Google Drive

Now that the firm has retired Gmail, we are also leaving  all the other features included in Google's G Suite.  Aside from email, the most commonly used feature is Google Drive.

The firm has determined that it will NOT be converting the contents of Google Drive to Box.  Too many people have too much junk in Drive that is not necessary to bring into Box.

That said, if you have information in Google Drive that you want to save, you have several options.  First, if you only have a small number of files, you can download them yourself.  You can download a file for older from your Google Drive and convert it to Microsoft format if currently in Google format.  This will allow you to continue to work on the documents using another program.

If you are using Google Drive (which includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides) to extensively to download a few documents yourself, Google also offers an option called Google Takeout.

Takeout allows you to download the entire contents of your Google Drive, or select features.  It will also convert your Google files to a convenient format.  If you want to use Takeout, do the following:

1. Go to https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout
2. Click on "Select None" to turn off all the various Google features.  
3. Scroll down to Google Drive and select only that category.
4. If you don't want to download everything, click on "all files" and then on "select files and folders".  Check only those folders you want to download.
5. Scroll to the bottom and hit "next"
6. You then have the option to select different save formats.  The default "zip" is probably best.  You can also create a maximum size.  I recommend selecting a very large size.  This will ensure everything goes into one download file instead of multiple ones.  
7. Click on "start download"
8. Depending on how many files you have selected, Drive can take minutes or hours to complete. When it has created the download file, you will get an email with a link.  Use that link to download your files.
9. That should be it for now.  Save that zip file in a safe place.  You can open it if you need to use any of the files now.  Otherwise, hang onto it until you go live on Box.com.  Then, you can upload the files into Box.

Of course, if you need assistance, contact the help desk.  We are a little overwhelmed these days, but if you send us an email, we will get your request on our task list and get to you as soon as possible.

Please do not put off this task for too long.  When Google shuts down, we will no longer have access to this data and will not be able to retrieve it.  Google will only remain available for a few more weeks.  It will be going away before most of our offices are up and running in Box.  That is why it is important to save the documents locally before we can make them available to you in Box.

OneDrive for MS Office

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that it was possible to open and save documents from MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) directly to Google Drive.  This allows you to access those documents from anywhere simply by being logged in to your Google account.

You can also do the same thing using Microsoft's OneDrive.  If you have not used it before, OneDrive is very similar to Google Drive.  It allows you to save documents in the cloud, accessible from anywhere you have Internet access as long as you log into your Office 365 account.  You can even edit the documents using Microsoft's online version of Office if you don't have the full version of Office installed on the device you are using.  Keep in mind though that the online versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint do not offer all of the advanced features available to you on your downloaded version of MS Office.

When you open or save a document in Word, you should see a OneDrive option.  If you select that, you may be asked to log into your OneDrive Account.  Your account name is your email address.  We sent you an Office 365 password in recent months, though you may have changed it.  If you don't know your password, the Help Desk can reset it for you.

Whether you use Google Drive, OneDrive, or neither is strictly up to you.  Personally, I like Google Drive better since I am already signed into that one always for may email.  If you use MS Word on an iPad, there is no way to connect from there to Google Drive, though you can access OneDrive.

Google also puts no limit on storage space, although OneDrive's 1 TB limit is pretty generous.  Both use encryption to protect your documents when uploading or downloading, and both remain password protected from the view of others unless you share a file or folder with others.

While these online storage options may be convenient if you work outside the office, keep in mind that copies of all client related documents must also be saved to the Matter Directory (M Drive) pursuant to firm policy.

Google Drive for MS Office

Hopefully everyone is becoming more familiar with MS Office.  The firm's plan to transition from Word Perfect to Word by the end of the summer remains on track.

Today, I wanted to mention a helpful add-on form MS Office from Google Drive.

Last year, the firm switched to unlimited storage on Google Drive.  This makes it an extremely convenient place to store working documents.  From Google Drive, you can access your documents from anywhere you have Internet access, without the need for VPN.  It also makes it much easier to share documents with others.

If you install the Google Drive for MS Office add-on, you can save documents created in MS Word directly to your Google Drive.  You can also open previously saved documents directly from Google Drive.  The Add-on also works with Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentation. This can be a great time saver for MS Office documents you need to access from multiple locations.

If you would like to download and install Google Drive for MS Office, you can get it here:

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

Once installed, it shows up as an option on your ribbon.

Keep in mind, of course, that copies of all client related documents should still be stored in the Matter Directory (i.e. MDIR or M: Drive).  If you have working documents related to clients on your Google Drive, just be sure to save a copy to the Matter Directory.

How the Firm Backs Up

Data protection is something the firm takes very seriously.  I thought it might be helpful to go over how we back up our data and what is available for restoration:

Google:

For Gmail and Google Drive, we have the ability to restore deleted data for up to 25 days.  After that, the information is gone forever.  Restoring data is not particularly easy.  We cannot restore specific items, but have to restore everything back to a certain date.  So this is not something you want to use routinely.

I strongly recommend that when you delete something from Drive or Gmail, that you simply let it sit in your trash.  Do not empty your trash.  After 30 days, those files or emails will go away on their own.  You don't have to worry about having too much trash, especially now that we have no space limits in Gmail or Drive.  Letting your deleted data sit in trash for 30 days, gives you the time to realize you might have needed something, or deleted more than you thought (such as deleting an entire conversation rather than a single email).  Trash gives you the time to recover that data quickly and easily.

Beyond trash and the 25 day Administrator recovery, our Google mail is backed up to Google Vault. We have the ability to recover messages sent or received, but there is no easy way to restore messages to your inbox.  We can print out a few PDF files of emails if needed for something.  It is not designed to recover large amounts of data easily.  In a real emergency we can use third party tools to do it, though you probably do not want to be the test case for something like this.

File Servers:

Most of our offices have a local file server where we store documents and other important data.  Different offices use different network letters for this, but I'm talking about our Matter Directories (MDIR) - the M: drive in most offices, as well as your personal network drive, the H: or I: drive in most offices.

We back up the file servers using a dedicated backup server built by a company called Datto.  Some offices use a Sirus class backup, others use an Alto class.  It mostly depends on the amount of data being stored.  Either way, both systems back up changes to the file server every hour during the work day.  After a couple of days, those hourly changes are merged into a single file that keeps one set of changes for the whole day.  After a few days, those daily files get merged into a single weekly file and then eventually into a monthly file.  The exact number of days before a merge and the number of months that we keep on file vary from office to office.  The variation is mostly a matter of how much space we have on the backup server.  If we have more space, we can keep more backups.

If necessary, we can recover specific files that may have been deleted.  We only need to know the names of the files, the folders where they had been stored, and when they were deleted.  Something deleted and created between backups may not be available.  For example, if you want a file from a week or two ago, we only have weekly backups.  In that case, if you created a file on Tuesday, and deleted it on Wednesday, it may not be available on the weekly backup, which only shows changes from the way the server looked on Sunday compared to the previous Sunday.

In the event the entire file server crashed and died, we have the ability to do a complete restore from backup to a new file server to get everything up and running again.  We also have the ability in some of our larger offices to run the backup as a replacement file server while the main one is being repaired.  We had to implement this very procedure in Philadelphia recently after the system board died in the main file server there.

We store backup files on site for quick restoration if needed.  We also upload a copy of these files to cloud storage, in the unlikely event that an entire office is destroyed, taking out both the file server and the local backup.  Again, how long we keep backups varies by office, depending on how much available space we have.  However, nothing is available more than one year after deletion.

Two of our offices do not have file servers.  Our Hollidaysburg and Beaver offices are deemed too small to have a file server on site.  Rather we use a shared workstation drive in those offices.  The matter directories in those offices get backed up nightly to a server in Philadelphia, which in turn feeds into the backup system in that office.

Time Entry

Time entry data is backed up using the same system we use for file servers.  Our Elite servers in Philadelphia record all time entries in real time.  These are backed up hourly during the day, less so on nights and weekends.  In the event of a server failure, we could do a backup, but would lose any entries done since the last hourly backup.  As with the file servers, the time entry backup servers are also backed up to the cloud in the event of a site disaster.

Individual Computers

I want to stress also that we do not back up in any way, the data stored on your individual laptops or desktop PCs.  You should not keep items in your "My Documents" folder or anywhere else on the C: drive if you care about losing them.  If your local hard drive fails, all that data could be irretrievably lost.

If, for some reason, you cannot store the information on your H: drive, storing it in your Google Drive is probably the best place to keep items you are concerned about losing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Voice to Text Dictation

For many years, I have been looking at dictation services that would allow us to have our speech converted directly to text. Finding something that meets acceptability standards for our lawyers has been difficult indeed.

Dictation for Windows Computers

On the PC, Windows 7 comes with a built in voice recognition program. However, it is not very good and makes a great number of mistakes. It is accessible via Control Panel, but I found the accuracy so low that I don't recommend it at all.  

Dragon Naturally Speaking

A few of our attorneys have used Dragon Naturally Speaking for many years. Dragon works reasonably well for users who take the time to learn the voice commands and do the training.  It does not take nearly as much training time as it did with older versions that were available several years ago.  It actually does a pretty good job. But another issue with Dragon is that it tends to be a resource hog on your computer and can sometimes lead to other problems. It is running all the time, and can slow down your computer even when you are not using it.  Therefore, it's not something we have pushed.  But if an attorney wishes to try it, we can purchase a license for you.

Dictation on Android or IOS

I find dictation on a phone or tablet using Android or iOS to be much better. It usually seems faster and more accurate than anything I have found for the PC. Dictation is built into all of these devices and it can be accessed simply by pressing the microphone on the virtual keyboard.

A couple of years ago, we did a test using Android tablets as dictation devices to see if that would be a useful alternative to, or even a replacement for, voice recorders for attorneys to dictate their documents. Unfortunately, we decided not to proceed with that initiative because the dictation solution was proving frustrating to many of our testers.

While the dictation was accurate enough when we spoke slowly and clearly, users were frustrated by the inability to dictate advanced punctuation. Periods, commas, and question marks worked just fine, but other punctuation such as semi-colons or parentheses were beyond its abilities.  Footnotes and advanced formatting were also out of the question.

Also, if a user made a mistake or wanted to change something, one could not go back and delete information or move the cursor back to edit or insert text somewhere using voice commands.  Rather, one must use the touch screen, which can be slow, clumsy, and frustrating. Testers felt that this slowed up their ability to do the dictation as compared to simply dictating into a recorder and letting a human convert it into text. So, we shelved the project hoping that dictation would improve with time. We are still waiting.  Nevertheless, despite these shortcomings, many of our attorneys and staff find the dictation features built into Android and iOS useful for entering time, dictating emails, and even dictating simple documents. 

Dictation to Google Drive

I recommend using Google Drive on one's phone or tablet to dictate documents if you are so inclined. That way the document can be easily available to you on the PC through the same Google Drive account.  It could even be shared with a secretary or anyone else who you would want to clean up and format the document. Sometimes, with my phone connected to Wifi, I dictate into my phone to a document on Google Drive, while having the document open on my computer.  It will update automatically in real time. I can make changes on my computer using my keyboard, then continue dictating on the phone.  If anyone wishes to give this a try I am happy to show you how to do it and to provide you with any equipment necessary. For me, however, using my Samsung Galaxy S5 is the easiest way to dictate.

I dictated this blog entry on my phone.  In these eight paragraphs, the dictation made nine mistakes, but seven of those were simply failures to capitalize words.  Only twice did it transcribe the wrong word.  It was great for a first draft.  I then went back and reworded things and made other edits on my computer before publishing the final product.

Taking a Poll with Google Forms

Have you ever needed to collect information from a large group of people?  You probably sent out an email asking for responses, then waited as dozens of responses were emailed back.  Then you had to sort through all those responses and determine who responded how.

With Google Apps, there is a much easier way to do the same thing.  I have sent out several email based surveys to the firm asking about what people think about various policies.  When you get the email, you respond to the questions and hit the "send" button.  From there, all the responses get added automatically to a spreadsheet on Google Drive. There is an option for me to see a quick summary chart of all the responses or to look at each one individually.

Google calls this feature "Google Forms".  It can, of course, be used for far more than surveys.  You could use it to collect people's contact information, have people register for an event, ask your family where they want to go on vacation, ask a work group where they want to go to lunch or hold a party, administer a quiz, etc.  If you are sending an email that is going to require responses from more than five or six people, Google Forms is going to make it much easier to track the results.

To create a form, simply open Google Drive, Hit the "create" button and then select "forms."  Google will guide you through the process of setting up question types (e.g. multiple choice, write-in, select from list, etc.).  The document can be emailed to respondents or simply posted on a web site.  Recipients need not be in the firm nor even use Gmail, although you can restrict responses if you choose.  You then need only view the results in detail or summary form from your Google Drive spreadsheet.

Because of its ease of use, I recommend giving Google Forms a try.

Editing Documents on a Phone or Tablet

More and more I hear from people who don't want to deal with carrying around their laptops with them.  Phones and tablets are much more nimble.  But we are also a document driven world. Working with documents on mobile devices can take some setup.

WordPerfect

First I have to say this is one big area where WordPerfect is a near total failure.  There is no good way to edit WP documents on a phone or tablet.  Corel has a WP Reader app that will let you read but not edit WP documents on your device, at a cost of $5.99.  Further, because so few people use WordPerfect anymore, no third party app I have found is compatible with WP documents.  To get around this problem, you can save a document in Wordperfect as another format.  I prefer RTF (rich text format) since it is a widely accepted default format that works across many different browsers and maintains almost all formatting).  Saving as RTF will make it easier to access from other programs.  You could also save as an MS DOC file or as PDF.

Most formats other than WordPerfect allow many options.  Various Microsoft documents, PDF, and a wide range of open source documents are supported by a great many apps.

WPS Office

My favorite is WPS Office (formerly known as Kingsoft Office).  This is a free app available both on Apple's App Store as well as Google Play. It does a very good job reading and editing all Microsoft documents as well as a host of others (including RTF).  It can also serve as your default PDF reader.  You can also connect to your Google Drive, Dropbox, or several other cloud based storage services. I make it my default document reader on all of my devices and heartily recommend it.

MS Office 

Microsoft also recently made an Android and IOS version of MS Office available as a free download.  Early versions only allows you read, but not edit documents.  The most recent free version does allow editing.  Still, the product is considered "freemium" meaning you can use the basic functions for free, but many advanced features require a subscription to Office 365.  For example, you cannot use the compare documents feature in the free version (although you can do this in the free WPS Office).

I am not a big fan of freemium products since it is typically the company's ultimate goal to get you hooked but then frustrate your experience until you fork over your money.  But if you prefer to use the basic version of MS Office rather than WPS Office, it is an option.  If you want to read more about the benefits and limitations, you might this article from PC World worthwhile.

Google Drive

The program I most commonly use on my mobile devices is the Google Drive App.  Again, this is a free download from the App Store and Google Play.  It gives me access to all of my documents stored in Google Drive and allows me to edit them.  I mostly work with documents in the native Google format, but you can also work with documents that you have uploaded in various Microsoft or some other formats as well.  My preference, however is to use WPS Office when working on non-Google files.  But since I keep almost all my key documents on Drive and in Google's native format, I get full functionality on the Google Drive App.

A major benefit of the Drive App, is that you can save a Google Drive document for offline use.  I like this on my tablet, which is not always connected to the Internet.  I can work on my Google Drive documents offline, then have it sync automatically back to my Drive when I am back online again.

Other Apps

There are several other pretty good free Apps, including Office Suite, Docs To Go, and Polaris Office.  Any of these will work well for most functions, but without going into lengthy explanations, I will just say that WPS Office remains my favorite of the bunch.

Options for Editing

Once you have decided on the App you like, you should also consider how you will edit these documents.  Typing a quick message on your screen is fine for a sentence or two, but not for a multi-page document.

You might want to consider investing in a Bluetooth keyboard for typing.  There are many different ones out there.  You will need to decide mostly if you want a full size device for maximum comfort, or want something smaller and lighter for easier mobility.

For me, the best option is dictation.  As with virtually all Android or IOS Apps, you can dictate directly into your device using the microphone that shows up on the pop-up keyboard on your device.  I find that the dictation is very accurate.  The big negative is that there are almost no voice commands for editing.  You will still need to do that with your thumbs.

Editing MS Documents Online

Microsoft remains the de facto standard for editable documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.  Working with MS formats, however, can be problematic if you do not have MS Office.  Fortunately, there are several solutions:

Chrome Extension for Google Docs

Google will allow you to view any MS documents, such as Word or Excel.  You can also download them, but cannot allow you to edit them directly in Google Drive.  There is, however, a fix for that.  There is a Google Chrome Extension that will allow you to edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents in Google Drive.  If you would like to get this extension, click here.  Make sure you are doing this using your Chrome Browser. These extensions will not work if you are accessing Google Drive from Internet Explorer or some other browser.

Creating MS Documents in Drive

If you are creating a new document you can do in Google Drive using the native Google format.  When done, you can download the document to your computer.  One of the options is to download the document as a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document.   Once downloaded you can send the document to others who need that format.

Office Online

In an earlier post, I discussed how to open up a free personal account with MS Office 365.  This can also be helpful, especially if you are already comfortable operating with the MS Office interface.  Still, it involves downloading an email attachment to your computer, then uploading it again to MS Office online.  So the process takes longer than simply using Google Docs.

LibreOffice and WordPerfect

In the offline world, there are also options that don't involve having MS Office installed on your computer.  Both LibreOffice and WordPerfect are capable of reading MS Office documents and saving in that format.  However, they do not do a perfect job.  Changing document formats sometimes messes up how the document appears.  There are also instances of document corruption.  LibreOffice seems to do a much better job with MS documents than WordPerfect, but there can be problems with both.  Also, because LibreOffice is open source, you are free to download and install it on as many computers as you like without working about licensing restrictions.

Google Drive Basics

The first few weeks of this Blog have focused on cell phones.  That was the result of the recent upgrades we just had for all the partners.  However, now I hope to start addressing some other interesting and useful functions available for use.  I am going to focus today on Google Drive (formerly Google Docs).

Google Drive

We have been using Google Apps for almost two years now.  The primary reason for the move was for email.  Google Apps for Work, however, has literally hundreds of other applications which are available for use as part of our account.  One of the most popular is Drive

Many of you already use Google Drive for many functions.  For those less adventurous, here is a brief explanation.  Drive allows you to save documents online in your Google account, which you can access from anywhere you have Internet.  It works primarily with documents, spreadsheets, and slide shows (what Microsoft calls Powerpoint).  You can also store pictures, although I prefer to use Google Gallery for that (more on that another day).

Upload or Download Documents

You can also upload documents you have already created to Drive for access from other locations.  For documents not created in Drive, you generally cannot edit them online.  In those cases, Drive performs a function similar to DropBox.  You can upload your files for later download, but cannot really do much more than view them while stored online.   This can be a handy way to share documents with others, including those in other offices who may not have access to the same server as you, or even people outside the firm.  I think Drive is better than Dropbox in that you have more space, and it is better integrated with Gmail and other applications.

Edit Documents Online

For documents created online in Drive, you have much greater versatility.  You can edit these documents online.  You can even work collaboratively with others, both editing the same document at the same time.  You can also leave notes for other collaborators or look at what changes others have made to your documents. If you like, you have the ability to download documents you have created in various formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, RTF (good for WordPerfect), or HTML.  You can also print directly to your printer the same way you would an email.

Because I travel between offices a great deal, I find Drive much better for me that saving my files on any one server.  I have access to them from anywhere I have Internet.  I can use the Drive App on my phone or tablet to access them that way.  I can even dictate a document to Drive using the dictation software built into my phone or tablet. For documents shared with my staff, documents are accessible to everyone all the time, and we don't have to worry about someone else having the document open.  I can also access them from home or anywhere without worrying about VPN.

Avoiding File Limits

Many of you are aware of the 30 GB limit each user has on his or her Google Account.  This limit is a combination of all emails and Drive documents.  However, your limit only applies to documents you have uploaded to Drive.  Documents created online do not count toward your limit.  You can create an unlimited number of documents and store to your drive.  If you have a document already created on your computer, you can open it, select all, copy, then paste the contents into a new Drive document.  This does not count toward your limit.  You will also be able to edit it online.

Another sneaky way to avoid limits: Say you have a bunch of files you want to upload to Drive (not create online, just upload) but don't want to blow through your 30 GB limit.  You can create a free Gmail account, which gives only 15 GB of space.  Upload your files to that account, then share it with your margolisedelstein.com account.  You will have full access to the files from your work account, but the space will not count against your limits.  You can repeat with as many multiple free accounts as needed.

Drive Limitations

There are some limitation that make drive less attractive.  Its editor is nowhere near as advanced as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.  If you use many advanced features, you will find Drive's editor frustrating.  For example, it cannot create a multi-column document like we use for the firm letterhead.  For most simple documents, however, it is just fine.  One option is to work on the basics of the document in Drive, and then download to a more traditional word processor for formatting once most of the content is complete.

Also, for purposes of file keeping, important documents that need to be retained should still be saved to the M: drive.  If you ever left the firm and your Google account deleted, all of your documents would be gone.  If you use Drive for work related material, be sure to download a copy to the appropriate location on the M: drive.

I have been asked, why not simply upload all of our files to Drive and do away with the M: drive and other network drives entirely?   Because the online editor is inadequate for many advanced needs, we still need to use a traditional word processor for much of our work.  There is no good interface that would allow a Word or WordPerfect user to open a document from Drive or save it to Drive.  Doing so is a multi-step process that is fine to do once in a while, but would become very tedious and time consuming for a legal secretary who may create or edit dozens of documents in one day.  Cloud storage for documents seems to be the way of the future, but for now, I am only recommending it as a supplement, not a replacement.

Security and Sharing

Security is always an important issue when work documents are concerned.  By default, only you have access to a file created on Drive (other than the IT Department who can access anything).  You have the ability to share the document with others.  The are many ways to share.  But I recommend only sharing with other specific people.  This is easy within the office, but if you are sharing with others outside the firm, they must have a Google account for access (a free Gmail account is fine).  Google uses that account name and password to ensure documents are only available to those you intend.

There are share options to share a document to the public without any authentication.  I do NOT recommend using this for any document related to firm work or which contains other information intended to remain non-public.  Even limiting sharing only to people who have a link  means your document is open to the public.  Although most people could not find it without a link, others might.  Make sure your documents are restricted to specific users or to members of the firm generally.

You may want to share a whole group of documents.  Drive allows you to create a folder, share that, and then put documents in the shared folder.  This is an easy way to share many files without having to create a special share for each file.

Great Way to Avoid Gmail Attachment Limits

Many of you get frustrated by the 20 MB limit on email attachments.  An easy way around this problem is to upload your files to Drive.  Share with the recipient, then send them an email with a link to your shared Drive folder.  The recipient will be able to access the files with a single click and download them.  Of course, it does require that they have a Google account.  But again, a free one works just fine.

Auto-Save

One other thing that took some time to get used to was the auto-save feature.  In a normal program, you work on a document and then save it.  In Drive, Google is constantly saving your work.  This is very convenient to avoid losing work.  But I used to open up a document, change it to another and then save using a different name.  I had to get out of that habit quickly.  Fortunately, if you do make changes to a document by mistake, it is very easy to revert the document to the way it was on a certain date or time in the past.

Working Offline

One reason many have expressed concern over using Drive is the fact that you must be connected to the Internet in order to use it.  Not true!  There is a Drive application available here that you can install on any Windows or Mac computer.  This will sync your Google Drive with your computer, making your files available to you offline.  As soon as you get back your Internet connection, the application with sync with your online account.  There are similar Apps available in the Play Store for your Android device or in the App Store for your iPhone or iPad.

Conclusion

Drive is a great way to collaborate on documents, share with those outside the firm, or have easy access to important to documents when outside the office.  If you are not using it already, you should consider what it can offer.