B32. How do I archive incoming and outgoing emails?

/in /by

If you want to save an e-mail from yourself or your client in the archive in timeSensor LEGAL, the column Type will show either "Inbound" or "Outbound". This indicates whether the e-mail is incoming or outgoing. You can change this manually by selecting the archived e-mail and clicking on the blue info sign and changing the status of Kind.

When importing an e-mail via drag & drop, timeSensor LEGAL tries to guess whether the e-mail was incoming or outgoing. The following algorithm is used for this purpose:

  1. The sender of the e-mail is read out
  2. All e-mail addresses of employees are reviewed
  3. If the e-mail address of the sender matches the e-mail address of an employee, the e-mail is listed as Outbound.
  4. Otherwise, the e-mail is automatically listed as Inbound.

Enter your e-mail address

First open the contacts of your employees and open your dossier. If you have not yet done so, enter the e-mail address(es) with which you work, i.e. receive and send e-mails. You can also enter more than one e-mail address.

Link the employee to the user account

As soon as you have entered your e-mail address, switch to the Settings and there switch to the User tab. Open the user account of the employee for whom you have entered the e-mail address. There you go to the menu Identity and click at the bottom, for employees, on the cogwheel to open the selector window.

Go to the employee contacts and drag and drop the employee into the field. You have now linked the employee address and the system knows who has which e-mail address.

B31. How do I change the letter paper used in my templates?

/in /by

Over the course of the year, you may on occasion wish to change the office letter paper, whether it be due to changes in the information returned or a new layout.
To carry out the following manipulations, you require access to the timeSensor® LEGAL settings.

Changing letter papers for 4D Write templates

Make sure that you have the new letter paper available as a PDF (operating Mac only) or in SVG format (mixed systems or Windows only).

Navigate to the letter paper settings in timeSensor® LEGAL (Settings / Parameters / General / Letter Paper).


Double-click on the letter paper that you want to change. In our example, we will change the letter paper for letters.
With a double-click you will go into the Scheme Editor, where you can see the various letter papers and their specifications.
If the layout you use for the first page and that of the following pages of your letters are different then you will see that here.


Double-click on the template. A small window will appear, in which you can edit various details. Generally, you will only need to replace the picture element here.
Drag, therefore, your prepared PDF document into the Picture Elementfield. timeSensor will now replace the old image with the new one. If you want this picture element to be printed on the first page only, make sure just that the First Page option is ticked.
Subsequently, confirm the changes with OK.
In the event you only use one letter paper for all 4D Write templates, you have already made all the necessary adjustments to the settings.
If you have a second letter paper for the pages following the first page, then you need to repeat all the steps for this. The same goes for all letter paper schemes that you have on file (there are two in our example: Letter and Invoice).

Changing letter papers for Word templates

If you need to change the letter paper for your Word templates too, please make sure that you are familiar with Word templates and that you have the folder containing the Word macro on your computer. You can download this here.
In contrast to 4D Write templates, letter papers cannot be set globally in Word. They must instead be set for each individual template or changed as appropriate.
You need to carry out the following steps for each Word template. Please note that the same goes for each language. Therefore, when you, for example, write the same Word document once in German and once in French, you will need to change the letter paper for each language.

Navigate to the Template Editor and find your Word templates. You can drag and drop the Word file either directly into the timeSensor_templatefolder or go via your desktop.
Now, open the Word file while holding down the shift key. The macro dialog, with which you are familiar, will appear.
Double-click on the header to activate it. Choose the picture that was stored there and delete it.


Now, drag your new letter paper, which you have prepared on your desktop, into the header.
Word will recognize the letter paper as an image and will automatically bring it to the foreground. This is not what we want for a letter paper, however. Set the image, therefore, to be displayed

B30. How do I import a chart of accounts?

/in /by

Avoid having to manually input accounts by creating a chart of accounts. This is how you go about it:

Preparation in Excel

Prepare the chart of accounts in Excel. Fill out three columns in your Excel document:
- Column 1 for the account number
- Column 2 for the account name
- Column 3 for the account type (1 = asset account, 2 = liability account, 3 = expense account, 4 = revenue account)

Save in CSV format

Save the Excel document as a .csv file (comma separated values)

Open Import Editor

Open the window with the chart of accounts in timeSensor LEGAL. You will find this window in 'Special' under 'Accounting'. Select 'Import chart of accounts' from the 'Tools' menu.

Import data from the CSV document

Click on 'Import' and configure the import to correspond with your data:
- Choose 'Import table' as the import goal
- Choose the encoding accordingly so that umlauts are correctly displayed
- Assign the columns as shown to the correct fields in the import table

Add chart of accounts data

The imported data should now appear in the Import Editor. Make sure that the data is correct and click on 'Next' to complete the import. The accounts will now be added to the chart of accounts.

B28. How do I back up my timeSensor LEGAL data?

/in /by

Don’t leave data security to chance! A carefully set-up and monitored data backup system isn’t just good for your peace of mind, it can also save you hundreds of hours of work in the event of an emergency.

This article describes how to set up and monitor timeSensor LEGAL data backups.

General information

What should be included in the backups?

All timeSensor LEGAL data is stored in a folder called "timeSensor DataFiles." This folder must be backed up on a regular basis.

  • In multi-user operation, this folder is located on the server.
    • If your server is running MacOS, you will find it under “Programs” in the "timeSensor Server" folder of the server app.
    • If your server is running Windows, you will find the folder under "Documents."
  • In single-user mode (and thus MacOS), you will find the folder under /Users/All Users/timeSensor DataFiles

Please note that this is the recommended installation location for your timeSensor data, and in some cases, your data may be stored elsewhere. If in doubt, consult your IT specialist.

How often should a backup be performed?

The “timeSensor DataFiles” folder should be backed up at least once a day.

Where should the backup be stored?

Copy your “timeSensor DataFiles” folder to another hard drive. This copy is known as a primary backup. The advantage of a primary backup is that it is quick to perform, and data can also be restored quickly in the event of problems.

The primary backup should, in turn, also be backed up to a remote location on a daily basis. This is known as a secondary backup. Here are a few ideas on how to perform secondary backups:

  • Set up an encrypted cloud backup with a provider that you trust. One well-known provider is the company Mount10.
  • Copy the data to the office computer of the IT partner of your law firm over an active VPN connection.
  • Instead of using a normal hard drive for your primary backup, use an NAS drive. Set up the secondary backup on another NAS drive at a remote location so that the two NAS drives synchronise automatically. Synology is a well-known NAS solution provider.

You can further improve data backups by setting up “generations” - i.e. by retaining a series of daily backups at the secondary backup level. This is often the default option for cloud backups at data centres.

Monitoring

Even the best data backup system can be useless if it is not monitored. Check that your backups are working properly on a regular basis (at least once a month) and try downloading a secondary backup once a year to ensure that this works properly too, so you know that you can rely on it in case of emergency.

Backing up an active database

Unfortunately, another problem arises when backing up an active database: The database is normally in constant use and is therefore open. As with any other file, problems may occur when attempting to create a copy while it is still open. The copy that is created may not contain the latest data, since at the time the copy was created, some changes may still be in the RAM and thus not yet have found their way to the hard drive. The worst case scenario is that the copy is useless, because it is not consistent.

In single-user mode, this isn’t difficult to resolve: simply close the timeSensor LEGAL program before running the backup. This will close the database file and you will have no problem backing up the “timeSensor Data Files" folder.

In a multi-user environment, it’s not that simple: Asking every user to log off simultaneously every day so the database is closed for the backup would be too complicated, which is why 4D database servers offer the option of backing up databases even when they are active. Users can stay logged in while the database is backed up automatically. However, the database may quickly “freeze” during a backup, so it is best if backups are performed at night. The backup file is also stored in the folder "Time Sensor Data Files," in the sub-directory STUFF/BACKUP. This system ensures that there is always a complete and usable copy of your data in the “timeSensor Data Files" folder.

The automatic backup can be configured by the system administrator through the Administrator window on the server. The following series of images displays the recommended configuration in the Administrator window:

Final word

Don’t leave anything to chance when backing up your data! If you aren’t happy about setting up and monitoring your own backups, delegate these tasks to your IT specialist, or book Server Monitoring with timeSensor AG, which also includes these tasks.

B29. How Do I Create a New Entity?

/in /by

You can create a new entity quickly. To do this, open the "Advanced" window in your settings, under the "Admin" section.

Create the new entity with one click on the "Plus" icon, positioned on the bottom left-hand side of the window.

Enter the entity's name in the first box, and in the second box fill in its abbreviation or acronym.

The currency for the new entity can be determined in the next box. It is important to note that the currency can be determined once only when you create it, and it cannot be changed thereafter.

For VAT-based accounting methods, you have the following options: "Not obligated", "Received fees" and "Agreed charges". You are able to select your appropriate setting here. For collected fees, you can additionally select the flat taxation rate. The corresponding tax number can then be entered into the next box.

To adapt the visual display for the "timeSensor" client to your taste, you may choose a color scheme from the color palette.

If you need to transfer data from an existing entity, you may make this selection right at the bottom of the selection list, i.e. select the existing entity from which you require the base data, in order to automatically create the new one.

B27: How do I activate timeSensor LEGAL licenses?

/in /by

General

To use your timeSensor LEGAL licenses you have to activate them. You can request activation codes from us for this purpose. Entering the activation codes activates the licenses for use. Activation codes can be time-limited or unlimited. The activation always takes place in the context of the hardware used. If the hardware is changed (e. g. in case of a server exchange) a reactivation is necessary.

Entry of the activation codes

In the menu "timeSensor Client" (multi-user systems) or "timeSensor" (single-user systems), select the command "About timeSensor LEGAL". Click on the button "Licenses"in the following dialog.

 

In the window that appears, enter all your activation codes. Note: You can enter the codes by copy/paste.

B26. How Can I Manage Access Rights In timeSensor LEGAL?

/in /by

To manage every user's access rights, go to "Settings" and open the window "Users". Administrator rights are required to manage access rights. In the user editor, add all users in the tab "User". Then, assign users to groups in the tab "Groups" and manage each group's access rights in the tab "Access".

 

Please follow these principles:

  • All members of the "Admin" group have unrestricted access to all parts of the program
  • Access rights are only granted to user groups, never to individual users
  • Each user can be a member of any number of groups
  • In case of conflicting access rights between groups, the following applies:
    • An explicitly defined access right will overrule an inherited access right
    • An explicitly defined "Access allowed" will overrule an explicitly defined "Access denied"
  • Any undefined access right will be automatically inherited from the parent group. In the following example, the entry "Master Sheet" will have the same access as the entry "Clients", which in turn has the same access as the entry "Contacts", which has the same access as "Doe & Sample". Access rights follow the path: Doe & Sample -> Contacts -> Clients -> Master Sheet

 

If you wish to restrict access to the tab "Accounts" in the client dossier, you will have to define access rights specifically. Click on "Specified access", then select the access privilege. If you restrict the access, members of the "Base Access" group will not see the tab "Accounts", unless they are also members of another group with full access to the tab "Accounts"

 

For every user, you can restrict access to certain parts of the program, as well as define specific access rights. If you click on the tab "Other", you will see a number of access rights which are not specifically tied to parts of the program. You may for example restrict access to confidential dossiers for members of the "Base Access" group:

 

If you define specific groups with precise access rights and assign users to groups, you will be able to create complex access rights profiles.

 

B4. How Can I Add a Country to timeSensor® LEGAL?

/in /by

It's easy to add a country to your list. Go to your "Contacts" and open the dossier of any of your clients. Scroll all the way down in the "Country" menu, then choose "Countries..."

 

 

In the next window, click the blue plus button.

 

 

 

Then, add some parameters to the country. In our example, we're adding Luxembourg to our list of countries.

 

 

If you're using several languages, translate the name of the country by clicking the blue dictionary button.

 

 

 

B3. How Can I Add a Salutation?

/in /by

You can or modify a salutation by following these few steps:

  • Go to "Settings".
  • Choose "Languages" from the menu "Core Data". A small window will open with all the languages used at the firm.
  • Double click a language to open its settings. In our example, we want to add the salutation "Dear Professor". Select the gender, then click the plus sign.
  • In the next window, enter the salutation. You can also define what to put at the beginning of the salutation and specify its structure. You will then see an example of a salutation at the bottom of the window. Hit OK to add the salutation.
  • Close the assistant and the language window.
  • If you want to use the newly added salutation in an open dossier, you will have to close it and reopen it to see the new salutation.

B2. Why Are the Code Numbers for my Contact Entries Not Unique?

/in /by

timeSensor LEGAL uses two types of numbering for contact records:

  • the record ID
  • the address code

The record ID is managed by timeSensor LEGAL and attributed continuously. It is unique and unchangeable. All internal connections in the database use the record ID. You will find the record ID in the dossier, displayed in a small blue box at the bottom left of the window.

The last two digits of the record ID (here, "00") refer to the entity. If timeSensor LEGAL is managing several entities, record IDs of the first entity will end with "00", of the second with "10" and so forth. For example, the record ID "123-10" means that the record was added to the entity #2.

The address code is also used for numbering. The address code numbers are not necessarily unique and may be changed manually. Address codes can be used to keep old numbering after migration, or to bring together related records with the same code.

 

If you add staff to a company using the assistant, the system will automatically assign the company's address code to the newly added staff. This will make it easier to find addresses related to the company.

The following example shows all staff at the company with the same address code (1). The code may be modified by clicking on the record ID at the bottom left of the dossier while holding down the Alt key. The system will let you enter any address code, which may differ from the record ID.