macros

Coming September 28, 2005 to Answers to Questions: William Brown discusses Palm synchronization in great depth (including multi-computer and cross-platform), Sam Brenner explains how to customize Adobe Acrobat using JavaScript, Kevin Bross reviews Adobe LiveCycle Designer for creating electronic forms, Erick Regalado offers advice for those experiencing problems with Windows XP Service Pack 2, and Gaynell Lerille points out some helpful Web sites that provide salary information for the legal field. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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.

Coming July 19, 2005 to Fat Friday: William Kellermann defends native file review, a hot-button topic in the e-discovery industry, David Hammer explains how a broken hard drive can help build your kid's self-esteem, Ronald Cappuccio reviews Document Production System 8, David Larson reviews Pathagoras, and Larry Crowell reviews Iomega's Automatic Backup (formerly QuikSync). 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.

Recently in Answers to Questions, Jason Havens discussed his move from PCLaw to AbacusLaw. In his Post, Jason mentioned AbacusLaw's HotDocs integration. TechnoLawyer member Michael Wasserman responds as follows: "I too am a long time Abacus user in a two-lawyer general practice. A big fan. Sadly, the HotDocs connection works only with HotDocs 5.0 (and, possibly, earlier). It does not work with HotDocs 6.0 or 2005."

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.

Coming August 10, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Mark Sargis reviews ProLaw READY, Jason Havens reviews Microsoft Small Business Server 2003's VPN functionality as well as AbacusLaw Gold and Lawgic, Kath Gilliam discusses the shortcomings of firewalls regarding spyware prevention, Neal Rogers discusses why lawyers have not yet embraced Groove Virtual Office for collaboration, and Virginia Burrows shares some invaluable advice for configuring old HP printers with Windows XP. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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.

Coming August 12, 2005 to Fat Friday: Stephen Nipper follows up his recent article with some more tips on health savings accounts, Douglas Thomas reviews HP's Scanjet 5550c, Joel Johnson reviews Pathagoras in his corporate practice, Alex Simpson provides an invaluable tip for those who file rather than pile their e-mail, and Jeffrey Bannon discusses one benefit of "native file review" for those engaged in electronic discovery. 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 August 4, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Cynthia Zook explains how to tame Outlook's auto-address completion feature (the postscript to Cynthia's Post features additional advice from TechnoLawyer members Melinda Benanti, Pamela Coleman, Kath Gilliam, David Parker, and Walter Sanchez). Also in this issue, Martin Pagel discusses the strengths and weaknesses of various electronic forms solutions, Diana Brodman Summers compares VersusLaw to Westlaw, George Tanguay discusses his the pros and cons of various legal research tools, and Bryan Morin checks in with his opinion of Dell's tech support. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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.

Coming July 21, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Taylor Putney reviews AbacusLaw and discusses its secret WordPerfect functionality, Nicholas Corona Jr. reviews Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Douglas Folk reviews the Motion Computing Tablet PC, Bryan Sims shares his wife's insurance expertise regarding Health Savings Accounts, and Virginia Burrows reveals how to customize your reminders view in Outlook.  Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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.

Coming May 12, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Kevin Svec provides a troubleshooting guide for law firms experiencing network slowness, and Kristy Binmore explains how your firm can tweak the Maximum Transmission Unit in the Windows registry to speed up your network. In addition, John Laster tells you where you can find legal-oriented WordPerfect macros, and Bryan Keenan provides hope for lawyers who want to synchronize their Treo 600 with ECCO Pro. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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.

Coming May 2, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Jason Havens reviews the Panasonic KXT-G4000B 4-line cordless telephone system after two months of use in his law office, Ken Laska points to a resource other than TechnoLawyer for unbiased reviews of scanners and other law office equipment, Dianna Reynolds discusses Amicus Attorney's integration with GroupWise, Stephen Donovan reviews Dell's 1600n MFP printer/scanner, Linscott Hanson reviews an outliner that you can use on your PC and your PDA, and Mary Allen reviews a consultancy that specializes in creating WordPerfect macros for law firms. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a twice 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.

Below you'll find one of the five articles from today's edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire:

Pathbreaking Document Assembly Tool Turns 10
By Brett Burney
If people reach their peak physical condition at age 21, what about software? If you ask the folks at Innovative Software Products of Virginia, they would probably tell you that it takes 10 versions. Why? Because the company's flagship product, Pathagoras, has just turned 10. Pathagoras continues to offer two tools in one — a document management utility that facilitates filing and retrieving documents, and a document assembly utility that works within Microsoft Word. Version 10 contains two major new features — Instant Glossaries and DropDown Lists. Instant Glossaries enable you to quickly disassemble a complete document into its component clauses so that you can easily recreate similar documents in the future. This feature dramatically reduces the time and complexity involved in setting up document templates. To use Instant Glossaries, you simply mark where each clause begins and ends. Pathagoras does the rest. DropDown Lists facilitate moving lists of your frequently used documents and library terms into always-on dropdown lists, enabling you to easily create new documents or insert terms. These lists reside on screen just like Word's font list and style list. Click on any name in the dropdown list, and Pathagoras instantly places the corresponding term into your document. Other new features in Pathagoras 10 include "Beginner's Green Buttons" that guide you step-by-step through Pathagoras' features, a contextual help system called "How Do I? ..." that provides a menu of choices if you get stuck, more powerful variables for conditional text, improved error reporting (the company has a reputation for fixing bugs at light speed), and the ability to open WordPerfect documents into Word for assembly and then convert them back to WordPerfect format. Pathagoras works with Microsoft Word 97/2000/2002/2003. Prices start at $349; a 90-day free trial is available. Learn more about Pathagoras.

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.