Legal Wit
| "Law school has been described as a place for the accumulation of learning. First-year students bring some in; third-year students take none away. Hence it accumulates." |
|
Daniel R. White
American Writer |
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Updates Review
Major Updates Coming this Year
The major updates you can expect from us this year include:
- June for new legislation effective July 1, 2009,
- September for new legislation effective October 1, 2009, and
- December for new legislation effective January 1, 2010.
We expect that you will receive these updates from us via both CD and our WebUpdate process.
Future WebUpdates
WebUpdates enable us to provide you with changed forms almost as quickly as case law or agency changes outdate them. Our WebUpdate to you later this month will include:
- Litigation - We are updating the Motor Vehicle/Vessel Records Request in this volume pursuant to a change in the form by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
- Family Law - We are updating the Motor Vehicle/Vessel Records Request in this volume pursuant to a change in the form by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. We're also updating IRS form 8332 based on a change to the form by the IRS.
- Federal Criminal Defense - We are updating 18 AO forms based on changes to those forms by the Federal Clerks' offices.
- Real Estate - We're updating the look of the new ProDoc HUD-1 forms to make them easier to read. The cross-hatching on the newly redesigned HUD-1 interferes with the information that is entered.
Past WebUpdates
Here is a review of the final February WebUpdate we provided you:
- Criminal Law -
We revised the language in the Demand for Speedy Trial (8-6) form in conformity with Rule 3.191. We also made minor grammatical changes on four other forms.
- Family Law - We updated the Fifth Circuit Notice of Related Cases (105-4), including the certificates of service. We removed the outdated Fifteenth Circuit Notice of Related Cases (115-22) because the Circuit now uses the Supreme Court form (12-900h).
- Litigation - We updated the UCC-1 Financing Statement pursuant to a change by the Florida Secretary of State. We also added information to the notary blocks throughout the volume.
- Real Estate - We replaced the HUD-1 and HUD-1A with all three versions of the HUD-1 that we offer: Standard, Borrower Information Only, and Seller Information Only. IMPORTANT NOTE: The changes are significant in that the HUD-1 is completely redesigned and some fields on page 2 of the HUD-1 have been deleted. If you re-assemble an existing HUD-1 after you installed this WebUpdate, be sure to review the differences between the previous version and the new version. We also updated five UCC forms pursuant to a change by the Florida Secretary of State.
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ProDoc Moving to Greater Reliance on WebUpdate
We expect that, in order to provide them to you by July 1, we will be working feverishly on recoding ProDoc forms for legislative actions until nearly the last moments of June. Therefore we expect to deliver to you some, and probably many, of the changes via WebUpdate after the CD ships to you.
Since this update will rely heavily on the WebUpdate process we recommend that:
- Each computer/server/laptop with a ProDoc installation should have Internet access. If all your computers are on a network, only the server needs access to the Internet for the WebUpdate.
- You provide for high-speed Internet access. Some of our updates are quite large and a dial-up connection will probably be quite impractical. And, a dial-up connection requires that you establish your Internet connection before opening ProDoc in order for WebUpdate to work, which you may forget to do.
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Beta Testers Needed for Enhancement to ProDoc and SOS
We're making an enhancement to ProDoc and SOS to address issues experienced by some users. We’re replacing the database files in ProDoc and SOS with a more robust product. This enhancement will also improve performance for larger firms.
We’re asking for beta testers to assist with the roll-out of this product. Our Quality Assurance team has been testing this change for several months and is continuing to do so. But, the test that really counts is when customers put it though the paces.
The benefit to you is that you get some one-on-one time with key ProDoc staff as we work with you to install and monitor your progress. And, you’ll probably find yourself receiving inside information about future ProDoc developments.
The only requirements for participation are that you or your staff regularly use ProDoc and/or SOS and that your computer runs Mirosoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows Vista.
If you wish to volunteer as a beta tester, please
or call her at 800-759-5418, option #0.
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Customer Questions from the Last WebNotes
The following questions were from ProDoc customers like you in response to the last month's ProDoc WebNotes.
Q: One of my computers crashed. I purchased a new computer with Windows® Vista and need to install Pro Doc on this one. What is the easiest way?
A: You didn't say whether the computer is stand-alone or networked so there is a slight difference depending on the situation.
First, if you are able to access data from the hard drive of the old machine, copy the client and case data files into a similar directory structure as for the old computer. You probably will need Tech Support assistance for this.
- Stand-alone computer -First, install ProDoc from the most recent CD. If you don't have it or you don't still have the Key Code for it, call Tech Support at 800-759-5418, option #5. After you install ProDoc, call Tech Support and request a new registration code to register ProDoc. In the same call, ask for assistance in copying ProDoc client and case data files to your new computer. After that is done you are ready to rock-and-roll.
- Network computer - Do not install ProDoc on this computer. Call Tech Support at 800-759-5418, option #5, and ask for assistance. They will help you add a short cut on the new computer's desktop that links to ProDoc on your server. This way, the user accesses ProDoc on the server through the network.
Q: Why don't you add a function that permits documents to be converted to PDF format - that is used in all Federal Courts now?
A: We will look at adding this to our enhancement list in ProDoc. However if you have a later version of WordPerfect® or Microsoft® Word you probably already have this capability. For Microsoft® Word 2007, go to File - Save As and choose to save as a PDF file. For WordPerfect® 9.0, and later, go to File - Publish to and choose PDF.
Q: How do I edit the forms so that I do not have to insert page numbering in all of the documents I assemble? I tried it several times, and it just does not work. I have Word 2003.
A: This is rather easily taken care of in the document formatting area for Word 2003. In addition to automatic page numbering you can also set up automatic custom headers and footers, page margins, line spacing, etc. Read here about setting up these features in ProDoc.
Q: If a do not have a piece of information for a particular prompt in the document, can I insert something that will remind me that I have a blank to fill in?
A: ProDoc normally ships with the setting to set an automatic place holder “[*____*]”to indicate where you have an unanswered question. To make sure this is enabled go to: Customize – Options- Assembly Settings. Make sure that “Insert placeholder” is checked. You can change the placeholder characters there if you wish.
Q: If I change a form and then the form is updated, do I have to go back in and fix the form again?
A: When you do modify the master template you can rename the revised form by adding a file extension such as .doc or .wpd—ProDoc templates do not contain file extensions. The update will then not overwrite your revised form but, of course, it also will not get updated.
Q: There is a reference to possible access for a Mac user. Do you have a date for that availability?
A: We have no target date at this time but it is at least several years out.
Q: When you make changes to forms, Why don't you identify which forms you are changing? Then we can review and compare to see how it affects our cases with the old form.
A: We may already provide what you are looking for. Here are the steps to view the changes in each CD update: Open ProDoc-Click on Help-Click on About the Volumes-Select a ProDoc volume to review the recent change history-Click on the Change History link. You will then see the changes made to each form that was modified in the last major update.
Q: Will you leave the state field blank in the Probate forms? When I add addresses of the beneficiaries and executors, "Florida" always pops up for the state. That is very irritating as it has to be constantly deleted. There are often Executors and beneficiaries live all over the United States.
A: We will look at it. Remember, however, that ProDoc only inserts Florida as a default answer and you can easily type over it. It takes no more time to type over a default answer than it takes to type the information into a blank field—but it is defaulted to Florida to save time when the address requires Florida.
Submit your ProDoc question(s) >>
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Updating Your Computer for the Future
This year you will see two significant upgrades in ProDoc, as mentioned elsewhere in this WebNotes.
This is a heads-up for you to prepare for those changes.
- Upgrading your computer operating system - If you are using ProDoc on a Windows® 98, Windows® NT, or Windows® ME operating system, you will need to upgrade that by as early as June. We're releasing an enhancement to the ProDoc database that only runs on Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, or Window® Vista.
- Moving to broadband internet service - You should have high-speed Internet access. Some of our updates are quite large and a dial-up connection will probably require a very long time to download the update. A dial-up connection also requires that you establish your Internet connection before opening ProDoc in order for WebUpdate to work.
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ProDoc Stepping Back from Broward County eFiling Plans
We decided not to deploy our completed eFiling system for the Broward County eFiling project at this time. We are watching and evaluating the future of this program. We'll keep you posted if/when our decision changes.
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ProDoc Customer Support: Finding the ProDoc Forms You Need
ProDoc contains thousands of automated forms and even long-time ProDoc users are often astounded to find forms that they assumed it does not contain. One reason could be that our form title doesn't match the name they call it. Or, the form might be contained in a different volume. There are two possible solutions for you to more easily find the forms you need in ProDoc:
- Learn how to more effectively use ProDoc's form find feature >>
- Print a ProDoc forms list -There are three different options available to you to print lists of the forms in the ProDoc volumes. When you take the time the print and view the forms lists we think you will be astonished to find how many valuable and useful forms are available... and that you've never even realized were there. View the three different ways to generate ProDoc forms lists >>
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Practice Tip: Studying Up on Alternatives to the Billable Hour
ProDoc's incredible efficiency makes alternative billing a very attractive option. If you've considered looking at alternatives to the billable hour, here are a few resources for your consideration:
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Tech Tip: Useful Blackberry® Applications
There are many useful free and low-cost applications available for you to download to and run on your Blackberry.
Here are a few ideas for you:
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Tech Tip: Syncing Your Laptop and Your Desktop
Last month a customer asked about and we provided a
work around for syncing ProDoc files between your two computers. But, there are better options available in software specifically designed for this purpose. Here are a couple of samples:
- Allway Sync - This free product is for moderate personal use.
- ViceVersa - It's not free but it is reasonable and you can use it additionally for file backups, file comparison, and file replication.
Synchronization Software Reviews and Downloads provides reviews of and information about synchronization software.
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Vent—Tell Us What's on Your Mind
This is your opportunity to
what's on your mind. Email us your suggestions and other feedback.
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