Adding Automatic Sequences to Microsoft Word 3
Save time in your drafting by using the following Microsoft Word tip from the Carmen Baru of the CCLA Technology Committee!
Save time in your drafting by using the following Microsoft Word tip from the Carmen Baru of the CCLA Technology Committee!
This post was written by Dorota Turlejski from the CCLA Technology Committee.
Cost: free (with option for upgrade for $4.99)
Features/ uses: Scanner “on the go”
Category: Document management, Collaboration, Document storage, Transaction Management
Where to find: search for “Tiny Scanner” in the Apple Store if you have an iPhone, and Google Play if you have an Android.
This app turns your Android or iPhone/iPad into a portable document scanner, meaning that you can travel and scan without having to bring a very heavy scanning machine along with you! This can be very useful because taking photos with your phone does not provide the clarity and resolution you may need.
The app is password-protected and it auto-adjusts the images scanned in (because there is no feeder to flatten paper out), in order for them to appear as if they came from an office-size scanner.
You can set the app to automatically upload the documents into your Google Drive or you can e-mail and fax documents straight from the app, wherever you are.
For example, you go see your client outside the office to have them sign an agreement. You can provide your client a copy of the signed agreement as soon as it is executed. You take the signed document, scan the pages and e-mail it straight from your phone/tablet to your client. In the meantime, an electronic version is stored in your Drive so that you don’t have to ask your assistant to scan the documents in when you go back to the office.
The main value-added of the app is that it produces documents looking like scanned documents and not like images taken with a phone. The app is indispensable for lawyers working from home or sole practitioners who spend a lot of time on the road and not much time in the office.
It is not efficient to use Tiny Scanner to scan very large volumes of paper. A self-feeding scanner would be more appropriate. For the majority of paperwork, up to 30 pages a document, Tiny Scanner is a great solution.
This post was written by Carmen Baru from the CCLA Technology Committee.
To describe OneNote as a note-taking app is like describing chocolate as a food preparation of cocoa seeds: it is that, but it is so much more. Part of the MS Office suite, OneNote is used to gather information, add comments, organize them, and map past and future steps. At its best, OneNote works like a thought-management tool.
Collecting Information
A OneNote page is a blank canvas with no borders and no pre-set grid. The user clicks anywhere on the page and starts typing, hand-writing, drawing, pasting pictures, or inserting files. Text copied from the internet indicates its source (unless the option is turned off). A file inserted as an attachment can be modified, and the modifications can be saved.
Inserting Audio / Video Recordings
For notes based on an audible event such as a lecture or a discussion, OneNote can record the audio and link it to the typed notes. The user can then listen to the audio corresponding to a certain note entry.
To insert audio/video recordings: in the command ribbon, go to Insert > Recording > Recording audio.
To play back the audio recording linked to a certain note entry: click on the entry, then click the “Play” symbol (a triangle in a circle) that will appear to the left of that entry.
Organizing Information
OneNote reproduces the organizational concept of a binder, with each notebook containing sections or groups of sections, and each section containing pages or subpages. To create a New Section Group, right-click on the empty space next to the section tabs. To create a page, click “+Add Page”. To create a subpage, create it as if it were a page, then click the page tab and drag it to the right.
A OneNote can tag entries (“Home” tab > “Tags”). There are many pre-set tags, and more can be created. For example, an entry indicating a weakness in the file could be highlighted and marked with a suggestive icon:
Revisiting the Notes
OneNote entries are marked with a timestamp and the name of the author. The information can be accessed by right-clicking the entry: the timestamp is at the bottom of the menu that appears after right-clicking the entry.
The feature is useful in collaborative settings, when multiple users address the same material. It is also useful as a reminder of the date, time, and duration of the phone call or meeting corresponding to the notes.
OneNote also helps identifying information with various search functions. It can search:
To Wrap It Up
OneNote can seem daunting, with too many options and an unregulated, anxiety-inducing blank page. But OneNote is a feature-rich tool worth exploring, especially since many of us already have it on our computers, as part of the MS Office suite or as a Windows app. And I believe that, for many, it will be very much like chocolate: once you take the first piece, you will come back for seconds.
This post was written by Dorota Turlejski from the CCLA Technology Committee.
Would you like some Graphic Design made easy? Canva provides ready-to-use templates for any form of communication that requires a visual component. As long as you are online, it is very easy to use the Canva search engine to find a template most closely connected to what you’re trying to do. You get to provide content in a way a visual artist or a graphic designer would without actually hiring one.
Canva gives you access to over a million photographs, graphics and fonts and 50,000 templates for various types of visual outputs. For example, say, you wanted an appealing first page of a presentation you will be showing at the first CCLA Technology Lunch and Learn entitled, “Lawyering while Travelling.” You go to www.canva.com, click on the “Find templates” tab, pick “Presentations”, and you are provided with some subcategories. I picked the “Simple” subcategory and chose from the available options. I thought this template might work nicely:
All I had to do is replace the information provided in the template. The result is:
Simple! You can then save it on your desktop, and you have the option of saving in “pdf” or “jpg” format, and the file is ready to be uploaded into your presentation.
The great parts about Canva are that it is cost effective, you can get a visual that looks good very quickly, and you can easily transfer the created file onto whatever file you are working on.
Some drawbacks are that the tool is dependent on the speed of wireless connection, and that you have to get comfortable with the copy and paste functions and how they are used to replace content in the templates. Also, there is paid content on the templates that you need to watch out for. You can add paid elements or take them out of the templates. The paid content is worth paying for as it blends in well with the whole template and each element or image is usually no more than $1 or $2 (USD).
Category: Graphic Design Software
This post was written by Christiane Saad from the CCLA Technology Committee.
Lawyers can use Evernote to collect, organize, access, and manage data, as well as collaborate in day-to-day law practice.
In addition to supporting digital and handwritten notes, Evernote’s Web Clipper allows saving articles and web pages, taking screenshots and bookmarks sites directly from the web browser to store and organize. Evernote’s strength lies in its organizational features, like its notebooks, stacks, tags, and powerful searching tools, making content easily accessible everywhere. Further, features such as reminders and checklists aid in daily work projects, keeping users informed and on top of deadlines while providing teams with workspaces with in-app discussions, knowledge discovery, and presentation mode.
Evernote is also a great place to scan, store, manage and search business cards. With the Premium option, it’s possible to digitize and connect your card to your LinkedIn profile. In the legal practice, Evernote may also be used to organize firm’s policies, procedures, and checklists as well as legal research or precedents.
In terms of security, Evernote allows two-step verification and a pass code lock for mobile devices. However, just like any other cloud based system, it’s a question of risk and how much the user is willing to accept. In terms of data ownership, data protection and data usage, you can read Evernote’s policies to verify compliance with your needs.
Evernote is available for Microsoft Windows, on Android, iOS, web and has a Chrome extension. It’s also available for the Apple Watch and Android Wear. While these apps don’t have full functionality, it’s possible to receive notifications, create notes, check off to-dos, and search using voice command.
Currently, the free account provides only up to 60 MB data and is limited to two devices. However, the premium or business version offers more features with an affordable upgrade. To learn more: https://evernote.com/compare-plans.
Categories: Note-taking, Collaboration, Productivity
We’re quite excited that there’s an Ottawa meetup for the Global Legal Hackathon, coming up on February 23-25, 2018!
For those not familiar with the concept of a hackathon, quite simply it’s a meetup that looks to brainstorm and implement technical solutions to solve a problem or address a need. Programmers, lawyers, business leaders and more are set to come together, form teams, and create solutions which they will then present to a panel of judges.
The hackathon is free to participate, and is looking for legal community members with all types of skills to join in! If you have an interest in legal tech and the future of technology in law, this is definitely not to be missed!
You can find out more information and register for the hackathon on their website, as well as following the hashtags #GLH2018 #glhOttawa on Twitter.
Here is a more detailed FAQ, for those inclined to know more:
In Ottawa, collaborators from Invest Ottawa, Compass / vLex Canada, UOttawa faculty of law and its Programme de Pratique du Droit, and many others, with the generous support of IBM and the CCLA, will converge on Bayview Yards for a weekend of collaboration, hacking, creation and education. Visit the Ottawa event site for full details.
Specifically, multi-disciplinary teams come together to collaborate, build and launch mobile, web apps or any other innovations aimed at solving a particular problem. People can come individually or as a team, with an existing idea to pitch, or to listen and join one of the teams that will be formed at the start of the event. The goal is to come up with a prototype or proposal at the end of the hackathon to present in front of a panel of esteemed judges that includes UOttawa Law Dean Adam Dodek, Invest Ottawa CEO Michael Tremblay, and National Chair of the CBA Futures Committee Martine Boucher. With adequate sponsorship, we also hope to create a number of other local competition categories.
Throughout the week-end, teams will be assisted by mentors, be entertained and educated by many guest speakers addressing such topics as privacy issues for legal apps, the Internet of Things, blockchain, legal market changes, AI and Machine Learning, among other things. We are also expecting a very special guest to speak about the Ontario Minister of Attorney General’s efforts to introduce technology innovations to improve access to justice.
We are anticipating very good participation from the law school, and are pleased to see strong interest brewing in the Department of Justice and other areas of the government and of the courts, but we have an especially strong desire to engage the tech talent being developed in Ottawa’s colleges and universities. The world is watching and this is great place for those with technology, design, and programming skills to shine. With the legal community coming around to understanding its need to collaborate with these professionals, this event will prove a great opportunity for that collaboration to begin.
As to what teams may build — who knows! The results will be influence by the depth and breadth of law and tech community participation as well as the quality of guidance teams receive from volunteer mentors.
Are you protected? The WannaCry ransomware wreaked havoc on the world’s information systems this weekend and it continues to spread; and you know what they say, the best time to make sure your information systems are up-to-date is yesterday. The second best time, of course, is now. Trust is infinitely harder to regain than it is to lose, so it’s important you don’t fall into the “it won’t happen to me” fallacy. It’s important you take the time to make sure your firm and your personal information systems are adequately secured.
Here are some bare minimum steps you should be taking to protect your data.
All of these might sound a little obvious, but they are simple safeguards to take especially when you are dealing with potentially sensitive information.