LibreOffice 5.0

LibreOffice recently released version 5.0 of its Office Suite.  I thought this might be a good time to discuss the program more generally.  For anyone unfamilar, LibreOffice is an office suite with multiple functions similar to MS Office or WordPerfect Office.  A major factor that makes Libre different from these other Suites is that LibreOffice is free.

Benefits LibreOffice:

For many, especially in business, we often think of freeware as somehow substandard.  Often that may be the case, but I don't think it is with LibreOffice. It is a feature rich fully functioning office suite which can do virtually anything you want.  In the unlikely event you need it to do something it cannot, there are free downloadable add-ons available, or you can work with other online developers to build your own customizations or improvements.  A major benefit of the program is that it is open source, meaning there are thousands of developers making customizations and add-ons that are available to do a great many things.

Of  course, most of us are not coders or developers.  We just want a great program that works right way.  Libre absolutely delivers on this front.  The Suite includes Writer, a top of the line word processor. Calc, is its spreadsheet. Impress handles presentations.  Draw is used for graphics and diagrams,  The Base database program works great on its own or as a front end for other more complex databases such as the also free MySQL.  Math is great for developing formulas.  If you are a mathematician, scientist, economist, etc. you have got to try this.  Finally there is Charts for easy creation of charts.  People used to having a Mail program included in their office suite will be disappointed.  There is no program the corresponds to MS Outlook.  Of course, there are other very good mail programs available to replace Outlook.  They just aren't part of LibreOffice.

Aside from the hassles of MS Office licensing, I prefer LibreOffice.  I find MS Office's ribbon interface difficult to use.  It is unintuitive and tends to hide many of the features I often need to use.  By contrast, Libre's familiar toolbar remains much easier to use.  Also, even if you develop experience in using MS Office, it is quite possible that the next version will have a completely new user interface that requires you to learn all over again.  This has often been the case in the past.  By contrast, Libre, makes changes on a slower evolutionary process, which means there are not huge changes in the user experience between versions.

In addition to its support for MS Office documents, Libre has a strong library of support for a wide range of other types of documents, many created by older or defunct systems.  If you have an older document from some source that won't open properly in MS Office or WordPerfect, you might want to give LibreOffice a try.

Libre as a Replacement for MS Office

Be default, we have been installing LibreOffice (and before that OpenOffice) for many years on all new computers (unless you needed MS Office).  We have configured it to open MS Word and Excel documents and to save in those formats by default.  This enables lawyers and staff who do not have MS Office installed, to work with such documents when the need arises.

Microsoft often seems to make deliberate changes to MS Office via updates or service packs that can interfere with Libre's ability to convert some MS Office documents  This was especially true with earlier versions.  However, Libre developers have been focused on making the product highly compatible and interactive with MS Office.  Most documents can convert back and forth seamlessly.  Even redlining with someone who is using MS Office has gotten much better in recent version.  For Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, it usually works perfectly.

History of LibreOffice

LibreOffice has a complicated and long history. Back in 1999, Sun Microsystems bought a company called StarDivision.  It included a product called StarOffice, an office suite in direct competition with Microsoft Office.  Microsoft, of course, dominated the market at the time and most people had not even heard of StarOffice.  Rather than try to compete, Sun made the program free and open source, so anyone could work on it.  The name changed to OpenOffice.  It remained a free download but continued to be developed and improved.  Sun did not seem to have any business model for the program, as it did not even try to collect advertising revenue or use it as a loss leader for other products.   Personally, I think they just liked having a thorn in Microsoft's side.

In 2010, Oracle acquired Sun.  Oracle really had no interest paying to maintain and improve OpenOffice.  It saw no financial benefit and liked remaining on good terms with Microsoft.  It did not kill OpenOffice, but rather in 2011, donated it to the Apache Foundation, a nonprofit group.

Many OpenOffice users grew frustrated at this point because Apache really didn't put the money and resources into improving and upgrading the software.  Because it remained open source, anyone could take the code and improve it themselves.  A group of volunteers who had been working on OpenOffice for years, took the source code and started the Documents Foundation to continue work on the software.  This derivation was called LibreOffice which continues to be developed and upgraded to this day.  OpenOffice also still exists, but by the time it started development again, many people had already moved to Libre and saw no need to go back.

Updates

The program is updated every few weeks, but most updates are quite minor.  I like this method as it allows me to get used to changes over time, rather than a single major upgrade like the pay programs do.  But it is also not necessary to have the latest version.   Most changes are quite minor and often deal with issues that never impact you.  So don't feel like you must download new versions constantly.  Because the installation package is rather large, it's probably not a good idea to attempt a download from the site during work hours, as you may interrupt Internet access for the whole office for a short time.

From time to time, we update the copies we deploy to new computers and keep a copy on the u: drive of each office.  If you think the version you have is getting dated, someone from the help desk can help you install a newer version.  Of course, with open licensing, you are free to install wherever you like, including personal computers, kids' computers, etc. without there ever being any cost.

Other versions

I have only used the Windows version of LibreOffice, but there are also versions for Linux and Mac.  There is also a portable version which you can stick on a flash drive and use without having to install.  This can be handy if you are working on document on a computer that does not have a reader installed.

There are version of Libre for iPhones and Android, but I don't recommend these.  There are other programs I like better for those devices, particularly the free WPS Office.  For most basic access to MS Office documents on a phone or tablet, I just use Google Drive.

Outside Reviews:

For more reviews on LibreOffice, you may find this ZD Net Review interesting.  A more in depth review of features is in this Alphr article.  Also, betanews had a review discussing the different versions.

More detailed release notes on what has been added to version 5 are available on the Document Foundation site, which manages LibreOffice.

Cell Phone Discounts

Last year the firm switched from AT&T to Verizon for the phones used by the Partners.  However, because enough people are using AT&T phones, we were able to keep our group discount with AT&T for employees with personal phone plans.  If you have an existing AT&T account or want one, you can get an 18% discount off your monthly subscription costs simply by associating your account with the Margolis plan.  You can still pick whatever plan you want and still receive your own bill.

There is a chance that AT&T could decide to end the plan if not enough people from the firm remain as participants.  If that happened, the discount could go away.  But there does not appear to be a significant danger of that happening as we are well over the necessary threshold limits.  For more info, click on the link below.

AT&T Flyer

If you are interested in the discount, you can sign up for it through any AT&T store or by calling AT&T's toll free number.  Just mention our FAN  ID: 2384628 to get the discount.

Verizon also offers an employee discount of 5%, which can be added to a 3% discount if you sign up for paperless billing for a total of 8% off whatever plan you have.  You can contact our sales rep Jill Poletas if you have any questions.

Keep in mind that good deals are available right now because the new iPhone 6s is due out shortly.  If you want an iPhone, you can get an even better deal on the soon to be old iPhone 6 once the 6s is released.  If you are getting something else, now is a good time to get a deal.

Phone System

Since the firm switched phone providers last year, phone service for many has been, to say the least, sub-par.  We have been working to address this problem and are on the verge of implementing a complete solution.

Margolis Edelstein has contracted with iCore (recently acquired by Vonage) to install an entirely new Voice over IP (VoIP) phone system.  Everything will be new: new phones, new lines, new carrier, new voicemail.  With this change, the firm will shed all of its existing communication problems once and for all.  In addition, there are a great deal of behind the scenes upgrades as well.  We are replacing all the tie lines that connect all of the offices.  We will be putting in Power over Ethernet Switches in all offices to power the phones.  We are also getting all new routers to connect voice and data between offices.

VoIP does not work like traditional phones.  Voice is converted to a digital signal and sent over the same digital line that connects your computer to the network.  Some businesses have been using this technology for over a decade, and almost all large and mid size law firms have adopted this system.  That said, to the end user, the phone will look pretty much like your standard office phone.  They will have a new color LCD panel that will provide you with more information.  But they have a basic hand set and key pad just like any other phone.

If you want a closer look, everyone's phone will be replaced with a new Polycom VVX 410 IP phone.  Several of the conference rooms will also receive a Polycom Soundstation 6000 (a conference phone).

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting additional blog entries on how to make the best use of the phone's advanced features, and the many more capabilities we will have.  But today I am simply going to discuss the transition to the new desk phones.

Network installations will start tomorrow (Thur 8/27) when iCore professionals will be installing new switches and routers in several offices.  We will then deploy the new IP phones to your desk.  This will all be done while your existing phones remain in place.  Once we are confident everything is working properly, we will cut over your current phone numbers to the new phones with a minimum of down time (a matter of minutes).  The final cut over will be scheduled after testing of the new equipment is complete, but we plan to move relatively quickly and have everything in place within the next few weeks.

Once complete, you will continue to use the same phone number and extension that you always have had.  Many people currently do not have a direct dial.  When we move to iCore, every single phone will have a direct dial.  This will mean some changes for people who do not have a direct dial now.  You will receive a new number and can be reached by others in the firm who dial the last four digits of your new number.

That said, your old extension will not go away.  We have set up alternate extensions for everyone whose extension is changing.  If, for example, you are used to calling Lucy Harding at ext. 5416, you can still dial that extension to reach her phone.  Lucy will also have another extension that is the last four digits of her new phone number, which will also reach her phone.  In other words you can use either extension to reach her. Both will ring her phone the same way.

As part of the installation, iCore will offer phone training either in person or via Webex to all offices.  If you want a head start though, here are links to some of the training documents they have already provided to us.

iCore Phone Training Powerpoint
Polycomm VVX410 User Guide
Voicemail Setup Guide
Phone Transfer Tips

To reiterate, you will receive training so don't feel you have to dig into all these materials yourself.  I just posted them here in case anyone is curious.

While I realize that any change can be disruptive, we have done our best to minimize disruption for you.  The new system will be to the long term benefit of the firm.

Exporting Gmail

Save as PDF

There are times when you may find it necessary to export some of your emails to another format for some reason. Of course, the easiest and best known way to do this is simply to "print" an email to a PDF file from within Gmail.  But this only works for printing a single email or a single conversation.  If you want to print more, you need to open each conversation separately and print as a separate document.

Bulk Export:

There may be times when you may want to export dozens, maybe even hundreds of emails at once.  Exporting each email individually would be tedious and time consuming.  Fortunately, there is an App that may save you the trouble.  Gmail Print All Pro allows you to select an entire folder full of email and generate a Google Drive document that includes all the messages.  You can choose to exclude images and/or attachments as you prefer.

This is a free app available in the Chrome Web Store.  Once installed, simply select the folder you wish to print, make sure the settings are as you want them and press "create".  A Google Drive document will be created in your Google Drive with all of the email.  Attachments and images are stored separately.  However, images should appear in the document and the attachments will be accessible from a link within the document.

Limitations

There are a few limitations.  First, the printer limits you to up to 80 conversations.  More than that will be saved to a second document.  The reason for this is that the documents should not become too large and unwieldy.  Keep in mind that if you have conversation mode on, you may have a back and forth with someone that includes dozens of individual emails.  That counts as only one conversation.

Gmail Print All Pro will only print documents connected together in a single folder or label.  If you want to print a bunch of miscellaneous emails, you can select them, then add them all to a single label.  Then, run the print job.  After it is done, you can simply remove the label again if you wish.

Once the emails are stored in Google Drive, you can share those documents with anyone else who uses Gmail and give them either read-only or edit rights to those files.

In my brief testing of Gmail Print All Pro, I found a few problems.  One was that some emails seemed to become double spaced rather than single spaced with no explanation why.  Another issue is if I wanted to then take that Google Docs file and create a PDF out of it.  The links in the PDF would only go back to the original Google Docs folder unless you manually edited all of them.  Therefore, I don't recommend using this unless you are only sharing via Google Drive, or you don't care about links to attachments.

Conclusion

If you need to share select emails with someone and don't want to bother saving each one individually, this can be a good option.

Hold off on Windows 10 upgrades for now.

Windows 10 officially released on July 29.

Some of you may be receiving invitations from Microsoft to "upgrade now" right on your computer.  Microsoft forced through these invitations as a Windows update.  I want to reiterate that you should not upgrade your computer to Windows 10.  There are a number of reasons for this:

• The upgrade may fail and leave you with an unusable computer.  I have read several reports of this happening to others.
• After a successful upgrade, you  may find some of your programs do not work properly
• You may also find that some older hardware, such as printers, or other devices may not work properly.
• Windows 10 has a very different interface from Windows XP or 7.  You may find it difficult to figure out how to do basic things or find your programs.  The Help Desk is not ready to help with any such problems yet.
• At present, there is almost nothing of significance that can be done with Windows 10 that cannot already be done on Windows 7.  The reverse of that is not true.  There are a number things Windows 7 can do that Windows 10 cannot.

You may recall my concerns about upgrading in an earlier post that I published back in March.

We will begin testing shortly to see how compatible this new version is with our existing hardware and software.  Over time, I expect the firm will make the move to Windows 10.  I just do not want to rush the issue.

If you are using Windows 7 at work, you may receive pop up ads from Microsoft encouraging you to accept a free upgrade to Windows 10.  PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS.  Although I have heard good things about it in many reviews, I need time to test that it works with our systems before we upgrade.  We have a whole year to take advantage of the free upgrade if we wish, and there is no easy way to go back if you upgrade and find that things do not work.

If I find there are problems, or that things are good, I will let you know my findings in this blog.  If we get to the point where I think an upgrade is safe, you can upgrade at that point.  Of course, if you are happy with the way things are working on your computer now, there is no need to upgrade your Windows 7 computer to Windows 10.  Microsoft will continue to support Windows 7 until 2020.  We will continue to support it as well.

If you have Windows XP still, your computer is not eligible for a free upgrade.  However, we are trying to retire XP where we can.  If you would like a new computer with Windows 7, let us know.  We are probably working our way around to you, but if anyone wants to be at the front of the line, just let us know at the help desk.  If you want to move from XP to 10, we are not ready to deploy 10 yet.  Hopefully, we will be ready some time this fall, unless we find any serious problems during testing.

If you buy a new Windows 10 computer or upgrade a home computer, keep in mind that you are on the cutting edge.  We cannot provide help with any Windows 10 specific issues yet.  There are typically numerous problems in the first six months of any OS release.

I recommend patience.  Let others deal with the bugs and upgrade once they are resolved.  Also, unless there is a good reason, you are usually better off buying a new computer with Windows 10 pre-installed rather than upgrading an existing computer designed for an earlier version  Upgrading typically comes with complications that are not worth it.

New PDF Editor

For many years, the firm has been using PDF Xchange Viewer as our preferred program to work with PDF documents.  I discussed some of the benefits and features of Xchange Viewer in an earlier blog post back in February.

The firm has upgraded to a new product from the same company called PDF Xchange Editor.  The new program has all the same features as the old one, plus a few extras.  You should not lose anything you do already by upgrading.

One of the most significant added features of the new Editor is the ability to edit PDF text.  As long as the document was created from actual text (and not simply a scanned image of text), you should be able to add, delete, or change text.  I still don't recommend creating a PDF if you still plan to edit it, but this feature may come in handy when you need to make changes to an existing PDF.

Another very nice feature is the ability to add Bates Stamp information to your PDF documents.  This will now be the preferred method for Bates Stamping PDF documents, as it has more flexibility than a program I had recommended in an earlier post.  There is an actual Bates Stamp feature built into the PDF Xchange Editor program.  But if you need even more flexibility, you can use the header/footer feature to create even more advanced Bates Stamps.

You may have received a scanned document in another format, such as TIFF or JPEG. PDF Xchange can open these documents as well and allow you to mark them up or run an OCR on the text.  However, you may have to save the altered document as a PDF to retain your changes.

If you want to learn more about all the features and functions of this program, there is a manual that goes into great detail.  You can read that manual here.

We are installing the new PDF Editor on all new computers.  If you think you may benefit from the new features, we can help you get it installed on your existing computer as well.

Spam

Spam Email

Spam has been the bane of email almost since the invention of email.  The term "spam" is the nickname given to unsolicited commercial email.  It gets the name from a Monty Python sketch that involves a couple ordering a meal in a diner.  All of the menu choices have spam in them, with each choice seemingly having more spam than the next.  The patrons in the background also began chanting "spam" until pretty much everything in the diner is overwhelmed with the word "spam" to the exclusion of everything else.

That is the same problem we generally face with spam email.  It can become so overwhelming, that our inbox can file with so much unwanted repetitive nonsense that we cannot find the emails we really want.  At one point in 2014, about 80% of all emails sent were classified as spam.

Spam is not only merely annoying.  It can be dangerous.  Spam messages can provide links to infected web sites, can try to lure you into revealing your account names and passwords, or can contain attachments that infect your computer with malware.  Years ago, I used to click on links in spam just out of curiosity to what they were about.  But with the dangers that can exist today, I don't click on any unknown links and never open an attachment from an unknown source.  Getting a zip file attachment from an unknown source is a particular red flag that danger could be packed inside.

Combating Spam

Efforts to combat spam are difficult.  Authorities have shut down or blocked major spam servers.  Spammers then turned to infecting millions of individual computers all over the world and turning each one into individual mail servers to send spam.  This has made it impossible to choke it off at the source.  But all major email providers are focused on this problem.  They have managed to reduce spam traffic to around 50% of all messages, but this is still very high.

Working with Spam in Gmail

Before we had Gmail, we had a centralized anti-spam system in place.  Thousands of emails were dumped into a central file which typically was only checked if someone asked us to see if something ended up there accidentally.  With Gmail, there is no longer any central spam location.  Every user sees all incoming email addressed to them, but with Gmail putting suspected spam into a special folder labelled "spam."

I have found Gmail's anti-spam algorithms to be highly accurate.  It relies on the feedback of its users to classify messages.  If large numbers of people mark a message as spam, then similar messages get classified as spam automatically and are sent to a user's spam folder.  Similarly, if enough people mark a message in "spam" as not spam, Gmail learns that similar emails should not be sent to the spam folder in the future.

Going through one's spam folder can be a tedious and time consuming process.  At one point, I was receiving over 200 spam messages each day.  Even though that number has now dropped to about 30-40 each day, that is more time than I care so spend looking at ads.

Spam Folder Maintenance

Different people take different approaches to spam.  Some people look at all of them individually, some ignore them, some simply delete them without much review.  Personally, I fall into the "ignore" category and recommend that to others as well.  Because I find Google's spam filter to be so accurate, I am fairly confident that anything in the spam folder is not something I want to see.  As a result, I only look in that folder if I think something was sent to me and I did not get it.  Otherwise, I ignore that folder.  Reading through all those messages is simply a waste of time.

On the other hand, I also don't delete my spam.  Google holds spam messages in your spam folder for 30 days, then deletes them automatically.  Deleting your spam en masse without reviewing it means it is gone forever.  If some important email did go to spam and your realize it later, you cannot recover it after you have deleted it.  On the other hand, leaving your spam folder alone, means you have 30 days to realize some important email might be in there and give you a chance to search for it.  After 30 days, Google deletes it forever, so you don't have to worry about them continuing to pile up and use up your available space.

Searching Your Spam

If you need to search for something in your spam folder, you must specify it in your search.  By default, Gmail search does not include results from spam or trash when you do a general email search.  If you want to search your spam, you musty type "in:spam" before the search time.  For example, if I wanted to search for the word "computer" in my spam folder, I would search "in:spam computer"   If I find something I want to save, I simply open it, click on the "not spam" button at the top of the screen, and it moves to my inbox.  In doing this, I am also automatically telling Google that similar items should not be considered spam and Google gets smarter about how it classifies future similar emails.