WELCOME TO The Virtual Law Office

Thanks for trying this product. What follows are a few tips for getting started.

GETTING STARTED (you should already have WP Suite 8 Professional installed, including Paradox 8)

1) Click the 'Setup" icon on the install disk. Please install to the default folders. If you install in another location, you'll have to make changes to the Program Icon and to the VLO.INI file. UNInstall is through the normal Win95 Remove tab.

2) There is a Shortcut (a .lnk file) in the VLO folder. Copy it to your Desktop. (Note: the shortcut starts Paradox 8 with command-line parameters. If you've installed Paradox in another location, you'll have to make the appropriate changes manually . If you've installed VLO to other than the default C:\VLO directory, you'll also have to change entries in the VLO.ini file using Notepad).

Shortcut target property string -

C:\Corel\Suite8\Programs\PDXWIN32.exe -q -wC:\VLO -pC:\VLO\Private -fVLO98.sdl

(assumes you've installed everything in the default drives and directories)

-q =	"Quiet" mode. Starts Paradox 'hidden'.

-w =	":WORK:" alias for Paradox - should always be set to the folder with the screens and programs.

-p =	":PRIV:" (Private) alias for Paradox. Used to store query results, etc. EVERY USER MUST HAVE THEIR OWN, UNIQUE PRIVATE DIRECTORY ON THEIR LOCAL DRIVE.

-f =	Designates the program for Paradox to run after Paradox loads.

3) Try the VLO 98 Shortcut. You should see a Splash screen and a Sign-On screen asking for your User Initials ('FIRM') and a password, which is 'unassigned' (unassigned is the default password). Note: VLO may change certain Preferences in Paradox. It notifies you of any changes (except the background Paradox bitmap) - just click 'OK' if you get any such messages.

4) You can also start VLO by double-clicking on VLO98.sdl. Do not try to run any other files without logging on - you'll just get error messages.

5) Once you've signed-on, you'll see the Main Screen, the toolbar, etc. Naturally, everything's blank.

6) STOP! On the Menu is a System entry. Click that, then User Info. You'll see the System Information screen. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU CUSTOMIZE THIS INFORMATION BEFORE PROCEEDING ANY FURTHER. You only have to do this once.

7) Customize anything except your User Initials. You should change your password at this time. Multi-Line fields can contain font formatting by Right-Clicking and selecting Properties.

Then, customize the other information:

Office tab

Enter your Office Address, replacing the existing text.

Envelopes tab

Customize the Return Address (Right-Click for Properties of the font, typeface, etc) by entering your return address info. This is printed on envelopes. If you are using pre-printed envelopes, enter a space here, without formatting. MAKE SURE THERE'S AT LEAST A SPACE IN THIS FIELD.

Customize the Sample Text for the addresses on envelopes. Of course, 'Sample Text' does not actually print, but this field tells VLO the font, size, and typeface you want to use for addresses on envelopes. Leave some text in this field, too, formatted as you'd like addresses to be printed. The properties are applied on the whole address.

Labels tab

VLO uses Avery 5163 (or equivalent) labels for printing addresses, and combines the return address and the Addressee's address on one label, separated by a green line. Therefore, your return address should not exceed 2 lines. Once again, right-click for properties.

Then, customize the Address properties if you wish.

Billing Info tab

Enter your default hourly billing rate. (Standard version only)

Prototypes tab

This is a unique feature of VLO. You can use any document as a prototype, but four are provided - a Blank Document, a Bill, a Pleading, and a Letterhead. Use the arrow bar to move among the prototypes.

Right-Click on the Prototype you want to customize, and you'll see 3 options: Delete; Create From File; and Use WordPerfect to Edit. Choose 'Use WordPerfect to Edit'. If you've installed correctly, WP will open (BE PATIENT) with the selected Prototype displayed, and a dialog box will come up in WordPerfect that allows you to 'Paste' a field designator where ever you want VLO (or user-entered) information to appear, or, to return to VLO. Inspect all/any of the Prototypes, and make any changes you wish.

To return to VLO, USE THE BUTTON ON THE DIALOG BOX, OR CLOSE THE DIALOG BOX.

Note: The Letterhead prototype has a header that contains the date, addressee name, and page number. The Header is suppressed on the first page. If it should somehow re-appear on page 1, just use the Format/Page/Suppress options in WP to hide it again.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT HERE!

You NEVER have to "Save" or "Save As" a WordPerfect Document in VLO! VLO synchronizes with WP by using dialog boxes. The 'Select and Paste' dialog boxes only appear when you're editing/creating prototypes; a simpler 'Return to VLO' dialog box is displayed at other times. Whenever, ALWAYS use the 'Return to VLO' button when you're finished with any document. If the dialog box disappears from view (and it should if you're working on the document), LOOK ON THE TASK BAR. Failing to follow this rule will result in failures, crashes, and/or data loss.

About field designators: All field designators are in the format <FieldDesignator>. VLO, of course, uses specific designators, and fills them if possible when a user is working with a document. You can create your own field designators anywhere on the prototype, and VLO will prompt the user to enter the information. VLO uses the field designator text as the title of the prompt, so be descriptive. For an example, see the Pleadings prototype.

You can use any character(s) as a Field Designator, including spaces, EXCEPT: less than, greater than, and a backwards apostrophe ("<", ">", and " ` ").

ALSO NOTE: WordPerfect has a tendency to increase file size, e.g., WP does NOT 'shrink' the file when you remove a feature or element of the document. Naturally, you want to minimize the size of any prototype you create, which also helps to keep the document management database at a minimum size. Therefore, you should periodically check the size of prototypes by 'Using WordPerfect to Edit' and doing a File|Save a Copy As . . . and then using Explorer to check the file size. To create a smaller prototype, create a new document in WordPerfect and copy the elements from the old prototype, one at a time. After all elements have been copied, Save the new document, log on to VLO and replace the old prototype on the user info screen with the new file. Keep this in mind when creating new prototypes, especially if you're adding graphics and keep 'trying out' different looks to get the right one.

Now, ADD a NEW User (Click the button on the General tab) and create a USER for yourself, using your initials. You can only create new users if you're logged-in as 'FIRM'. This will be your normal Sign-on. Don't forget the password. All information you entered for the FIRM user ID will be 'cloned'. Each user can modify/add prototypes whenever they wish.

Click 'OK' and you'll return to the Main Screen. Click OK to return to the Sign-on screen. Log-on again using the new user ID and password.

Click on the "?" on the Toolbar for context-sensitive Help on the Main Screen. Then, enter a Name/address and open a case. Explore. Try. Advise. Note any problems with a 'Bug" report (Button on the Toolbar). Stumped? Try to Right-Click on a field or use the Help system.

Note on accessing a particular case - Cases are accessed by the Name of anyone involved in the Case.

Note on overall organization: VLO normally places incoming scanned documents or in- progress WP documents in your In-Box (just as you would place them on your physical desk). To print a 'Full' WP document, including copies and attachments, Right-click on the Document Description and select "Full Print Job". After printing/review of any document, you can delete it from your In-Box. If the document is not already 'filed' or linked to a Person and/or case, you'll be advised when you try to delete it.

VLO make extensive use of "Right-Click" menus, instead of cluttering the screen with buttons. Generally, if you "Right-Click" on an area of a VLO screen, you'll get a menu that allows you to take specific actions with that particular data set.

Known problems and suggestions:

Many scanner drivers have a mechanism that 'pops-up' the driver screen whenever you lift the top of the scanner, insert a sheet of paper, etc. You should disable this feature in your scanner software. VLO accesses the TWAIN driver directly.

A scan resolution of 200 dpi (standard FAX resolution) seems to work OK for Black&White scans, and provides a balance between quality and file size. Also, using a scanner software setting of "Black & White Line Drawing" instead of grayscale seems to work better for printed matter, but try it yourself.

Don't forget to select your scanner before scanning for the first time!

In order to dial telephone numbers using VLO, you must install and implement the Win95 (or other) TAPI interface.

FAXing capabilities require WinFax Pro.

Occasionally, you'll get an 'Untranslatable character' error message during OCR. This is not really an error, just a warning that the OCR data contains special characters that are not in the 'normal' character set. VLO replaces them with a box character. You can just click OK if you happen to get this message. (Note: OCR for WP documents occurs whenever you alter a document, without prior notice to you.)

WordPerfect may sometimes seem to be loading/working slowly. Please be patient, especially if you have less than 32K RAM or a machine in the sub-133MHz range.

VLO contains a rudimentary Table-Repair tool (visible on the User Info screen when you're logged-in as "FIRM") that attempts to repair the VLO tables, if necessary. THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR REGULAR BACKUPS! Please, review the Help topic on this. The Table-Repair tool uses 2 files from your Paradox install: you must copy tutil32.dll from the IDAPI directory and tuwwr32.dll from the Paradox program directory to the VLO directory if you are using a Database Engine (referred to as the BDE) other than version 4.0 (the 4.0 files are included in the installation). You can determine the version by reading the 'About' help information in the BDE administrator (Start|WP Suite 8|Tools|Database Engine). These two files must match the version of the BDE you're using, in order to use the Table Repair tool. BACKUP ALL TABLES BEFORE USING THE TABLE REPAIR TOOL!

You can also purchase a very sophisticated table repair utility from Sundial Services (http://www.sundialservices.com) called ChimneySweep. This is a very inexpensive and more importantly, effective tool for table repairs.

NOTES ON NETWORKING

Each network has its own quirks and requirements. It is therefore impossible to give a 'cookbook' that results in a proper VLO network setup. If you are not an experienced Network Administrator, then you should probably get professional help in setting up your network and configuring VLO to operate under your setup.

VLO is designed to be Network-ready. However, you must have WordPerfect and Paradox installed and properly configured AS NETWORKED APPLICATIONS for VLO to work properly on a network. Consult The WP Reference Center for networking considerations. Additional information may be found on the Corel Web site at http://www.corel.com. Prior to attempting a networking plan for VLO, get WordPerfect and Paradox running satisfactorily on the network.

Some specific comments:

The DataBase Engine (look under Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 | Tools) MUST have the 'Local Share' property set to TRUE for Paradox tables. This must be performed manually.

ALL Users must have full access (read, write, etc.) to all folders that VLO uses, including the Paradox folder.

THE PATH FOR :WORK: MUST BE EXACTLY THE SAME FOR EACH USER. Paradox requires this for record locking purposes. You can 'map' drives and folders using the MS-DOS 'LASTDRIVE=' command in the config.sys file and the 'SUBST' command in the autoexec.bat file. See MS-DOS Help for additional information on these commands.

Each workstation MUST have, ON THE LOCAL DRIVE:

-a C:\VLO folder;

-a VLO Shortcut (usually on the Desktop);

-a copy of VLO98.sdl in the C:\VLO folder;

-a copy of VLO98.ini in the C:\VLO folder;

-a C:\VLO\Private folder

Paradox (and VLO) require that the :WORK: and :PRIV: Aliases (see the Paradox 8 help for more information on Aliases) be set for each user. VLO expects this to be done by means of the Startup command-line switches on the Shortcut (see below). Every User (workstation) MUST have a unique :PRIV: alias, or they won't be able to start Paradox - they'll get a 'BDE is Busy' error message. It is therefore strongly suggested that you create the C:\VLO\Private directory on each Workstation's local drive and make the appropriate changes to the Shortcut on that drive, OR create unique private folders for each workstation on the network drive. Note: The :PRIV: alias is used for various purposes by Paradox and VLO, such as storing the results of Queries, printing reports, etc. Keeping the :PRIV: alias on the network drive decreases network traffic, and thus increases speed.

VLO has additional aliases defined in the VLO98.ini file for the locations of the code (:LOForms:), the data and tables (:LOData:) and the Image files (:LOImages:). They should be modified for each Workstation to reflect the proper network paths. Use Notepad to make the required changes in this file.

Modifying the Workstation's local Shortcut target property string -

Standard:

C:\Corel\Suite8\Programs\PDXWIN32.exe -q -wC:\VLO -pC:\VLO\Private -fVLO98.sdl

(assumes you've installed everything in the default drives and directories)

-q =	"Quiet" mode. Starts Paradox 'hidden'. Leave this alone.

-w =	":WORK:" alias for Paradox - should always be set to the Network folder with the screens and programs.

-p =	":PRIV:" (Private) alias for Paradox. Used to store query results, etc. EVERY USER MUST HAVE THEIR OWN, UNIQUE PRIVATE DIRECTORY.

-f =	Designates the program for Paradox to run after Paradox loads. On a workstation, this should point to the local copy of VLO98.sdl.

DON'T FORGET TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES TO THE LOCAL COPY OF VLO98.INI TO REFLECT THE PROPER PATHS TO THE NETWORK. VLO98.INI MUST BE IN THE SAME FOLDER AS VLO98.SDL.