Tag Archives: scanner

Best Free Productivity Apps for the iPhone and iPad

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Last week we took a look at nine free iOS apps to help you track expenses and mileage, organize bills, calculate on the go, budget, make smart purchases, and track packages. This week we focus on free productivity apps for project management, paperless meetings, better communication, security, task management, file sharing and storage, workflow, video conferencing, scanning, PDFs, eSigning, notetaking, sketching, languages, and business travel.

Project Management

Trello is the free, flexible, and visual way to organize anything with anyone. Forget lengthy email threads, out-of-date spreadsheets, sticky notes, and clunky software for managing your projects. Trello lets you see everything about your project in a single glance.  Compatible with Apple Watch.

Paperless Meetings

minute-iconUse Minute to conduct easy paperless meetings. Instantly invite attendees, turn agendas into meetings, import and share documents from Dropbox, Evernote, email, etc. Collaborate on notes, to-dos, decisions, and documents. Delegate tasks to attendees. After the meeting read and revise notes and export meeting minutes.

 Better Communication

Rather than worrying about your data allowance or cell signal, WhatsApp lets you send messages over Wi-Fi or a mobile data connection instead. Send and receive photos free over Wi-Fi* with no size restrictions. (*Or if you have unlimited mobile data.)

Security

1passwordKeep track of passwords, security codes, and alarm codes in one place with 1Password. Search to find what you’re looking for on any connected device. Save and fill passwords, credit cards, and addresses into webpages with a single click. Keep your data safe and encrypted. Unlimited installations with paid subscription. Compatible with Apple Watch. (Free 30 day trial; $5 per month subscription.)

Task Management

todoist-iconAdd, complete, and re-schedule tasks from any device, even offline with Todoist. Automatic 24/7 sync. Create sub-tasks and sub-projects, set priorities, and color-code projects. Share projects, assign tasks, and add comments all within the app. Instant notifications will keep you up-to-date whenever changes are made. Compatible with Apple Watch.

easilydoEasilyDo connects to online services, like your email, calendar, and Facebook, then looks for things it can help you get done. For example, it might ask you if you’d like to add contact details of someone who emailed you to your address book. Or it might spot an upcoming birthday. (Best for personal use.)

File Sharing and Storage

Transfer files instantly across Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows platforms using simple drag and drop with Instashare Air Drop. Transfer any file type (MP3, images, PDF, slide decks, docs, and more). Any size. Completely secure – files are transferred only between devices – no copy is kept in the cloud. Supports older devices: back to iPhone 3Gs and iPad. No need to register, just open the app, and start sharing. No email account, no passwords required.

hightailUse Hightail (formerly YouSendIt) to upload files to a shared project area called a Space then name it and add context or project goals. Solves the problem of oversized email attachments. Upload to Hightail instead and send your recipients a link. Supports PDF, docx, PPT, png, and other file formats. Documents can be secured with an access code.  (Free 250 MG storage.)

Workflow

Use Clips to clip from anything from anywhere: quotes, links, stories, images. Ideal for users who write a lot on their iPhone and iPad or hate switching between apps to copy-and-paste. The custom keyboard doesn’t log any of your input and requires no use of the Internet. Sync across all iOS devices through your private iCloud account with the Pro version.  Compatible with Apple Watch.

ifttt“If this, then that.” Use ifttt to automate just about anything: create events in Google Calendar with only a few taps; keep your team in sync with scheduled reminders for Slack; catalog important email from your inbox in an Evernote notebook to go over later; sync files quickly. Ifttt makes two separate apps work together!

Video Conferencing

zoomZoom offers quality video and audio conferencing – available for mobile devices and on the desktop.  Screen share apps and photos, send files, annotate, mute attendees (or not), easily invite phone, email, or company contacts.  (Free for 50-person or less meetings that last no longer than 40 minutes.)

Scanner and Whiteboard Converter

CamScanner turns photos of sketches, receipts, sticky notes, and whiteboard notes into editable files. Make digital copies of printed documents, business cards, or posters and trim them precisely. Printed text is automatically recognized (using OCR) so you can search for words in images and copy and edit them.  200MB free storage.

PDFs and eSigning

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a PDF viewer made specifically for the iPhone. Take a picture of your handwritten signature on your mobile device, and then sync it to sign PDFs at your desk or on the go. Annotate PDFs or mark-up files.  Draw on the screen with the drawing tool. Store, access, and share files from your Dropbox account.  (In-app purchases may apply.)

signnowUse SignNow to sign documents with your finger. Fill and complete PDF, Word, or rich text documents. Open documents from your inbox, Dropbox, and more. Easily collect signatures from multiple people. Secured with bank quality encryption.  (Sign up to five documents per month at no charge.)

Notetaking and Sketching

Use Paper 53 to draw on photos or quickly spotlight details. Sketch diagrams, charts, and drawings. Want to add titles to notes?  Swipe left. Want to add a checklist? Swipe right.

Learn Languages

duolingoUse the free Duolingo app to read, listen, and speak Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Irish, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and English.  Learn languages in bite-sized lessons: Apple’s iPhone App of the Year.  (In-app upgrades available.)

Business Travel

Hopper hopper-iconconstantly monitors prices to find great deals on airfare. Shows you the best time to go, predicts the right time to book flights, and where to buy.  Includes personalized tips.  Promises savings of 40% or more on your next flight.  A best app of the year winner in 2015.

Input your itinerary and GateGuru will automatically provides you with the check-in airport terminal, airport weather, gate arrival and departure information, real-time flight status, estimated TSA security wait times, airport food and amenity information, airport maps and tips, last minute rental car bookings.

All Rights Reserved 2016 Beverly Michaelis

The Importance of Keeping Complete Client files

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Do you keep a complete copy of your client files?  If not, does your reasoning fall into one of the following categories:

 

Let’s consider these arguments individually.

Rationale: I don’t want to store the paper

Agreed!  I don’t blame you one bit.  Talk about inconvenient!

  • You could keep files at home, but no one wants to do that and some of us don’t have the space.
  • You could keep files in your office, but it can look like a clutter bomb went off.
  • This leaves the expensive option: keeping files off-site.

Solution: Scan your closed files

The easiest solution is to stop adding to the problem.  Resolve to scan your closed files starting this year.  Most practitioners will need a scanner for Oregon eCourt.  Put it to work as a file retention tool.

Rationale: Scanning is too time consuming

If your paper files aren’t “scanner” friendly, digitizing them at closing time can be tedious and time-consuming.

Solution: Make your life easier and scan as you go

Scanning paper as you receive it means all file materials are electronic from the start and the work is done automatically over the life of the file.  In fact, if you “scan as you go,” there is no reason not to simply be paperless.

After scanning, paper can be:

  1. Shredded
  2. Given to the client
  3. Kept for a designated amount of time in a general chron file
  4. Kept for a designated amount of time in simplified client file (e.g., dropped into an expanding file folder)

Exceptions may apply to certain types of originals.  See the PLF File Retention Guidelines, available on the PLF website.

Rationale: The court has all my pleadings

This is a specific example of the argument that if someone else has a copy of the documents stored in my file, I don’t need to retain my set.

Solution: Keep it real

No one else possesses your exact client file, as you gathered it, for the purpose you gathered it.

When you decide that it isn’t necessary to keep copies of the documents you filed in court, the medical records used to prove your client’s damages, or some other part of your file on the grounds that “someone else has a copy,” you are taking a huge risk.

Many a lawyer has regretted the decision not to keep records because “they were available elsewhere.”  For example, the lawyer who said he withdrew from a case long before a judgment was entered against his former client.  The lawyer claimed he withdrew, but had no documentation in his file.  The court’s Register of Actions showed receipt of a letter from the lawyer seeking to withdraw, but when a PDF of the court file was obtained, there was no letter.  Maybe the letter never made it into the paper file.  Or perhaps it was missed when the file was scanned.

Regardless, the moral of the story is pretty apparent: anyone (including a court clerk) can misplace, misfile, or lose a document.  Never rely on another person or entity to keep your records.  PLF claim files are replete with similar examples.

In the event of a legal malpractice claim, it may be crucial to prove what you did nor did not have in your file.  And while it may be possible to obtain duplicate records, doing so does not establish they were previously in your possession.

Additionally, defending the practice of discarding part of your file can be quite uncomfortable at deposition or in front of a jury.  Jurors hold lawyers to a high standard and often naturally have sympathy for the plaintiff bringing a claim.  If your testimony shows that you shredded part of your file, jurors may draw the wrong conclusion about your motives.  Play it safe and keep your complete file.

All Rights Reserved [2015] Beverly Michaelis

 

Scanning Documents for eCourt

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mouseIn my last two posts, I discussed the 10 steps all practitioners should take to get ready for eCourt and how to manage the anxiety and stress of transitioning to the eCourt system.

This week the focus is on two essential eCourt tools: PDF and OCR software. 

Efficiency with a 2 in 1 Solution

There is no doubt in my mind that a two-in-one solution is best: PDF conversion software with OCR capability built-in. 

Most practitioners know immediately what a PDF document is, but not everyone is familiar with the acronym OCR. 

OCR refers to “optical character recognition,” and OCR software does exactly that.  It takes a scanned image – like your printed pleading document – and uses software to recognize the text on the page, making your scanned document searchable.  This is a necessity for eFiling under the Uniform Trial Court Rules. 

Software that can perform these two functions simultaneously is a great time saver. 

Assuming you have a working scanner that meets your needs and is compatible with your operating system (Mac OS or Windows 7/8), the next step is to get your hands on two-in-one PDF and OCR software.  If you don’t already have a scanner, see last week’s post for suggestions. 

Top Three Choices for PDF/OCR Software

  1. For me, the number one choice for PDF/OCR software is Acrobat XI.  As I said last week: get the “Pro” version for the redaction features. Adobe is running a 20% off sale on monthly subscriptions for two more days (the sale expires December 3).  See last week’s post to learn more.
  2. Nuance Power PDF Advanced would be my second choice.  Over the years, Nuance has expanded product features to compete against Acrobat – to the consumer’s benefit. 
  3. Coming in last is PrimoPDF.  I admit this is my personal bias, however, I don’t feel it is as robust as the other two choices. 

All three of these programs convert to PDF and all three have OCR software built-in to make your scanned documents text searchable. 

Setting Acrobat XI Pro to OCR Automatically

By default, Acrobat XI Pro should be set to OCR automatically if you initiate document scanning by using the program.  To verify that Acrobat XI Pro is set to OCR automatically, follow these steps:

  1. Start Acrobat XI Pro 
  2. Select Create
  3. Choose “PDF from Scanner”
  4. Move your cursor to the bottom right of the pop-up menu and select “Configure Presets…”
  5. Toward the bottom of the “Configure Presets…” box, verify that “Optimize Scanned PDFs” and “Make Searchable (Run OCR)” are selected
  6. Click Save then Close

Acrobat XI Pro will retain these settings.  As long as you initiate a scan from within Acrobat XI Pro, your documents will automatically be OCRed.  Follow these five simple steps to scan a document using Acrobat XI Pro:

  1. Load the document(s) in your scanner
  2. Start Acrobat XI Pro 
  3. Select Create
  4. Choose “PDF from Scanner”
  5. Select Black & White Document

and you’re done! 

Prove to Yourself that Your Scanned Document is Text Searchable

To prove that your PDF is searchable, type <ctrl> F if you are a Windows user; <command> F if you are a Mac user.  The “Find” box pops up:

find box

Enter a search term you know is contained within your document, such as your client’s name.  Click Next.  In a text searchable PDF, Acrobat XI Pro will jump to the first instance where the search term is found.

[All Rights Reserved – 2014 – Beverly Michaelis]

 

 

 

 

Still Pondering Paperless?

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In my continuing series of top tweets from the 2014 ABA TECHSHOW, today I am offering 10 thoughts to chew on if you are pondering going paperless.  (Including bonus tips from me!)

  • And it saves trees! RT @Westlaw: Benefits of going paperless: increased revenue and better client service. @Westlaw RT @ESIPhones
  • 1st Q. to ask: Is your “paperless plan” in line with your record retention plan and retention requirements? @Westlaw
  • Want to go paperless? Reduce the # of printers, replace with scanners. @Westlaw
  • Get a ScanSnap ix1500. Make it easy to go #paperless #abatechshow per Steve Best. @david_bilinsky
  • PDF is a cornerstone to the #paperless practice per Steve Best. @david_bilinsky
  • Get a DMS (doc mgmt system) to go #paperless. Handles email + attachments rather than rolling your own system. @david_bilinsky
  • If you came to my #ABATECHSHOW session on “PDF Enlightenment” & want the 1 page PDF cheat sheet, click this link. @pdflawyer
  • For checklists, white papers, and other resources on going paperless, visit the PLF Web site.
  • For CLEs on paper reduction, document management, the paperless office, and PDFing: A Lawyers Guide to Adobe Acrobat, visit the PLF Web site.
  • For an overview of the issues involving in going paperless, see my In Brief article, “Is It Time to Go Paper Less” on the PLF Web site.  Also see Greening Your Law Practice.

All Rights Reserved – Beverly Michaelis [2014]

Tired of Touchy Touchscreens?

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imagesHere is an incredibly simple tip that will “erase” your frustration:  use your trusty Ticonderoga!  Never again will I approach our Xerox WorkCentre without one of these in my hand.  Here’s why:

screenTouchscreen technology is wonderful … on my iPad or iPhone… but incredibly irritating when using the WorkCentre interface.

To scan a document, users select buttons and enter information using the touchscreen.  Pressing buttons… not so terrible.  Entering information using the touchscreen keyboard?  Pretty much a nightmare unless you don’t mind taking 20 minutes to scan and save a one page document.

The solution?  Ditch your finger and use the eraser of your trusty Ticonderoga!  Turns out the dimensions of the eraser are an exact match to the size of the keys on the WorkCentre  touchscreen keyboard.  Unlike pressing your finger, using the eraser tip allows for complete precision.

Perhaps the rest of you figured this out long ago, but for those who haven’t, keep your pencil handy!  Thanks for the tip Barbara!

All rights reserved (2013) Beverly Michaelis