How to Fix Time Matters Active Practice LLC

Transcription

1 How to Fix Time Matters

2 How to Fix Time Matters Troubleshooting tips, techniques and solutions by Wells H. Anderson, J.D., CIC.

3 Contents 3 Table of Contents Part I Backing Up Time Matters 4 1 Manual... 4 Backup of Time Matters Part II Windows Settings Adjust Windows XP Visual Settings... 7 Adjust Windows 7 Visual Settings Power Management Antivirus Exclusions Mouse Setting Part III TM Save Button 10 1 TM Save Button in Acrobat Part IV Getting Help 14 3

4 4 1 How to Fix Time Matters Backing Up Time Matters Safety First Before attempting to fix a Time Matters problem, you should almost always back up Time Matters. If you have experience a serious computer system or database failure, please consult an expert before attempting to back up Time Matters or fix the problem yourself. Before Backing Up... Do you have a good Time Matters backup from yesterday? Has your Time Matters backup been backed up to another drive or online backup service? If you have not been using a regular backup system, you could overwrite a valuable backup file if you run a manual backup of Time Matters. By default, Time Matters names each backup file for the day of the week. If you are relying on occasional manual backups and haven't done one for a week, you might overwrite an important backup file. Copy Backup Files to Another Drive The Time Matters backup creates a MS SQL Server.bak file and saves it in the default MS SQL Server backup folder. To get a listing of the folders where MS SQL Server stores backups by default, go to: It is important to copy or back up the resulting backup files to a different disk drive to protect against loss of the database due to a hard drive failure. A better alternative is to set up the TM_Backup stored procedure to point to a different local disk drive and also backup that drive to and online backup service. For that we recommend working with a Time Matters Certified Independent Consultant. Time Matters 9 and Older Time Matters 9 and older versions were available in a Professional Edition that used a Clarion database instead of MS SQL Server. These instructions do not apply to Time Matters Professional Editions. For information on backing up Time Matters 9.0 Professional and earlier, see: - June Manual Backup of Time Matters Backing up Time Matters is easy. Depending on the speed of the computer and the size of the database, it may take anywhere from a couple of minutes to 5 or 10

5 Backing Up Time Matters 5 minutes. First we list the steps to create a backup and then we provide details on each step. To backup Time Matters manually: 1. Make sure you have enough disk space. 2. Save any records you may have open in Time Matters. 3. Go to: Main Menu File Backup Time Matters Data 4. Check the box: Skip files in the Document and Document Index Directories. 5. Check the box: Skip backing up of attachments. 6. Press OK. Press Yes. The SQL Server backup runs. Press OK when it is complete. If you do not have an automatic backup of Time Matters set up, these steps should be performed at least once per day. Important Note: A second backup performed during the same day as an earlier backup will overwrite the earlier backup unless you manually rename of the first backup. Change the name of the earlier backup or copy it to a different location to preserve it. Details on Each Manual Backup Step 1. Make sure you have enough disk space. You can check disk space in MS Windows XP by opening My Computer from the Start menu. In MS Windows Vista or Windows 7, open Computer from the Start button. 2. Save any records you may have open in Time Matters. All open windows in the program will be closed as part of the backup. 3. Go to: Main Menu File Backup Time Matters Data Manual backups can be run from within Time Matters. 4. Check the box: Skip files in the Document and Document Index Directories. Dedicated backup programs are better suited to backing up documents than the Time Matters backup feature. If you have a relatively small number of documents, you could leave this box unchecked, but be aware that too many documents can cause the backup to take a long time or even fail. Usually it is not worth risking your Time Matters data in order to backup your documents. Use a separate backup system to protect all your documents and data. The Document Index Directories do not need to be backed up and can consume a large amount of space. If you need to restore Time Matters from a backup, these directories will be recreated. They do not contain independently valuable content. 7. Check the box: Skip backing up of attachments. 5. Press OK. A MS SQL Server backup runs. Press OK when it is complete. A common misconception is that Time Matters data is backed up to a folder in the Time Matters program folder. That was true of the old Professional Edition of Time

6 6 How to Fix Time Matters Matters. Now Time Matters data is backed up to the default MS SQL Server backup folder or to the folder specified in a Time Matters database stored procedure. For more information, please see: Backing Up Time Matters - Copy Files to Another Drive, above. 2 Windows Settings 2.1 Adjust Windows XP Visual Settings Click on Start. Right-click on My Computer Click on: Properties Advanced tab Performance - Settings button Visual Effects tab Your Visual Effects choices may differ slightly.

7 Windows Settings Select: Adjust for performance (this clears all checkboxes below) Check the checkboxes for the following features: Click: Smooth edges of screen fonts Click: Use background image for each folder type Click: Use common tasks in each folder Click: Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop Click: Use visual styles on windows and buttons Click OK 2.2 Adjust Windows 7 Visual Settings Click on Start. Right-click on Computer Click on: Properties Advanced system settings Under Performance, click on Settings button 7

8 8 How to Fix Time Matters

9 Windows Settings On Visual Effects tab select: Custom Unheck the checkboxes for the following features: Enable transparent glass Fade or slide menus into view Fade or slide ToolTips into view Fade out menu items after clicking Show window contents while dragging Slide open combo boxes Smooth-scroll list boxes Click OK 9

10 How to Fix Time Matters Power Management If you are still in the System Properties window, select Hardware If not, click on Start. Right-click on My Computer. Click on Properties Hardware Click on Device Manager Click on the + next to Network Adapter Double-click on your adapter and click on Power Management. Uncheck: Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power 2.4 Antivirus Exclusions Adjust the real-time antivirus software so that it excludes the Time Matters program folder, usually: C:\Program Files (x86)\lexisnexis\time Matters or C:\Program Files\LexisNexis\Time Matters 2.5 Mouse Setting (This option may or may not be present depending on the mouse that is installed on the PC.) Go to: Start Control Panel (Printers and Other Hardware) Mouse Pointer Options Uncheck Enhance Pointer Precision 3 TM Save Button 3.1 TM Save Button in Acrobat The TM Save button in Adobe Acrobat can simplify the process of saving PDF files into the Time Matters Document Management System. Find out how to add this button to your Acrobat software and how to make it appear if you run into trouble

11 TM Save Button 11 getting it installed. Beginning with version 6, Time Matters has included a TM Save button that works in Adobe Acrobat with PDF files. You need one of the paid versions of Acrobat to use this handy button. [Note: Time Matters Version 8 and later added the TM Save button to the free Acrobat Reader.] When a document is displayed in Acrobat, you can press the TM Save button to open a Document Form and save a copy of the PDF file into the Time Matters Document Management System. Now that a number of great document scanners can scan directly to PDF files, you can scan and save documents linked to Matters very efficiently. Installing the TM Save Button If a paid [or, with Time Matters 8, a free] version of Acrobat is on your computer before Time Matters is installed, then the TM Open and TM Save buttons are installed by default. When installing Time Matters, either a new version or a new Service Release, a check box for Acrobat is checked. You can uncheck it if you do not want to install the buttons, but why leave themn out? It does not hurt to leave the box checked even if you already have the buttons in your Acrobat software. When first installed, only the TM Open button, a yellow folder with a clock, appears in the Acrobat toolbars. Click on the drop-down arrow just to the right of it and select Expand This Button. Now both the TM Open and TM Save buttons appear in the toolbars. The paid version of Adobe Acrobat and the buttons need to be installed on each computer where they will be used. Troubleshooting the TM Save Button What if the TM Save button does not appear in your Acrobat toolbars? Fix #1 First, make sure you have not just overlooked the small TM Open button in the Acrobat toolbars. It starts out as a yellow folder with a clock. To display the both the TM Open and TM Save buttons on the toolbar: Click on the drop-down arrow just to the right of the TM Open button. Select Expand This Button. Both the TM Open and TM Save buttons will appear in the toolbars. Acrobat X has moved the location of the TM Save button. Here is where it is on the

12 12 How to Fix Time Matters right side of the Acrobat window: Click on the triangle icon by "File" to display TM Save. Fix #2 Another possible solution is to reset your Acrobat toolbars. Go to: Acrobat Main Menu View Toolbars Reset Toolbars This step can bring back the Time Matters buttons, but it may also display other toolbars you had hidden earlier. To hide them again, right-click anywhere on the toolbars. Click on any checked toolbar to hide it. Repeat for each toolbar you want to hide. Fix #3 If the TM Open button is nowhere in the toolbars, it may be suppressed by an Acrobat setting. The Acrobat update to is known to change the setting for certified plug-ins. To change the Acrobat certified plug-in setting: Open Adobe Acrobat. Go to: Main Menu Edit Preferences Startup. Toward the bottom, uncheck: Use only certified plug-ins.

13 TM Save Button 13 Fix #4 If the TM Open button does not appear in the toolbars, try reinstalling it using Time Matters. To reinstall: Close Adobe Acrobat. In Time Matters go to: Main Menu File Setup General Workstation Level. Press Additional Program Setup. Uncheck the Adobe Acrobat check box. Press OK. (Note that this step may also install links to any new Microsoft programs, too.) Press Additional Program Setup again. Check the Adobe Acrobat check box. Press OK OK. Open Adobe Acrobat and see if the TM Open button has appeared. Fix #5 If the TM Open button still does not appear, you need to copy a file into the Adobe Plug-Ins folder. With Windows 7, you may need to manually copy the Adobe Acrobat plugin from the Time Matters program folder to the Acrobat plugins folder. The Time Matters folder may be: C:\Program Files (x86)\lexisnexis\time Matters or C:\Program Files\LexisNexis\Time Matters The plugin file is: tmplugin.api To copy the Adobe Plug-In for Time Matters: Close Adobe Acrobat. Open the Windows Explorer. (In MS Windows, press: Start All Programs Accessories Windows Explorer.)

14 14 How to Fix Time Matters Navigate to the Time Matters program folder, usually C:\tmw9 or C:\tmw9e. Find the file named tmplugin.api, right-click it and choose Copy. Navigate to the Adobe Acrobat Plug-Ins folder, usually C:\Programs Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\plug_ins. Click on the folder, then right-click anywhere in the white space and press Paste. If the TM Open button still does not appear, contact a Time Matters Certified Independent Consultant or call LexisNexis Tech Support. 4 Getting Help Help on the Web Active Practice Website LexisNexis Support Center

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