I Heart Tech

Word 2010: Comparing Document Version Natively

If you don't pay or don't want to pay for a 3rd party doc comparison tool, you can use Word built-in document comparison tool. Here's how:

1. In Word, click on the Review tab, go to the  Compare group, click on the Compare button.
2. Click on the first option "Compare two versions of a document (legal blackline)."
3. Under Original document, browse for the document that you want to use as the original document.
4. Under Revised document, browse for the  document that you want to compare (normally the newer or revised document).
5. Click More to select the settings for what you want to compare in the documents.
   By the way - any options that you set now will stick at the default options for comparison the next time you compare documents.
6. Under Show changes, choose whether you want to show character or word level changes.
7. Word will want to create a 3rd document for the results, but if you do not want to display changes in a third document, choose which document you want the changes to appear in.
8. Click OK.
   If either version of the document has tracked changes, Microsoft Word displays a message box. Click Yes to accept the changes and compare the documents.
9. Microsoft Office Word displays a new third document in which tracked changes in the original document are accepted, and changes in the revised document are shown as tracked changes. Your two source documents are not changed.

Not using Word 2010?

• For Word 2007, the steps are the same but here's a step-by-step guide anyway.
• Word 2003 - see this article
• Mac User? Check out this good article from Brett Burney on how-to plus some extra tips.

 

Critical Computer Skills Every Attorney Should Know - Pasting (Yep, I'm Serious)

This one is short and sweet and pretty easy but I'm still astounded at the number of times I teach this to someone for the first time. We all know there's a lot of cutting and pasting that goes on in a law firm, that's not the problem. The problem can often be in the results of the paste. Let's discuss.....

There are equally many way to paste as there are to copy. So to copy, you cannnnnn right-click copy, edit > copy, CTRL+C, Command+C, click the copy button...and on and on and on...pick your favorite.

To paste you cannnnnn right-click paste, edit > paste, Command+V...and on and on.....BUT  BUT BUT, often, there's more. In most programs that allow formatted text, you will have an option/s for HOW you paste. Do you want to paste the text "as-is" - or do you want to paste it "text only" or do you want the program to try and "match" the formatting of the text you are pasting into? Well, believe it or not, these are very important questions. Why? Because often you don't know what kind of "information" is hidden behind your copied text. And in today's world we are copying from our own documents, old documents, new documents, someone else's documents, an email, a PDF file, the internet, from Westlaw, from Lexis, from Rainmaker, from....O-M-G...need I go on? You get it right? You are copying text from ALL OVER THE PLACE! And that text can be carrying code that makes it green, italicized or font Helvetica, it can have metadata attached to it, it can have a hyperlink to the source or it can have an automatic numbering code from WordPerfect 5 in it...it's crazy. And it's crazy because you it doesn't always reveal itself. These characteristics (hidden or visible) can cause your document to do weird things like causing your numbering to go wack or even cause major document corruption.

To easily prevent any unwanted surprises from arising, you should almost always paste text into a new document as plain text (aka "Paste Special") and then format that new text as you need it to look. Generally, you will have an option offered up by the program you are using. Which program do you use?

• Word 2003 paste options
• How to Use Paste Options and Paste Special in Word 2007
• Formatting options to Paste copied text in Word 2010
• Word 2011 for Mac paste options
• WordPerfect paste special

Couple of extra tips:

• For existing text in Word 2003-2010, look for the "Clear Formatting" button or option. It's magic!
• If you're using a program that doesn't have fancy paste options (like a cloud-based word processor), simply open up a plain text editor (like Textpad in Windows or TextEdit on the Mac), paste into it, then copy that plain text again.
• DO NOT disable the Paste Options function - it's one of the best things they've ever done to word processing!

Critical Computer Skills Every Attorney Should Know – Understanding Metadata

Understanding Metadata

Metadata itself isn't a "skill" or a feature you need to sit down and learn. It is a responsibility and an important side-effect of technology that you need to understand and be able to discuss intelligently with your fellow attorneys, staff and clients. An entire book could be used to discuss metadata – we won't do that here but we will point you to some resources that will quickly and simply explain the ins and outs. Information considered "meta data" can include but is not limited to:

• User name and computer name
• Comments and tracked changes that may not be displayed
• Hidden text, worksheets, data columns, and data rows

Just what is it and where does it live?

• What types of hidden data and personal information are stored in Office documents?
• Dangers of Document Metadata

How does metadata affect the practice of law?

• Metadata - What Is It and What Are My Ethical Duties?
• Metadata -- Is It Really Just Good, Clean Fun?

What harm can it do?

• Metadata reveals SCO switched legal target
• Mistake by Top Spy Agency in U.S.

What you can do about it?

• How to quickly and easily remove metadata
• How do I find and remove hidden data and personal information in my Office documents?
• Control metadata in your legal documents (Office 2003)
• How to minimize metadata in PowerPoint presentations (2003 and 2007)

Legal Specific Tools

• WorkShare Protect
• iScrub
• Payne Metadata Assistant

More Resources:

Metadata Ethics Opinions Around the U.S. from the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center

Office 2003/XP Add-in: Remove Hidden Data

PDF Documents

Redacting PDF Files: A Survey of Tools

How to Properly Redact PDF files

PDF Files: Removing Sensitive Content

WordPerfect Resources

WordPerfect Office X3 Metadata Removal Patch

Saving WordPerfect Files Without Metadata

WordPerfect Office 12: Minimizing Metadata in WordPerfect 12 Documents

Critical Computer Skills Every Attorney Should Know - Basic Word Processing Skills

Basic Word Processing Skills

Along with words like "marketing" and "training" – "word processing" can make an attorney cringe. But in today's world, it is a critical, critical skill set.I often tell people that they might as well have a good old-fashioned typwewriter back on the desk - the way they just peck and poke away without taking advantage of any of the shortcuts and automation tools Word (or WP) have to offer. 

Learning basic document editing skills is a simple (truly simple) task. The true challenge is allowing yourself the time to learn. If your Firm employees a trainer or a help desk – call them up right now – right this second! and schedule a one hour appointment with them. That's all it will take. When they arrive (and they will do so happily) provide them with this checklist of must-know skills:

• Formatting Words, Paragraphs, Pages
• Inserting automatic page numbers so that as you add, delete or move pages, the numbers remain in numerical order
• Autotext and Autocorrect (in Word) are akin to macro's that store and spit out phrases, paragraphs, case styles with the tap of a couple of strokes (Word 2003 | Word 2007)
• A few tips and tricks (10 most useful Word shortcuts from TechRepublic)

If you don't have the luxury of an in-house technology resource, turn to the internet. There are countless tutorials, tips, templates and resources that can help you.

Here are some resources to get you started:

Websites

• Microsoft.com: A Roadmap to Word 2007 Training (With links to training tutorials!)
• Interactive: Word 2003 to Word 2007 Reference Guide
• Word on the Mac
• Training Classes from Affinity Consulting
• 60 indispensable Microsoft Word tips 

Blogs

• Legal Tech Trainer
• CompuSavvy's Word & WordPerfect Tips
• KAS Training's Legal Word Processing Corner
• This Blog's past Word for Lawyers posts

Books

• The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft Word 2007
• Formatting Legal Documents With Microsoft Office Word 2007
• Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 for Law Professionals Unveiling the Rules and Secrets of Legal Word Processing
• Word 2003 for Law Firms

The ABA TECHSHOW

If you plan on attending the ABA TECHSHOW this year you can sit in on this "Word for Lawyers" session I'll be doing with Barron Henley of Affinity Consulting:

If you're still manually typing paragraph numbers, tables of contents or tables of authority, you may as well throw your computer out the window and put that old electric typewriter back on your desk. Microsoft Word is a sophisticated tool, but most users just don't know how to tap its power. Drafting complex documents in Word does not have to be a wrestling match and shouldn't feel like punishment. If you're ready for Word enlightenment, come to this seminar. Hear the gospel of Styles and learn how to create paragraph numbering, tables of contents and authority which automatically generate and update. Saturday, March 27, 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Think about your Word documents as digital calling cards. They reflect your professionalism and attention to detail. Today, the appearance of a word processing document often reveals as much about an attorney's skills as the contents of the document itself. Document creation and editing skills are critical in today's professional and technical environment.

Oh, one more thing…take a look at an earlier post I did about typography.

Why Your Documents Look Like Crap and I Think I'm In Love

A lot of tough love going on at I ♥ Tech this week so sit up and take it like a lawyer! For today's digital lashing, I'm going to piggy-back on someone else's program. I stumbled across this great post titled "Why Our Agreements Looks Like Crap" from attorney Michael J. O'Sullivan who writes about "issues encountered by corporate lawyers" at his blog ; provided, however,. I think I love this guy (I fall in tech love very easily). I found his points insightful and quite lawyerly. He points out some technical, possibly strategic and historical reasons as to why your documents look like crap (finally someone else who isn't afraid to call ugly ugly) but he doesn't hit on the root of all this formatting evil: lack of training. However, there is always me to do that...

He begins by describing one of the biggest failure points when it comes to creating and maintaining  good looking documents: OP. OTHER PEOPLE. I hear this excuse all the time. And likely from the same person that the OP are pointing their fingers right back at.The ugly truth is that most legal professionals don't really truly madly deeply know how to create complex legal documents. I don't care what your secretary tells you. As a matter of fact, most don't even know how to properly format a simple one page letter. There is an embarrassing amount of spacing and tabbing that goes on in the Word docs I often encounter. Microsoft Word is a complex program to a point. It's not that it's hard to use, it really isn't - and you are all very smart people. The thing about Word is that it's a structure snob and if you don't meet its standards, it spits on you. It requires some training. Just some, not even a lot. You wouldn't believe what one measly hour of learning will gain you.  Need some dollar figures to convince you? Read this other great post: Beware the Hidden Costs of Bad Formatting.

So get yourself some training and then get some for your clients too. Here's a thought: offer your most important clients (or their staff) some training. Get your trainer or bring one in *ahem*cough*cough* for a document workshop and figure out how to collaborate on the stream of documents you are and will be working on. Your clients will love you for it. Consider it part of your Make Our Clients Love Us and Want Us Campaign.

At this point I am SO SURE that you are SO INSPIRED to get some training that you CAN'T WAIT one more second! Yes? Yes! Let me lead you to some water: Typography for Lawyers by Matthew Butterick, lawyer, graphic designer, genius. Again, who is this guy? And I think I love him too! I implore you to take some time and read every page of this wonderful resource.

My friends, here is the thing, this day and age - your documents (along with all your other digital communications and exchanges) are a reflection of your commitment to the use of technology in your practice, which of course exists to help you better serve your clients.<VBG>.

Word's Track Changes...So Pretty and Smart yet So Dangerous

Oh stop...no...oh go on...Ok, Ok, enough about me...seriously, lets talk about something useful - like Track Changes.

For some reason, that even my twelve years of legal technology training can barely explain, some lawyers who "use" Word still don't know how to use Track Changes. This is truly confounding to me considering how simple the feature is to master. Now, I'll give you a little tiny window of forgiveness if you've never had to or wanted to track document revisions and editions in your document.. but then I think, REALLY? Never, in all your years of practicing law...REALLY?

For the unaware, the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word is a built in feature that allows you to colorfully and visually see the changes you make in a document, as you make them (it's also part of the Compare tool that lets you compare two documents or versions of a doc)...

So, as you can see, its pretty and really, quite smart. When does it become dangerous, you ask? Oh, that's when you come in - sweet sweet attorney. See, it has happened in the past that a few of you have had no idea that it exists and it has been turned "on" and "it" (never you the user!) has inadvertently been emailed to someone else wherein they have seen YOUR changes and edits.

How could this possibly happen? Well, sometimes, technology has a learning curve. And because some of you don't ever make the time for educating yourself on the important tools that help you practice law and service your clients <VGB> - THIS very sort of thing can actually happen. Track Changes, like most other tools on your computer, just aren't that hard to learn, and by virtue of those hard-earned and very expensive letters after your name - we all know you're smart enough to get it. You just wont take the time...arrrgghhh...TIME!! If only there were more of it!

So a couple of technical tips before I send you on your way to some self-study: The chances of this happening have been lessened thanks to Word 2007 (if you're there), if you are on an older version, then it's imperative that you figure out how Track Changes works (remember, it's not hard, do not be afraid) and yes you can can get rid of all signs of track changes. Oh, one more thing... your best defense against track changes and metadata? Have a "PDF First" policy - if they don't need to edit it, PDF it.

Since there are already so many resources out there about Track Changes, I'm going to link you out there and trust that you will take a few minutes to read, learn and apply...afterall, isn't that how you got here?

• Microsoft Explains Track Changes 2007 2003
• Lawyers Explain Track Changes (read horror stories by unwitting attys here)
• Shauna Kelly answers: How does Track Changes in Microsoft Word work?

So Many Words, So Much Billable Time...Word Counts for You

Word has a handy feature that displays counts for words, paragraphs, lines, and characters. In Word 2003 go to Tools > Word Count. In Word 2007, you will find the Word Count button on the Review Tab.

If you don't select any text, Microsoft Word counts the words in the whole document. If you want to count words in one paragraph or other specific content, select the text first then go to Word Count.

I know this obvious but for the benefit of the less tech savvy (my mom reads my blog) I offer this tip: To add or remove footnotes and endnotes from the count, select or clear the "Include footnotes and endnotes" check box.

Great Giveaway of the Day Today (Tues Jan13)

PDFZilla is today's free download from Giveaway of the Day. You have until midnight tonight to download AND register it. PDFZilla is a desktop application that claims to convert PDF files into editable MS Word Documents, Rich Text Documents, Plain Text Files, Images, HTML Files, and Shockwave Flash SWF Files. I haven't tried it yet and won't have time until later but it sounds good so I'll at least get it while I can and remove it later if it sucks. Considering how much lawyers work with PDF files, this sounds like another one of those (possibly) great little utilities an attorney can add to your her tech toolbox. You can read about, read user comments and if you decide to download it, you can also do that here. If you don't know about Giveaway of the Day - you should, it's a cool website that offers all kinds of softwares (one everyday) that you would normally buy, for free for one day.

Microsoft Word - AutoNumber a Column in a Table

I was helping a paralegal yesterday who had heard a rumor that tables could be pretty useful in Word. I was happy to confirm such a rumor and went on to help her with her first project - a simple pleading index which she would normally do with tabs (what a nightmare). We started by inserting a table (Insert > Table, Select initial number of rows and columns) and named the header columns. Then, she started to manually type in the "Tab Number" number. I had to grab the back of her chair for support to keep from falling over in horror. omg. Imagine all that manual labor! What if she had hundreds of rows and had to insert one in the middle - or worse - at the top?! Holy moly waste of time and money! I composed myself before she noticed and gently told her that there is a better way:

• Hover your mouse over the column that you want to number, you'll notice it change to a downward-pointing arrow.
• When it does, Click. That selects an entire column at a time. You'll see that the column has been highlighted.
• While it's highlighted, find and click the Numbering button in Word's Formatting Toolbar.
• Wah-la! Now as you delete and insert rows, your numbers will automatically adjust.
• To remove a number from an unwanted cell (like the first/heading cell). Click in that cell alone and then click the Numbering button once to toggle it off in that cell.
• If you want to use letters or romans or some other character in there, you can select the column again and go to Format > Bullets and Numbering and change to another list type.

(The video was made it Word 2007, but it's the same steps in 2003)

Digital Sigs - Question from a Reader (1)

I've had a couple of questions come in from some readers that I'll address in the next couple of posts, here's the first from a Paralegal in  Missouri:

Once I have gone through all the steps and saved the jpeg file, then have inserted the jpeg file into the Word document, any trailing codes or text are moved (advance / wrap around).   Is there some means of having the jpeg file drop into a Word file, at any point, as a transparent overlay so that any surrounding lines or text are not moved or covered up?

This should be a pretty easy fix, try this:

1. Right-click on the image.
2. Select Format > Picture, go to the Layout tab.
3. If you don't see the option for "Top and Bottom", click the Advanced button and select it from that dialog box.
4. Click OK to apply and exit.

Now, this exact fix didn't work for what Anne wanted, she ended up choosing "Behind text" for her needs, but you can just experiment.