Phone Problems

Last year, we upgraded our phone system due to continuing problems with our old phone carrier.  We switched to a Voice over IP solution with iCore, shortly thereafter acquired by Vonage.  We got all new phones and equipment, and retired our old PBX.

I had hoped this major upgrade would put our phone problems behind us.  Sadly, many continue to experience problems with the phones.

To help us track an manage complaints, I have created an online form.  You can fill out this form whenever you have a problem with the phone.  Doing so will notify the help desk so we can open up a support incident with Vonage.  Use of this form will also allow us to track complaints in order to look for patterns.

The form asks eight mandatory questions: 

1. Was the call incoming or outdoing?
2. Date of the call
3. Time of call
4. Your phone number
5. The other party's number
6. What was the problem?
7. Did it repeat?
8. Is this a pattern?

There is also an optional 9th question for you to leave any comments.

We need the answers to the mandatory questions so that Vonage can look at the call in their logs to determine what went wrong.

If you need to look up the time of a call, or the other party's number, you can do so by pressing on the down arrow on your phone, then TYPE, then select the list of received calls or placed calls.  You should have a list of your calls with the phone number and a time stamp listed.

Once you enter a problem.  Our help desk is notified.  We can then open up a support incident with Vonage if needed.

The form itself is a Google Form.  I recommend filling it out using the Chrome browser.  You may experience problems if you use Internet Explorer or other browsers.

You may access this form from this blog post.  I will also place a link on the Research Home Page shortly.

https://goo.gl/forms/pfv44BXMJkBzyd8B2

Google Apps Unlimited

Over the weekend, we upgraded our Google account to Google Apps Unlimited.  The only real difference for the end users is that there are no longer any limits on cloud storage, either for Gmail or for Google Drive.

You no longer need to worry about deleting emails to make space.  Of course, you are welcome to delete whatever emails you like.  There is simply no longer any pressure on you to free up available space to make room for more.

Deleting messages has virtually zero impact on the speed or performance of Gmail, at least as far as using the online system.  If you access your messages using a third party program, the number of messages may be more of an issue.

The "unlimited" also affects Google Drive.  I have been encouraging people to make more use of Drive to store items for mobile use.  Now that there are no limits on Drive storage, you can feel free to use it without fear of hitting any space limits.

I have discussed some of the benefits of Drive in an earlier blog post.  Drive essentially performs two distinct functions.  One is to create online documents (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc." using the Google Docs cloud based software.

The other is Google Drive feature is cloud based file storage.  The second feature operates much like Dropbox.  You can store files of virtually any type or format in a Drive folder, then share them with whomever you like.  People both inside the firm or outside can have access to files.  While Drive gives you the ability to make documents public, that would expose them to the entire Internet.  Typically if the files are at all confidential, you will need to share them with specific email addresses.  If the other person's email is not a Google email, they will have to register it the first time they try to access documents.  After that, they will be able to access whatever shared documents you have provided, until you remove those rights.

Google Drive is also a great way to have access to your key files while out of the office. You can save your files to Google Drive, then download them from home, in court, or anywhere you have Internet access.  No more need to use VPN.

One word of warning though - The firm still expects all key documents related to clients to be stored on your MDIR (M: drive for most people).  Any files stored elsewhere may cause problems for the firm if others need to access those same files.  Since use of Google Drive is only an option, not yet standard procedure for everyone, we need to have copies of all files stored in the Matter Directory.  If you copy a file to Google Drive and make changes to it there, you are responsible for getting a copy of the altered files back into the Matter Directory.

The IT Department is exploring some better options for organizing Google Drive and may be testing some new options soon.  For now, feel free to make greater use of Google Drive.  If you have any thoughts on how others can make better use of it, or any other good mobility suggestions, please pass them along to me to share with others.

New VPN

Over the past new months we have deployed new firewalls in the firm's seven largest offices offices.  Just to reiterate, we are now tracking everyone's internet usage and preparing a report for Mr. McKenna.  If you have not been following the firm's Internet Use Policy, now would be a good time to start.

Another important feature of the new system is that it offers a new method to connect to the network via VPN.  This new method will eventually replace our existing VPN Concentrator, which has outlived its useful life.  For now, both will work. There will come a time when the old one will be retired, so you may want to familiarize yourself with the new VPN before the old one goes away. 

The new VPN will also work with Windows 10, Macs, Android, and IOS.  Keep in mind though that even if you can access our network, your device still needs to be able to read the files you wish to access.  In other words, you can access the MDIR from your iPad, but if you do not have a WordPerfect Reader app on that device, you won't be reading WordPerfect documents.

You can access and download the new VPN client directly through any web browser and install it on your computer.  All you will need is a login.  Your login name and password is the same as you use to connect to your computer in the office.  It is NOT necessarily the same as the old VPN name and password that you used with the old system.

There is a separate VPN connection for each office.  This should help to improve performance for VPN users in the satellite offices.  While connecting to any of the VPNs should work, connecting to the one in your office should give you the best performance.

Because this is a public blog, and I don't want to provide instructions to hackers on how to access our network, I have created a Google Drive Document that provides the details you need to connect.  This document is only accessible to Firm employees using your Gmail name and password.

For now, both the old and new VPN connections will continue to work.  At some point down the road, we will retire the old VPN server.  However, we have not set any retirement date yet.

Leaving WordPerfect

WordPerfect has been the firm's primary word processor since before most folks even had computers. Over the years, WordPerfect's market share has dwindled to the point where it is almost an afterthought in the current market.  Even in the legal field, where WordPerfect dominated for longer than most others, it has become a small minority.

One reason the firm has remained with WordPerfect for so long is that as a word processor, it still beats the industry leader, MS Word by virtually any measure.  I still consider WordPerfect superior to Word as a stand alone product.

The problem is we don't live in a world of stand alone products anymore.  People expect their software to integrate better with other things, including online services, document management systems, and other programs.  Further, people want seamless compatibility with other companies, such as other firms or clients, almost all of whom now use MS Word.

As a result, the firm is planning to make the move from WordPerfect to MS Word.  There will be no immediate conversion, however.  For the last couple of years, we have been making MS Word available on request while installing WordPerfect for all by default.

Rather, the firm soon will install MS Word by default and make WordPerfect available on request.  By "MS Word" I actually mean the full standard version of MS Office, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. We will be using Office 365, which not only provides the Office software, but also provides a range of online services as well.

For now, if you still wish to use WordPerfect, we will continue to install it, if requested.  However, over the next few years, the firm may be moving to other systems that will make WordPerfect more difficult to use and more cumbersome for saving and retrieving documents.

I appreciate the fact that MS Word can be complicated, does not have all the features of WordPerfect.  We will transition to Word over a long time, giving everyone plenty of time to get up to speed with MS Office.  Bode has held several classes on basic MS Office use, and will continue to hold more in the future.  If you need the help, I strongly recommend you participate.

MS Word is capable of opening WordPerfect files, just as WordPerfect can open MS Word files.  However, going back and forth can cause formatting problems, and often leads to document corruption.  If you are working with a group that shares the same documents, or an attorney and secretary both work on the same documents, I strongly recommend that you decide among yourselves whether to use Word or WordPerfect. Going back and forth between both will cause problems.

We are just beginning to embark on this significant change.  We have only recently completed a test group using Office 365.  So far the feedback is that is has been a great change.  I am, of course, always open to constructive feedback about any change or policies as my goal is to have the technology available to make your jobs easier.

Thanks.

What to do During an Outage

From time to time, we experience Internet or phone outages that can affect one or more offices.  Most of the firm's offices have dual connections, one for Internet and a private circuit for phones.  If the Internet connection fails our router is supposed to automatically reroute traffic over the voice circuit.  This will be much slower than normal, but better than nothing.  Similarly, if the private circuit fails, voice traffic should be rerouted over the Internet.  This can lead to call quality issues, but better than no phones at all.

Yesterday, Philadelphia experienced a serious outage that took out both our Internet connection and the private circuit controlling our voice connections.  We are still trying to get to the bottom of exactly what happened to take out both connections.  This incident, however, prompted me to discuss what you can do to keep working in the event of an outage.

Phones

If the phones go down in your office, we have the ability to forward calls to your cell phone or any other working phone.  We have a setting for each phone called "call forwarding, not reachable."  This setting will only forward calls when your phone is not working.  It will not forward when your phone is busy or because you did not pick up.  If you have an alternate number you would like configured for this option, please contact the help desk.

Another option is iCore Communicator.  I discussed this feature in an earlier blog post.  Essentially, this is an app that can run on your laptop, tablet, or cell phone that allows you to make and receive calls as if you were using your office phone.  You can have this turned on even while your phone is working and have calls ring in both places.  Or, you can install it, and only turn it on when needed.

If an office's phones go down, we can also forward calls to another office.  For example, when Philadelphia went down yesterday, we forwarded calls for the main number to the receptionist in Mt. Laurel.  If there is ever an occasion due to outage or any other reason you think we need to forward a number, just contact the help desk.  We can make whatever forwarding changes are needed.

Email

Because our email system has been cloud based for several years now, you do not need to use VPN or connect to any particular office to access your email.  You can connect from anywhere, on virtually any device, as long as you have Internet access.

If you are going to be without Internet, there may be some options to consider ahead of time.  There is a Chrome App called Gmail Offline, which will store all of your emails on your local hard drive.  I also discussed this feature in an earlier blog post.  In the event of an Internet outage, you will have access to all of your mail. You can also draft new messages, though they cannot be sent until Internet access is restored. The offline feature can be used both in an emergency, or if you are simply taking your device somewhere without Internet, e.g an airplane.

If you use MS Outlook or another mail program, you can also store your Gmail messages locally on those programs for offline use.  I discussed use of Outlook with Gmail in another earlier blog post.

Matter Directory and Other Files

All matter directories are local to each office.  So an internet outage should not impact local access to files. Of course, if you are accessing from outside the office via VPN, or trying to connect to another office's MDIR, you may have problems in the event of an outage.  Again, the only option there would be to save copies of your most important files to your local hard drive ahead of time.

At present, most users are using the old Cisco VPN which requires a connection to Philadelphia.  We are beginning to use the new Fortinet VPN which, for most offices, allows a direct connection, meaning you can still connect to your local MDIR in a satellite office even if Philadelphia goes down.  More about that in a future blog post.

Time Entry

We have two options for time entry.  Unfortunately, both require active internet connections.  Webview requires a direct connection to the Webview server in Philadelphia.  If access to that server is cut off, such as yesterday when Philadelphia Internet was down, only people locally in Philadelphia would be able to access the server.

Using the other option, iTimekeep also requires an Internet connection, both between the user and iTimekeep, as well as between iTimekeep and Webview.  If either of these connections are broken, iTimekeep will not work. There is no offline options for time entry.  The older iTimekeep version 1 used to allow you to enter time but not finalize it when Webview was down.  However, version 2 is much more closely connected to Webview in order to provide real time feedback.  As a result, you cannot enter time when that connection is severed.

Research Home Page

Many people in satellite offices had problems accessing the Research Home Page yesterday when Philadelphia was down.  We have created a new page, which I discussed in an earlier blog post, that is available on the Internet, independent of Philadelphia.  Regardless of outages, I recommend using this new hope page at http://research.margolisedelstein.com anyway as the old page will be retired at some point in the near future.

Conclusion

We do our best to keep everything up and a running at all times.  But there will be occasions when services fail.  Preparing for them ahead of time can make you life much easier on such occasions.

Protecting Information on Your Smart Phone

Every year, we seem to become more dependent on our smart phones for work.  More importantly, more confidential client data, in the form of emails, documents, access to cloud storage, and other means of access are left on our phones.  As a result, securing that data is increasingly important.  I have addressed this issue in my blog once before but thought it worth addressing the issue once again.

The first thing you can do, if you have not already, is to secure your phone with a password.  This is the easiest and most obvious form of protection.  All modern iPhones and most Androids, including the Samsung Galaxy line, also have fingerprint scans for opening your phone.  I recommend setting up both.  With the fingerprint, you can access your phone almost as easily as a screen swipe.  The password provides a backup entry if the fingerprint does not work for some reason.

Beyond the hassle of accessing your phone, I can think of two reasons people avoid it.  One is that if a phone is lost, an honest person who finds it cannot return it.  In my earlier post, I explained how you could set up identifying information on your start screen, which a user can see without opening the phone. Another concern is forgetting one's password and getting locked out.  The IT Department already stores many of your work passwords.  We are also happy to store this password as well.  But to be clear, if you set or change a phone's password and do not tell us what it is, and then forget the password yourself, we have no way of accessing the phone.  You cannot even reset it.  You might as well throw it away and buy a new one at that point.

Beyond a password, make sure your device is encrypted.  Without encryption a professional may be able to access your phone's data drive even without a password.  By default, iPhones are encrypted as soon as you add a password.  Android users must go through another step in settings to encrypt data.

Typically, our phones are not stolen.  More commonly, we lose them.  One of the best things to do is ensure there is a way to locate your phone if you lose it.  By default, Android devices are set up so that you can use a locator online, as long as you have a valid Gmail account configured on the device.  Your work email will suffice for this purpose..  Here is a good article on locating and wiping your lost device.  The firm uses device management.  If your phone has been set up properly, we will have the ability to wipe email off your phone, or wipe the device entirely.

If you use an iPhone, you must set up an iCloud account prior to losing the phone.  Without this, we cannot locate the device for you.  We can, however, wipe the phone's contents even with out an iCloud account. With the account, you have the ability to search for your device and locate it on a map.  It greatly increases your chances of recovering your lost device.  If you do not already have an iCloud account set up for your iPhone, I strongly recommend that you do so.  I also recommend providing the iCloud password to the IT Department for safe keeping.  Otherwise, if you forget it, having the account will be useless to you.

An iCloud account also does more than simply locate your phone.  It serves as a backup device so that your pictures, files, and settings can be stored in the cloud.  If a phone is list, stolen, or damaged, your iCloud can be used to restore those files and settings on a new device.  It also comes in handy when upgrading your phone.  An iCloud account is free for up to 5 GB.  If you decide you need more space, you are on your own to pay for it.  Typically, iCloud accounts get filled by pictures.  You can download the pictures and store them elsewhere to save space (I recommend using Google Photos, which works with both iPhones and Androids, and offers free unlimited cloud storage of your photos).

Using Microsoft Outlook with Gmail

When the firm switched to Gmail several years ago, many lamented the loss of an actual mail client on your computer.  Gmail offers the ability to access mail via a web interface through most Internet Browsers (Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.).  No software is needed.  That remains the recommended way to access your mail.

People using Apple or Android phones or tablets can access mail through those browsers, although the preferred method is to use the Gmail App, or the app that comes with the device.

There are some benefits to using an actual mail program on your Windows computer.  It reduces problems clicking on "mailto" links or opening certain types of files, such as EML, MSG, or PST.  These are all various formats used to store emails from other systems.  Having a program like Outlook on your computer also means your mail is available offline.  It also give you the option to organize, filter, and sort your mail in different ways.

Personally, I am not a big fan of mail clients.  It creates an extra point of failure.  Many find the clients more frustrating, cluttered, and confusing than the simple web interface.  If you frequently check mail away from your computer, you will end up being frustrated by a feature that exists in Outlook but not on the web, or one that is available on the web but not Outlook.  Sometimes, mail programs might also not sync properly, which could mean you thought you sent an email, only to find it sitting in your outbox days later having never been sent.  That can never happen with a web interface.

That said, many still prefer to use a program like Outlook.  Perhaps you use Outlook at home, or have used it with a previous employer.  While I am not recommending or encouraging its use, we will accommodate its use for those who wish to use it.

If you already have MS Office on your computer, you probably have Outlook already installed.  On some very old computers, we may not have installed Outlook because it interfered with the GroupWise client.  But since we got rid of GroupWise we have been installing all of MS Office, which includes Outlook.

To sync your Gmail account with Outlook, Google has created a simple sync file, which is a free download from here:

https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gappssync

If you download and run this program, you will be asked to enter your email address and password. You will also be asked to authorize Gmail to grant permission to Oulook to access your mail and other online data.  Once complete, the first time you open Outlook, it will sync with your online data.  If you have many gigabytes of data in Gmail, this process may take hours to complete.  You can work while it is syncing. Subsequent use will result in a much shorter update sync.

Google Apps sync will only work with business accounts.  If you want to use this with your personal free Gmail account, you are out of luck.  There are ways to manually sync an email client to Gmail, but the easy sync program is a feature for business users only.

Blocking Windows 10, Again

I know I have written on this topic before, but Microsoft has once again gotten more aggressive in forcing people to upgrade.  If you are using Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, Microsoft is trying to force you to permit an upgrade to Windows 10.

Last week, Microsoft began a new trick.  For some time, you may have been receiving pop up messages asking if you want to upgrade now or later (no option for never).  If you pick later, Microsoft scheduled a time and just upgraded without further input.  Many people had been using the X to close the Window without selecting either option.  Last week, Microsoft changed the menu so that closing with the X would result in the same thing as selecting "later."  I.e. Microsoft would upgrade you to 10 at some future time without asking anything further.

Blocking Upgrade Attempts

Some of our work computers are on a domain.  In those cases, you should not be getting pop ups about an upgrade.  Others are not on a domain.  If you are getting messages about upgrading to Windows 10 on your computer, you can run GWX Control Panel.  This program will allow you to disable all requests to upgrade to 10.

You can call the help desk for assistance if you need it.  The process only takes a few minutes.

You may also use this program on any home computer that you do not want to upgrade.  It will simply block any of Microsoft's "reminders" to upgrade your computer and will not allow the computer to upgrade on its own.  If you decide you want to upgrade at some later time, you can use the program to re-enable the prompts.

Rolling Back an Upgrade

If your computer has upgraded to 10 against your will, you have the ability to take it back.  Simply say "no" to the license agreement the first time your computer starts.  This will force Windows to go back to the earlier version.  Once rolled back, run the GWX Control Panel to prevent future upgrade attempts.

If you have upgraded to 10 against your will and have already signed in, you can still roll back for up to 30 days.  Click on the Start menu, select "settings" then "update and security" then "recovery".  Click the button to roll back to your earlier version and then wait for it to complete.  This may take quite a while.

After 30 days, Windows deletes the old backup files and you cannot go back.  At that point, you would need to use your old installation CDs that came with the computer to restore your computer to factory default settings.  This wipes out all programs or documents that have been added since you first purchased the computer.

Future Plans for Windows 10

The firm has no intention of moving to Windows 10 anytime soon.  Windows 10 does not really offer any new features we need.  Any upgrade carries the risk of some incompatibility with existing hardware or software.  Further, Windows 10 seems to have a great many privacy issues that we are still evaluating.

We may end up purchasing new computers with Windows 10 pre-installed in 2017, as Windows 7 may become unavailable at that time.

If you want to upgrade a home computer to Windows 10, it does seem to work with most of the firm's systems.  Microsoft says its free upgrade is ending in July.  After that time, you will have to pay to upgrade to Windows 10.  Keep in mind that the IT department cannot help you with any home computer problems that may arise as a result of an upgrade.

Secure Your Email With Two Step Verification

Occasionally hackers are able to take control of an email account at the firm.  Typically, the hacker will send emails to everyone in the user's address book, trying to get them to click on a link that will infect the user's computer or steal that user's password.  A hack also gives the hacker the ability to read and delete all of your existing emails.

Basic security requires that you should never share your passwords with anyone outside the IT Department.  Your password should ideally be at least eight characters, contain both letters and numbers (and other types of characters if you wish), and should not be the same thing you use on all your other accounts.  You should never enter your Gmail password on any site that asks for it outside of Google.  If a site looks suspicious and asks for such information, you can always check with the help desk for a second opinion.

Caution alone, however, may not be enough.  To better secure your Google data, you may want to try using Two Factor Authentication (2FA).  Google make 2FA available to all of our users.  We have not made it mandatory because it can result in some rather significant inconveniences.  If, however, you wish to add this extra level of protection, you may do so.

The 2FA protocol essentially blocks hackers from accessing your Gmail account or other Google features by requiring a second step beyond entering your password.  You can associate a telephone number with your Google Account.  After you enter your Google name and password, Google will call or text your phone with a second random six digit number.  You must then enter that number in order to access your Google account.  

Once you have done this on a computer, you can tell Google to trust that computer for 30 days, meaning you will not have to go through that second step every time, just once per month.  You will also need to set up a special App Password on any device you use, such as a phone, tablet, or third party software package that accesses your Google account.  The App Password is a long randomly generated password from Google, a unique one for each device you use, in order to access your Google account from that application.

This additional security makes it virtually impossible for a hacker attempting to log into your account from another location.  It does, however, make life more complicated for you, since it regularly requires you to take extra steps to verify that you really are you.

I have been using myself as a test case for 2FA on my own account.  I find it mildly annoying to go through the extra steps on occasion.  Every time I log in from a new computer, I need to have my phone handy for authentication.  That said, it has not been a major problem or impediment for me, and seems to work as advertised.

The important thing to remember if you turn on 2FA is that you will need your phone with you at all times in order to receive a text message with the random pin number.  If you are one of those people who does not view their cell phone as an appendage which never parts from them, then 2FA may become a real impediment to getting to your email.  If you are on the road and lose or forget your phone, you will not be able to check messages through some other place, such as a hotel computer.  Also, if you plan to use other programs to access your mail, such as Outlook, or the mail program that came with your iPhone or Android (something other than the Gmail App) you will need to go through a separate setup process for each of these applications.

If you find  yourself unable to get into your account after turning on 2FA, please note that the help desk will not be able to help you gain access to your messages, nor check  your messages for you. The IT Administrator will need to go through a more cumbersome process of turning of 2FA which is not an easy or immediate thing.

With all that said, if anyone is interested in turning on 2FA on your Google account, you may do so via this site:

https://www.google.com/landing/2step/

Using Gmail Categories

Many months ago, Gmail rolled out "categories" to the Gmail inbox.  I have not written about it sooner, because I did not particularly like it myself.  But some users have found it useful, so I thought I should discuss it further.

Categories tries to to organize your inbox better into up to five separate categories.  Instead of a single inbox, you will see up to five tabs at the top: Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums.  You do not have to select all five, but you don't have the ability to change the names or do much else to control them.

Once enabled, Google will decide on its own what incoming emails belong in which categories.  The idea is that less important email, e.g. stuff from vendors, newsletters, notifications from Facebook or Linkedin, will not clutter your inbox (which is the "primary" tab).  Instead, such items will go into one of the other tabs.  These are emails that you don't consider spam, but don't also consider a top priority.

I am not a fan of categories, primarily because I don't have much of any control over what Google considers important.  As a result, I just have to spend more time going through all five tabs rather than looking at everything in one place.  You do have the ability to create filters, i.e. rules that will force an incoming email into a particular tab.  They work pretty much the same as using filters to force mails into a particular label (i.e. folder) rather than going into your inbox.

Another limitation of the Categories is that if you use another program, say Outlook on your computer, or the built-in mail program on your iPhone or Android, then Categories will not work in those places.  All the stuff is dumped into your inbox.  Therefore, your Gmail inbox and the Gmail inbox on your phone may have different contents.

If, however, you get a great deal of automatic mail that is not quite spam but also is not as important as other things, you may find Categories useful.  You can set it up in Gmail simply by going into "settings" then "inbox".  Select the categories you want to use, and then save.  Gmail will take it from there, auto-sorting all the messages in your inbox.  If you decide you don't like it, just turn it off and everything returns to one inbox.

Office 365

The firm is planning to start a pilot group of users for Office 365.  The Pilot will likely last for about a month.  We are only looking at the component that uses MS Office, not the component that works with MS email.

For the pilot, we are looking for people who

1. are already experts in use of MS Office (at least MS Word and Excel, possibly Powerpoint)
2.  have a need to use MS Office for work when outside the office. 
3. tend to use their phones or tablets for a great deal of their work
4. are willing to experiment with the MS Office cloud platform, and
5. are willing to take the time to provide me with feedback about your experience.

Space is limited in the pilot trial, so I cannot guarantee everyone who wishes can participate.  If you don't make the pilot, you certainly can get access once we go live, assuming the pilot is successful.

If you are interested in participating in the firm's pilot project, please send me an email.  If you want to help your chances, you can feel free to explain why your input would be particularly valuable based on how you plan to use the system.

If you want to learn more about Office 365 for Business, check out Microsoft's web site.

Thanks,

Mike Troy

Using Webview in Chrome

For many years now Elite has restricted Webview to use with the Internet Explorer browser only.  If you try to use Webview in another browser, you get as far as the login screen.  After that, your login information will not be accepted.

This limitation can be particularly annoying since we tend to use Google Chrome as our Internet browser of choice.  It is usually faster than IE and offers more security.  It also works better with some of the advanced options that we use in our Google Apps for Business.

Using IE can be annoying.  However, I found a shortcut into Webview that seems to work well in Chrome.

The Chrome Browser allows you to install add-ons to perform different functions.  One of those is called IE Tab.  This add-on uses your Internet Explorer engine as a virtual page within Google Chrome.  If you don't understand all that, the good new is you don't have to understand.  Just trust me that it works.  Install the add-on from this link:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ie-tab/hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd/related?hl=en-US

Clicking on the "add to chrome" button on this page will download a small executable program.  Run that to install the add-on.

Once installed, you will see an "e" logo on your Chrome toolbar.  When you have a web site open that requires Internet Explorer (e.g. Webview) click on that "e" in the toolbar to run the page in IE mode.  You should be able to open Webview and work as you always have.

I tested it on my computer and everything seems fine.  Different people may have different experiences though.  This is not something the Help Desk is familiar with and may not be able to support if you have trouble.  If it does not work for you, then you may be stuck opening IE the old fashioned way.  I just thought I would pass this along in case some of you found it convenient, and wanted to give it a try.  There are, of course, other sites that may restrict access to Internet Explorer. This trick should work on those sites as well.  You could also use it on a site that simply is not rendering properly in Chrome.

Also, to work properly, you must have Internet Explorer installed on the computer. Using this add-on with a Mac or some other non-Windows device is not going to work.

As always, if you want to enter time and not have the restrictions imposed by Webview, we continue to offer iTimeKeep as a much more flexible time entry method as well.  The iTimeKeep site: http://desktop.itimekeep.com will work with any browser and without any add-ons.  There are also apps available for your iPhone or Android device.  Just log in using your email address and Gmail password.

Bulk Export of Emails

I have been asked several times how we might share a folder in Gmail, or do a bulk export of Gmail messages for some reason.  Today's post finally provides a good solution to these problems.  Thanks to Mary McSorley for finding and testing this new add-on.

A third party has developed a free add-on for Google Drive.  It runs a script that looks for Gmail messages that meet certain criteria.  For example all emails with a certain label (which is what Google calls your folders in Gmail).  You can also create other rules, such as all emails to or from a certain person, emails with a certain subject line, which contain a specific word or phrase, or from a specific date period.

The emails will be saved as PDF documents in a folder on Google Drive that you select.  By default, emails are given a file name based on the subject line.  You can change that if you want.  It will also save any attachments that are attached to the selected emails.

Once you have created the rule, it will run every hour in order to keep your Google Drive up to date. Of course, if you just want it to run one time, you can run the program and then delete it.

This can be a convenient way to share an entire folder full of Gmails with other people in the firm.  Simply create a filter to sync a particular folder in your Gmail with a folder in Drive.  Then, simply share that Drive folder with others who need access to the emails.

This tool can also be useful if you want to do a large dump of email messages from Gmail to another source.  Perhaps you want to save the emails as PDF files for storage in MDIR, or to transmit them to some other party.  Run this add-on, then take the PDF files that have been created and send them wherever you like.

The tool itself is fairly easy to use.  Here is how you use it:

1. Go to the Chrome Store and install the Add-on called "save emails and attachments" (here is the link):
   https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/save-emails-and-attachmen/nflmnfjphdbeagnilbihcodcophecebc
2. Once you have installed the add-on, open a spreadsheet in Google Drive (Google Sheets).  Give the spreadsheet a name like "Saved Gmails".
3. In the new spreadsheet, click on "Add-ons" then "Save Emails and Attachments" then "Create New Rule"
4. Select the criteria your script will use to decide which emails to be saved.  You can change the default names of emails and attachments, but I don't recommend it.  You can always rename the saved files later.
5. Select the folder in Google Drive where you want the PDF files to be saved.
6. That's it. The rule will run every hour by default.  If you prefer, you can run the rule once, then delete the rule or the whole spreadsheet.

When the script runs, it adds a line to the spreadsheet of every message that has been exported.  This gives you a list of your converted files.  It also adds a label to the email in your Gmail account called "saved."  This is necessary so that it does not export the same messages over and over each hour.  If, for some reason, you want it to export the same message again, simply remove the "saved" label in Gmail and it will be treated like an unprocessed message the next time the script runs.

Once you have the PDF files in your Google Drive, you can share the entire folder with others who need access to them.  You can also download the files to your local computer or the MDIR to organize as you wish.

I have tested the product, which seems to work well.  The free version is limited to two scripts.  That should be enough for most people.  Let me know if you think you need to create something more complex and need the deluxe version.

In reading the online reviews, some people complained that the program stopped syncing after a few months and needed to be synced manually.  I don't know if that issue has been fixed, but keep this in mind if you are planning to use as a long term sync.  You may want to check that it is still running properly.

This program can be a useful tool for anyone looking for an easy way to export their messages or to share the contents of a Gmail folder with others.

Stopping the Windows 10 Update

Microsoft has been pushing ever harder to get users to upgrade their Windows 7 or Windows 8 computers to the new Windows 10.  Most enterprise level environments have not yet made the move to Windows 10, which released last summer. Such an upgrade requires extensive testing needed to ensure it will work with legacy devices.

The IT Department has been testing Windows 10 since its release and find that it seems to work reasonably well with most of the software and hardware used by the firm.  That said, we have also found little reason to upgrade to 10.  Other than a new look, we have not found any feature of particular use to the firm that Windows 10 provides that Windows 7 does not.

By contrast, Windows 10 loses some functionality for some features,  notably its inability to play DVD videos.  I am also bothered by some of the privacy concerns in Windows 10. Add to that the user confusion of having to learn a new interface, we have not been in any hurry to standardize on 10.  Microsoft will continue to support Windows 7 until 2020.  At some point before then, the firm will begin deploying Windows 10 devices.  There is, however, no plan yet for when exactly such deployment will begin.

Even when we begin deploying Windows 10, it will likely only be on new computers.  Existing Windows 7 computers will likely stay Windows 7 computers for their usable life.  Upgrading can cause problems, such as hardware that is incompatible with Windows 10.  Since there is no practical benefit to the upgrade at this point, there is no reason not to continue using what works.

Many of you are getting annoying requests from Microsoft to upgrade.  I have created a registry edit that should kill these nuisances. You can download and run this registry edit on your Windows 7 computer if you like.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B82goF7NYtz1TzdBV0k3ZGZVWTA

In some cases, Microsoft has been more persistent in trying to get you to upgrade.  There is a freeware program called GWX Control Panel, which will help you to kill these reminders.  You can read more about the program at this link.  We have tested and used this program on several computers and find it helpful and safe.  Feel free to use it on either a work or home computer if you are tired of getting pop-ups on upgrading to Windows 10.

New Research Home Page

For some time now, I have been trying to develop a new Research Home Page.  The main point of this new page is to host our internal web site on Google Sites, as opposed to an old Windows server in Philadelphia as we have done for the last 15 years or so.  As a result, you will be able to access the site from anywhere, without having to be connected via VPN.

In order to prevent the site from being available to the public at large, you must be logged into your Google account to access the site.  If you are prompted for a name and password, just enter your firm provided Gmail address and Gmail password for access.

The new site will have a similar look and feel to the old one, with some significant changes.  Google Sites does not support the drop down menus that we used on the old page.  As a result, I have created a document that contains all the research links, broken up by the same categories that we used on the old site.  I have kept the site as simple as possible in order to maximize compatibility with the widest range of browsers and devices possible.

Most of the sub-pages are maintained as Google Documents.  This makes it much easier for us to update and edit these documents, keeping them as up to date as possible.  For most users, these documents are read only.  If you notice any mistakes or have suggestions for changes, just email them to me.

We are now ready to put this site into beta testing, which means I am making it available for everyone to view.  But it is still a work in progress.  Some pages are incomplete and there may still be a number of errors throughout the pages and documents.  Feel free to look around and let me know of any problems you encounter or suggestions you may have for improvement.

There is a link to the site on the old Home Page

You can also access the new Page directly at http://research.margolisedelstein.com

As I said, the new site remains a work in progress.  The old page will remain the default link probably for the next few months until we have worked out all the kinks on the new page.  Eventually we will retire the old page and make the new one the default page for accessing all firm links and resources.

HIPAA, Confidentiality, and Google

I start this post with a warning.  I am going to discuss a few aspects of HIPAA as it relates to our use of Google Apps for Business.  This is not meant to be an authoritative or complete analysis of the HIPAA requirements for protecting medical information.  As lawyers, you are ultimately responsible for taking any necessary steps to keep medical records confidential, as you are obligated to keep pretty much any client information confidential.  I am merely posting some thoughts that might help with your efforts to protect client confidentiality while using the firm's online resources.

Even if you do not deal directly with medical records, you may find parts of this article helpful in ensuring protection of client confidentiality in your storage and transmission of electronic records.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was designed, among other things, to create an obligation for heath care professionals and insurance companies to ensure the privacy of client medical records.  A law firm which handles such records is not covered directly by HIPAA, but is considered a "Business Associate" of those covered and therefore must take care to protect the privacy of medical records in our possession.

If you wish to read more about the HIPAA Privacy Rule in general, I recommend this page at HHS as a good place to start.  At its most basic level, the idea is that we take care to make sure that medical records are not disclosed to anyone who should not have them.  HIPAA seems to be maddeningly vague and exactly what level of security or care is really required though.  We often get questions about compliance from some of our clients.  We need to make sure that we comply with whatever the client requires of us.

On question that we sometimes get is whether our email system is compliant.  Gmail has a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement which Google says ensures compliance with HIPAA with the use of Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive (including Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms), Google Sites, and Google Apps Vault services.  Notably, some Google Apps for  Business services including, Google+, Google Groups, and Google Voice are not covered by this Agreement.  Google also publishes an Implementation Guide which gets into more detail about what can be used and what settings best comply with privacy requirements.

Gmail

Some clients have asked about our ability to send and receive encrypted email communications. Gmail requires encrypted communications between our terminals and the Google servers.  This allows us to create or read an email over an encrypted connection.

However, when an email travels between any two different email systems, they must be unencrypted or else the receiving system will not be able to read the message.  HHS, which is responsible for enforcement of HIPAA, does not prohibit use of unencrypted emails.   (See, e.g., HHS FAQ).  Some clients, however, wish to have fully encrypted end to end communications with the firm.  To set up secured connections, we must have a shared encryption key with the other organization's domain. Gmail includes the ability to set up a shared key.  If a client demands this, I can work with their IT staff to get it set up.  Doing so would encrypt correspondence between our two firms.  However, anything sent to a third party would not be protected by this encryption.

Google Drive

Another important concern for many people is Google Drive (which includes Google Docs).  This can be a great online collaboration tool.  You can upload document to a drive, share it with others, who can then download them to their system.  With a limited document types you can even edit the documents online and work collaboratively.

There is relatively little written about privacy requirements here.  But certainly, when setting your share settings, you would not want to make the document public, which would expose them to anyone on the Internet.  There is an option to share documents to "anyone with a link".  This is essentially public, but hides the documents from search engines.  Someone could not simply run a search and come across your documents.  It would be pretty difficult to find those document without a clickable link leading directly to them.  But since you have not control over who might be forwarded those links, it is not a good idea to share any confidential data at this level.

Google indicates it is acceptable to share confidential files to specific authorized users.  When you set a share for a specific email address, the user will receive an email with a link to the shared document or folder. The email address of the other users need not be a Gmail address, but the user will have to register his or her email address with Google, if not already registered, in order to access the documents.

Typically, you would only give a user read only access unless you are working collaboratively. Otherwise, the user can edit or delete your files.  Even if a file is read only, the user can still download the file and make changes to a copy offline.  They simply cannot edit the online version of your document.

Secure Your Devices

Even if Google remain secure, if you end device, (your laptop, phone, or tablet) is not secured, you are creating a major security hole.  Make sure your devices are protected by a finger print or password if you receive or maintain any confidential information on that device.  Also, firm cell phones are secured with Mobile Device Management.  If your phone is lost or stolen, we have the ability to wipe the contents remotely.  Be sure to tell us if a device is missing.  We need to wipe the data before the carrier cuts off service to the device.  So call us before Verizon.

Auto forward your calls

Our phone system now offers a variety of ways to forward calls.  I have already described in an earlier post how to make and receive office calls from any smart phone, tablet, or PC using Communicator.  But if you do not like Communicator, you can simply forward calls from your office phone to any other phone number.  There are a variety of options:

Call Forwarding Always can be enabled if you are going to be away for a while and want to receive calls on another phone, or have someone else at the firm answer all your calls.

Call Forwarding Busy forwards your calls only when you are on another call.  Enabling this will mean that you will not see who is calling and have an opportunity to put the other person on hold and answer.

Call Forwarding Not Reachable forwards your calls after a certain number of rings.

Call Forwarding Selective is handy as you can have your phone forward calls from certain numbers to another phone, such as your cell or home phone

In addition to forwarding options, you have the ability to received certain notifications. Call Notify will send you an email when a call meets certain criteria.  Typically you would set this for certain important numbers that may require immediate attention.  This is different from receiving emails with a message.  This option allows you to receive an email, even if the caller does not leave a message.

Another handy option is Priority Alert, which can set a different ring for certain callers.

Selective Call Rejection allows you to block certain numbers entirely.  The caller receive a recording that you cannot be reached.  This would be for people that are harassing you and with whom you never want phone contact.

All of these options can be set in the cloud portal, or the help desk can set up any changes for you.

Voice Dictation On Your Laptop

For many years now, I have been a big fan of the dictation capabilities of Android and Apple smartphones and tablets. These devices, and I think Android is slightly better than Apple at this, do an excellent job converting my speech to text. This is in contrast to the dictation software built into Windows or even third party programs such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The Windows speech software is just terrible and messes up far too many words. Dragon does a better job but is cumbersome, can slow up the computer, and does not integrate well with many programs.

Now, Google has made dictation available on my laptop when I am using Google Docs. I have tested the dictation features on my laptop using the microphone built into my laptop. In fact, I am using it right now to dictate this blog post. It has made very few mistakes.  I can review my work in real time as I go along.  It works with the same quality I have grown to enjoy on my Android phone and tablet.

One big limitation on using this service is that you must be connected to the Internet in order for it to work properly. keep in mind that you can work on your  smartphone using your 4G connection so that you don't need to be tied to WiFi.  Laptops are WiFi only.

For those of you who like to dictate I strongly encourage you to give it a try. All you need to do is start a new document in Google Docs. Click on the Tools button and select Voice Typing. A microphone will appear on the left side of your screen which you can turn on or off with a click of your mouse.

This can be very helpful for dictation of any document. You may find it preferable to using a voice recorder which then needs to be sent away for transcription. With Google dictation, you get instant results and have your document as soon as you say the words. You can edit as you go along. If something does go wrong. just start using the keyboard to make whatever changes you like then click on the microphone again to continue dictating.  Combine the ease of use with the fact that you are saving the firm transcription costs and this technology can be a win - win.

Because Google Docs is interactive with your computer, phone, or tablet, you can begin a document on any one of those devices and then continue later with whichever device happens to be handy at the moment.

In addition to simple dictation, Google Docs also handles a variety of voice commands that allow you to do some simple formatting and editing without ever touching your keyboard. If you are interested in learning more about the voice commands you may take a look at the options at this link.

Despite its convenience and ease of use, I have not recommended using Google Docs for the creation of many legal documents because the ability to format a page can be difficult.   Certain advanced formatting options are just not available in Google Docs. Drafting legal documents including letters briefs, or anything else that requires more than minimal formatting is probably still best done using Microsoft Word or Word Perfect.

Of course, you may want to dictate the bulk of your document using Google Docs then save your work as a Microsoft Word document, or cut and paste the text you dictated into a Word Perfect document.  From there, you or your secretary can format the document as needed.

For those of you who find typing difficult, or simply think dictation is faster and easier than typing, and simply don't want to wait for transcription services, this may be a great alternative for you.

Internet monitoring and blocking

Over the next couple of months, we will be installing new firewalls in most of the firm's offices.  In addition to standard security from outside attacks, the new devices will give us the ability to monitor and restrict Internet access to certain sites.

Before we start the new monitoring process, I thought this would be a good time to remind everyone about the firms Computer and Internet Use Policy.  If you are not familiar with it, you should be.  Violations of the policy can result in adverse employment actions, including termination.

A few of the key highlights to remember regarding Internet access:

• The firm reserves the right to monitor all of your activity.  This includes any access to personal web based email sites or other web sites you may think are private.
• The firm can view your activity if you are using the firm's Internet connection, even if you are on a personal device such as a phone, tablet, or laptop.  
• If you are connected via VPN from home, the firm monitors your activity just as if you were in the office.
• If you use a firm owned device, such as a phone or laptop, even off site and on another Internet connection, the firm may still be able to monitor your activity and reserves the right to do so.
• Firm policy prohibits using even a personal device with a personal internet connection for personal reasons when you are at work.  Talking, texting, or Internet access from your cell phone is not permitted.  Using any firm resources for personal use is also generally not permitted.
• If the firm logs you accessing inappropriate sites, including sites containing pornography or gambling, or even sites that have no obvious business reason, such as Facebook or a sports site, you may be called in to explain to Mr. McKenna the business purposes for you are accessing such sites.
• If you find a site blocked and you have a valid business reason to access that site, you may call the help desk to inquire about getting an exception.
• In short, don't do anything on the computer or through the firm's internet that you would not do if your boss was looking over your shoulder.  You should have no expectation of privacy when using firm resources.

Is someone ducking your calls?

As shocking as it may be to some, there are occasions when people try to avoid calls from a law firm.  Sometimes, this can require persistence to get through.

Our Vonage phones have a feature called Automatic Callback.  This can be set if a party you are calling is busy.  It will establish a call as soon at the other person hangs up.  Keep in mind that this only works if you are getting a busy signal.  If you are directed to voicemail, it won't work.  Because most phones now have call waiting and voicemail, this may not come up very often.  But if you find it useful, you can enable this option in the portal.  Once enabled, when you get a busy signal, you should see an option on your phone to enable a callback on this call.  As the other party hangs up, your phone and the other party's phone will both ring.

Suppose you have someone who is simply not answering the phone when you call.  They see your caller ID and let it go to voicemail.  Line ID Blocking hides your caller ID from people.  If you dial *67, your call will go out with an anonymous ID.  Unfortunately, this option is also of limited use.  Most phones today do not rely on the sender's caller ID to identify the call.  They  have their own database of numbers.  Similarly, if you call a cell phone of someone who has your number in their address book, it will identify you that way.

If you really want to be anonymous, I recommend making a call through your computer, using Google Hangouts, or using the Hangouts Dialer app on your smart phone.  Unless you have gone through the trouble of assigning a number and ID to your Google account, making a call this way will appear to come from a random phone number with no identification.

More on Faxes: Additional Ways to Send

In an earlier post, I explained how you can send a fax by logging into the fax2mail.com web site and uploading a file to be faxed.

For those who are interested, there are also several other ways to send a fax.

Virtual Fax Machine:

On the Fax2mail.com web site, there is a tab called "VFM".  This is a virtual fax machine that may be a little more user friendly.  You may browse for a file, and send through this device.

Alternatively, you may download the Virtual Fax Machine software to your computer.  Once  you have entered the login information, you can use this at any time to send a document.  You can even drag and drop a file right onto the application.  If you send many faxes, this may be a bit of a time saver.

Below is the link for the virtual fax machine application.

https://fax2mail.easylink.com/desktopfax/downloads/EasyLinkVFM.3.3.B6.exe

Print to Fax:

Also available on the fax to mail website are "print-to-fax" drivers that you can download and install on your computer.  Using this option will allow you to "print" to a fax from virtually any application (including WordPerfect).  Once installed, simply create a document and start to print as you normally would.  However, select the print to print-to-fax option from among the printers listed on your computer.  You will be prompted for the fax number and then hit send.  The one downside of this option is that there is no option for a cover page.  So you will want to make a cover page as the first page of the document you are sending if a cover page is needed.

Below is the link for the print to fax installer.

https://fax2mail.easylink.com/desktopfax/downloads/EasyLink_FL_GUI_Print2Fax.exe

If you send faxes regularly, or find the fax2mail.com web site confusing, you may want to give one of these options a try.

Faster Calling Fewer Buttons

Many of us call the same numbers over and over again.  We don't want to be bothered having to redial the same ten digit numbers repeatedly.  Vonage offers a range of shortcuts to make this easier.

In an earlier post I explained how you can add users to your phone's LCD screen so that you can call them with a push of a single button.  In a different earlier post I explained how to look up a number quickly on the phone, either from the firm directory or from a list of previous callers.

Today, I'm going to describe yet another shortcut.  We have the ability to set up eight shortcut that can be dialed by pressing a single number.  Essentially, we assign a phone number to the numbers 2-9 on your keypad.  To dial any of those pre-programmed numbers, you simply need to press the button and then hit "dial".

If you have more than eight numbers, there is also an option called "speed dial 100".  This allows you to add up to 100 numbers by dialing # and then a pre-assigned two digit code, then press dial.

Adding users to the LCD screen seems preferable to either of these two options.  Adding to the LCD screen means you can see the user name, meaning you don't have to remember who is assigned to what button.  It is also literally a single button press.  Therefore, the only reason to use these additional shortcuts would be if you have already filled up all the spaces on your screen.

The speed dial 8 can be set up by dialing *74 then the shortcut number, then the number to be called.  For example, if I wanted to assign 215-922-1100 to number 2 on my phone, I would dial, *7422159221100 This can also be set up in the portal.  If you are not comfortable programming it yourself or going into the portal, the help desk will be happy to set up the numbers for you.  Just send us a list via email.  Once set up you simply press the number assigned (e.g. "2") then press "dial" and you are connected.

Speed dial 100 works in a similar way but allows you to store up to 100 numbers using a two digit code (00-99).  You can configure a speed dial 100 number by dialing *75, then the shortcut numbers, then the number to be called.  For example, to set 10 as the shortcut for 215-922-1100, I would dial *75102159221100.  Like speed dial 8, speed dial 100 numbers can also be set up in the portal.

Once configured, simply dial # plus the two digit code, then dial, to call a number.  For me it seems more complicated to memorize 100 different two digit calling codes then to simply look up the number and dial it.  But if you think this may be useful to you, it is an option we can program.

Internet Browsers

This week, Microsoft is ending support for all versions of its Internet Explorer Browser except the most recent version (11).  Until now, Microsoft had been providing security updates and other support for IE 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Last year, I posted an article discussing different Internet browsers generally.  Everyone should have Google Chrome, which updates itself regularly.  Many of you may also choose to use third party browsers such as Mozilla Firefox.  These are good browsers, usually superior to Internet Explorer.  They often will load pages faster than IE.  I recommend using Chrome for all Internet since you already using it for email and other Google Apps.

Why use IE at all?

The main reason we continue to use IE is that Elite Webview is designed to run only on Internet Explorer.  This was not always the case.  When we first purchased Webview, it ran on a variety of browsers.  Several years later, however, Elite became a Microsoft partner and restricted Webview so that it would only run on Internet Explorer.  If not for this limitation, I would have recommending dumping Internet Explorer years ago. As it is, I recommend using Internet Explorer for Webview.  It will work with the rest of the Internet as well, but may be slower than you would like.

Another great annoyance of Webview is that it does not always work with newer version of Internet Explorer.  It was designed to work with IE 6.  There are sometimes problems running later version of IE.  To get around such problems, we typically set up "Compatibility View" on your copy of IE, so that it will behave on that site like the older version of IE.  For many users, we stopped updating Internet Explorer on the computer to prevent future incompatibility issues.

So what does the end of support mean for older version of Internet Explorer?  

If you are using an older version of Internet Explorer to surf the Internet, you are at greater risk of attack.  Most security updates are designed to protect people from infected web sites that attempt to download and install malware on your computer.  If you do not have these protections, your computer can be at greater risk to attack.

How can I protect myself?

If you are on Windows 7 or higher, you can update Internet Explorer to version 11 which remains supported by Microsoft.  Keep in mind that doing so may mean we will need to reset the compatibility view settings in IE so that it continues to work with Webview.

The other option is simply to use your current IE only for Webview and other internal sites.  Since we control internal sites, we can keep them free from malware infections.  It is only when you go to sites outside the firm that you put yourself at risk.  For most internet browsing, I recommend using Google Chrome, which remains up to date and protected.

The Future of Internet Explorer

Microsoft seems to be phasing out IE altogether.  Windows 10 came with a new Microsoft browser called Edge.  However, Edge only works with Windows 10.  Those of us using older versions of Windows will have to wait.  Edge is not terribly useful anyway since, despite being a Microsoft product, is still not supported by Webview.

Because so many enterprises have applications like Webview that continue to require Internet Explorer, Microsoft continues to support IE 11 on Windows 10 as well as older versions of Windows, including 7 and 8 (there is no 9).  Should the firm move to Windows 10, we still have the option to use IE for Webview.

At some point in the next few years, I suspect Microsoft will end support for IE altogether.  Presumably by that time Elite will come up with an alternative browser option for Webview.

Scan Documents With Your Cell Phone

There are times when you are out of the office.  You come across a document and need a copy of it. You can use your smartphone as a document scanner.

There are numerous apps that allow you to capture a document through a phone's camera.  One of the most useful for me is the Google Drive App.  If you don't already have this app, it is a free download from Google's Play Store or Apple's App Store.

Open the Google Drive App on your phone.  Click on the red circle with a plus sign to add a new document.  Select the camera and take a picture of the document.  You have the option to add additional pages or complete the document.  Once complete, the document saves as a PDF file to your Google Drive.

When you get back to the office, simply download the PDF to your computer. You can use PDF Xchange Editor to OCR the document if you need that, or simply use as is.

The scan directly to PDF only seems to work on the Android version of the App.  The iPhone Drive App scans to JPG format.  Still, once the document is saved to your Drive, you can use the Drive's "download as PDF" option to convert it to PDF when you download it to your computer.

This can be a convenient way to snap receipts to be uploaded into Chrome River for reimbursement.  It is also a convenient way to store a paper document that you need for further review later.