CONVERTING DOCUMENTS TO PDF FORMAT

The Document Log can be a very powerful tool to manage and keep track of documents generated and related to a specific matter in LegalSuite and this has now been enhanced by two new features that have been added which allow you to :-

· Convert a Document to a PDF file

· Email the document as a PDF file

Note: These features are only available if you are using Word 2007 and have the PDF Add-In installed.  For more information on installing the PDF Add-In, please see the section titled “The Setup” below.

The Setup

Once you have ascertained that you are using Word 2007, you need to check whether you have the Word 2007 PDF add-in installed.  To check this, open Word on your PC and click on Office Button.  Go down to Save As and if you have the PDF option, then the add-in has been installed.

Fig 1: Option in Word to save file as PDF (File | Save As | PDF)

If you do not have the PDF option, then continue with the rest of this section to install the PDF add-in. 

The easiest way to do this is to go into Word and press F1 to access the Microsoft Word Help menu.  In the Search block, type in “save a file in pdf format”:-

Fig 2: Searching for “save in PDF format” in Word Help

and click on the Search button.  The following results will appear:-

Fig 3: Search results for “save in PDF format” in Word Help

Click on “Save a file in PDF format” in the search results:-

Fig 4: Information on “save in PDF format” in Word Help

Click on “Enable support for other file formats, such as PDF and XPS:-

Fig 4: Information on “save in PDF format” in Word Help

Click on “Install and use the Publish as PDF or XPS add-in from Microsoft

Fig 5: Information on “save in PDF format” in Word Help

Click on “Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for 2007 Microsoft Office programs”.  You will be redirected to the Microsoft website:-

Fig 6: Microsoft website – installing the Add In

Click on Continue and follow the prompts to install the Add-in.

Once the installation is complete, verify that the add-in has been installed by opening Word and going to File | Save As and checking whether the PDF option is now available (see Fig 1 above). 

Converting a document to PDF in the Document Log

Once a document has been assembled in LegalSuite, it will reflect in the Document Log with a file extension of either .rtf or .doc (which are file extensions associated with Word).

To convert a document to PDF:-

Highlight the relevant document and click on the  icon.  A message will appear on your screen asking “Do you want to convert this Document to PDF format?”  Click on Yes:-

Fig 7: Document Log – prompt to convert document to PDF format

The document will be converted …

Fig 8: Document Log –converting document to PDF format

When the conversion process is completed, a new PDF document will be added to the Document Log.  Converted PDF documents appear in Red:-

Fig 9: Document Log showing original and PDF document

To view the PDF document, highlight it and click on the  icon – the document will open (with Adobe Acrobat Reader) in PDF format:-

Fig 10: Converted PDF document

Question:  Why would I ever need to convert a document to PDF?

Answer:   Unless you had PDF editing software installed, PDF documents cannot be edited. This is a security feature which gives you peace of mind that documents you are emailing are not being edited by third parties, fraudulent copies of your letterhead are not being made, etc.

Firms often find it expensive to upgrade to Word 2007 – if this version is installed on one PC in your office, then it is quick and easy for this user to convert the documents to PDF which will then allow users who do not have Word 2007 to email the converted PDF documents.

Employee Setup

To set the options when emailing from the Document Log, go to Setup | Employees | double-click on the relevant employee’s name and click on the Advanced tab:-

Fig 11: Employee Setup

A user that DOES NOT have Word 2007 installed on their PC should be set to “Do not Convert to PDF” as they will be unable to use this feature.

If the option is set to “Always Convert to PDF”, then each time a document is emailed from the Document Log it will be converted to PDF.

If the option is set to “Ask Me” , then each time a document is emailed from the Document Log the user will be asked whether they would like to convert the document to PDF.

Emailing a document as a PDF file

When choosing to email a document as a PDF file, the conversion process takes place from .doc or .rtf to .PDF (i.e. if you have Word 2007 installed on your PC, it is not necessary to first convert the document to PDF and then email it as an attachment as LegalSuite converts the document automatically).

If your employee has been setup to “Do not convert to PDF”, then you most likely do not have Word 2007 installed on your PC and will be unable to use the Email as PDF feature.

If your employee has been setup to “Ask Me”, then you will be asked whether you would like to convert to PDF when emailing from the Document Log. 

If your employee has been setup to “Always Convert” then the document will be automatically converted to PDF without prompting you.

In this example, the employee we are using has been setup to “Ask Me”.

Highlight the document you want to email and click on the  icon.  The following message will appear:-

Fig 12: The “Convert to PDF” window which appears after clicking on the “Send the document via email as an attachment” icon

The “Convert to PDF” window contains the same options that available on the Employee Settings, so at this stage, if your employee has been setup to “Ask Me” but you do not have Word 2007 installed, you would put select “Do not Convert to PDF” and then click on the No button – the result of this is that your employee setting would be changed and the next time you emailed from the Document Log, you would not be prompted to convert.

As our employee has been setup to “Ask Me”, this is the option that is automatically selected in the “Convert to PDF” window.  At this stage, you can either click on the Yes or No button:-

· Yes – will convert the document to PDF

· No – will leave the document in .doc or .rtf format

Click on Yes to convert the document to PDF:-

Fig 13: Converting to PDF

The email message will open:-

Fig 14: The email message with attachment

Fill in the recipient’s email address and click on the Attachment tab:-

Fig 15: The attachment tab of the email message showing the PDF attachment

The attachment appears as a PDF.  If you click on the  button to view the attachment, it will open the document in PDF format.

Click on  to send the message.   The recipient will receive the email with the PDF document attached:-

Fig 16: The email message with PDF attachment as received by the recipient

Conclusion

The “Convert to PDF” feature allows you to email PDF files from within LegalSuite, giving you peace of mind that your documents are not being edited by third parties.

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