Law Office Computing - Resources - Software Tips

SOFTWARE TIPS - Summation

Transcripts Refusing to Load

If you run into a transcript that is formatted for WordPerfect and Summation refuses to load it, open the transcript in Word or WordPerfect and print it to a virtual printer. Nine times out of ten, this trick also solves your problem. To set up this virtual printer, go to the "Start" button on your system, click on "Settings," choose "Printers," and then "Add a New Printer." The dialog screens might differ depending on what operating system you are using, but here are the two key points you want to pay attention to: (1) At the "Ports" selection, choose "File" and (2) when presented with the "Manufacturers List," choose "Generic." If you have options on the right side of that screen, choose "Generic/Text Only." Proceed through the wizard, and then test the printing by opening a transcript file or other document in your word processing program. Go to the "File" menu, choose "Print" and then select the "Generic/Text Only" printer. You will be prompted to enter a file name (which can include a path to your local drive). Click "OK." Then, when printing is completed, open Summation, go to the "Load Transcripts" dialog box (on the "File" menu), and navigate to the location of the saved printed file.

Submitted by: Cheryl Evans

Exporting Transcripts with Notes

You can export transcripts with notes. The exported transcript can then be loaded into Summation on another computer. For example, you can export a transcript with notes to a floppy disk from a case on your notebook or laptop computer, then load it into Summation on a desktop computer in the office. Or, you can attach the exported transcript with notes to an e-mail that is sent to co-counsel. Loading an exported transcript is just like loading an other transcript in Summation.

To export a transcript with notes:

Right-click on the folder of the transcript.
From the context menu that appears, select "Export Transcript with Notes."
The "Export Transcript with Notes" dialog appears. If exporting to a floppy disk, place a disk in the floppy drive.
Browse to the location where you want to export the transcript.
Click on "OK." The transcript is exported with the notes attached

Loading a transcript exported with notes:

If the transcript is on a floppy disk, put the floppy disk into the drive.
Select "Load Transcript" from the "File" menu.
The "Load Transcript" dialog appears. If the transcript is not on a floppy disk, click on "Other" to browse to the transcript's location. Click to select the transcript that is to be loaded.
Click on "Copy."
The "Backup" dialog appears, prompting you to backup your note database. Click on "Yes" to back it up.
Click on "OK" when Summation indicates that the database has been successfully backed up.
The "Summation Note Merge" dialog appears. This process adds the notes in the transcript to the case's note database. When all notes have been added and the dialog indicates that the synchronization has been successfully completed, click on "Close."
Click on "OK" to the message that the transcript file has been copied.
Click on "Close" to exit the "Load Transcript" dialog.
Click on "Yes" to Blaze the newly-loaded transcript.
When the Blaze is complete, press any key to close the Blaze dialog

Validation Templates

Summation provides a "Validation Template" feature to both ease the entry of document numbering, and to ensure the accuracy of the entered document numbers. "Validation Templates" are useful in several ways:

To limit the characters allowed into a field.

To control the order of characters entered into a field.

To zero fill numeric portions of data.

To force text into uppercase.

To create a validation template for a field, open the form editor ("Options," "Utilities," "Create" or "Modify Forms"). Click on the field for which you wish to create the validation template. Then click "Edit," "Field Properties." Select the "Attributes" tab then click "New." You should see this window. Multiple templates may be placed onto a field simultaneously to accept the variety of bates numbering formats used by different discovery sources. There are eight different defining characters allowed within a template definition: "A," "a," "0," "9," "?," "#," "^" and "@."

A	Any alphabetic character (A-Z), forced to upper-case. Either upper- or lower-case characters can be entered.
a	Any alphabetic character (A-Z). Case is not altered.
0	Any digit (0-9). The digit is right-justified and zero-fills to the left. Leading zeros are not printed nor displayed.
9	Any digit (0-9). The digit is not right-justified. The number of digits typed into the field must equal the number of 9s in the template (in other words, a digit is required for every 9 in the template). If the template consists of seven 9s, exactly seven digits must be typed into the field.
?	Any alphanumeric character or nothing at all.
#	Any digit or nothing at all.
^	Any alphabetic or nothing at all; if a character is entered, it is forced to upper-case.
@	Any alphabetic or nothing at all; case is not altered.

When undefined characters, such as "B" through "Z," and "-" are included in a template, Summation will only accept the designated character as valid within a document number entry. In addition to using templates to validate entered data, it is also advisable to define maximum and minimum acceptable bates range values by entering bates ranges into the "Hi and Lo val" fields of the "Attributes" tab.

It is possible to apply a validation template to columns with existing data. In order to do so, you need to open the document database and select the column view tab. Click on "Summaries" on the menu bar and make sure that there is a check mark next to "Edit Summaries." Then click on the header of the column you wish to apply the template to, not in the fields, but on the actual label of the column. Select "Replace Info." In the window that appears, select the field you wish to lay the template over and click the button marked "Apply Template."

If you have more than one template, it will not affect the data already in the field so it is not necessary to apply it globally. If you only have one, it will affect the data in the field and any subsequent data that you will enter.

Rapid Fire Digesting

"Rapid Fire Digesting" is analogous to going through the transcript with a yellow magic marker and placing a Post-it note at each point where you start your mark. When using the "Rapid Fire" method, keep "Note Tag" windows completely out of the way of the transcript text. Do this by moving the mouse arrow to "Options" and clicking on "Wide Note Style." A check mark just to the left of the option indicates you have turned on that option. Also under the "Options" menu, turn the "Automatic Open Notes" feature off. In other words, you don’t want to see the "Note Tags" as you are going through the "Rapid Fire" capture process since you want nothing in the way of the deposition text as you review the transcript for more key segments.

Scroll down the open transcript until you come to a segment of testimony that you want to capture. Place the mouse arrow on the line number at the beginning of the segment. You will see a little pointing index finger in the margin and you are then ready to begin highlighting. Hold on to the left mouse button and move the mouse arrow downward to the end of the segment you want to capture. To create a "Note Tag" covering the highlighted segment and simultaneously copy and paste the highlighted segment of testimony into the "Note Tag," move the mouse arrow to the "Copy Selection Into New Digest Note" icon in the toolbar (the second icon from the left). Click with the left mouse button. The digest button not only copies and pastes the highlighted testimony into a note, but it also closes and saves the previously created note. From "The Litigator’s Guide To Hands-On Use of Summation," by Jon B. Sigerman, Esq.

Printing Transcript Sites

A useful tool for creating note indexes is the "Print Transcript Cites" feature. You can print your notes or transcript cites. A transcript cite is the page of testimony to which a note is attached, with the text in the page-line reference of the note underlined. The benefit of the print transcript cite function is that you can use it in tandem with Summation’s annotation system to flag testimony you might wish to include in a brief.

For example, you can search for all note tags containing the phrase "sj brief" in the "Issues" field. Then, execution of the print transcript cites function batch prints all pages in the transcript associated with annotations meeting the search criteria. More importantly, the lines of the associated testimony that were highlighted at the time the annotation was created are automatically underlined and labeled with a witness name footer so that they can be used as exhibits to a brief pursuant to court rules. Thus, instead of having to copy pages of the hard-copy transcript, and yellow highlighting the referenced segments, you can batch produce the mandatory supporting exhibits using the "Print Transcript Cite" feature. You can also print a note followed the corresponding transcript cite (on a separate page). From "The Litigator’s Guide To Hands-On Use of Summation," by Jon B. Sigerman, Esq.

Updating Transcripts

When the Court Reporter sends you the official version of a transcript, you can easily update the draft copy that you have been working with in Summation. Any notes you have created are integrated into the final version of the transcript. A backup of the draft version is always created, which you can choose to display in your case by selecting the "Keep Draft" option.

How to update a Realtime transcript:

Open the Summation case containing the transcript you want to update.

2. Right-click on the transcript folder and select "Update Transcript" from the context menu; or open the transcript, then select "Update Transcript" from the "File" menu; or open the transcript, then press ALT+F, then U.

The "Transcript Update" dialog appears, indicating the name of the transcript and the filename it will be renamed to after the update.

Click on the "Browse" button and browse to the location of the final transcript file. Click on the filename to select it, then click on "OK."

The path and filename you selected in step four are now displayed on the "With" line. Verify that this information is correct.

By default, the "New Description" is the original transcript description, preceded by the words "[Update of]." Change the description, if desired, by entering the text in the "New Description" line.

Summation always creates a backup of the original transcript. If you want to display the original (draft) version of the transcript in your case in addition to the final version, click to select the "Keep draft" option.

To ignore non-numbered lines, click to select the "Ignore non-numbered lines" option. Ignoring non-numbered lines aids in the placement of notes in the final version of the transcript by ruling out headers, footers and other lines that do not contain testimony.

Click on "Update." Summation analyzes the two transcripts, backs up the draft transcript, then updates final transcript with the notes from the draft.

When the update is complete, a dialog appears indicating the number of notes updated. Click on "OK" to continue.

Click on "Close" to exit the "Transcript Update" dialog.

You now have a copy of the final transcript that includes any notes you made in the draft.

Transcript Troubles

You have received a transcript and it seems to load fine into Summation , but when you look at it closer or try to run searches on it, something isn't quite right. Most of these type of issues can be fixed by playing with the formatting a bit. For some problems, there just isn't a fix, since Summation is used as display, it cannot reformat or change anything about the transcript once it is loaded. If your transcript doesn't have line breaks, then Summation will see that the lines are too long, but will not be able to fix it. It cannot add page breaks or anything else. It will only accept transcripts in Amicus or ASCII formats. The following lists some of the more common, repairable problems that may arise when dealing with transcripts.

When I print, my transcript is a page or two off from what it should be.

In most cases, this is no big deal. Usually all you need to do is go to "File," "Format Transcript" and take a look at what it says for your initial page number. In most cases, on your transcript, the page starts at one, so most times, that's what the value will be in the transcript formatting window. Occasionally, some court reporters will assign the index page number a zero. This is where your pages get thrown off. Since Summation is trying to start at one and your transcript starts at zero. If you change the value in that field to match the numbering on your transcript, you should print out fine.

I’ve got a lot of extra grey bars (page breaks) in my transcript.

This usually happens when there are two kinds of formatting present or being used for the transcript. For instance, you have a transcript that has page breaks formatted in either LPP (Lines Per Page) or Amicus. Sometimes when you initially load a transcript, Summation will not recognize the page breaks even though they are present. So the first thing to try is resetting the formatting to Page Breaks. If this does not help, you will either need to contact the people who provided you with the transcript to find out what the exact formatting is.

Every other page is blank when I print my transcript.

This happens when Summation thinks that the transcript is formatted as Amicus. Try formatting it as "Page Breaks" and if that doesn't help then try "LPP."

Summation is reporting my line numbers differently than they appear on the transcript.

Make sure that your left margin is set properly. Your line numbers should fall between the single line on the far left and the double lines.

eDrop – Loading and Updating Transcripts
Using Drag-and-Drop

Load or update transcripts by dragging and dropping files onto the Summation Case Folder. You can do this from Windows Explorer, your Windows desktop and directly from an e-mail attachment.

ASCII transcripts and those in Summation’s TRN transportable format are accepted. You can also drop zipped files (.ZIP) onto your "Case Folder" or a "Transcript Folder" and they will be unzipped and loaded for you by Summation. Encrypted zip files work too: a password is required before the file can be decrypted. eDrop is perfect for updating a draft version of a transcript with the clean copy e-mailed to you by the Court Reporter.

Dropping onto a specific "Transcript Folder" at the "Main Case" window assumes you will want to update this transcript; but you can easily override this if you have chosen the wrong transcript or you want to add it as a new transcript. Dropping onto the "Case Drawer" assumes you are adding a new transcript; although this too is easily changed.

Most of the popular email programs will allow you to drag attachments directly to Summation. For those that don’t, it may be necessary to first save the attachment to your Window desktop or some other folder, then drag it from there to the Summation desktop.

To load a transcript using drag-and-drop:

Be sure the currently loaded case is the one to which you want to load the transcript. The currently loaded case name is embossed on the faceplate of the file drawer at the "Case Folder," "Main Window."

Drag the transcript file (from the Windows Explorer, Windows desktop or e-mail attachment) to your Summation desktop. The "Load or Update Transcripts" dialog appears.

Load as "New Transcript" is selected by default. Click on "OK."

The "Load Transcript" dialog appears, listing the file you've just dropped onto the Summation desktop. If you want to rename the DOS file before copying it to the transcript location, check the "Rename" option. Note that this is not the same as providing a transcript description (see Step Seven).

To load all the transcripts displayed in the file listing at once, click the "Copy All" option. One by one, all transcripts are loaded into your case after you choose "Copy" (see next step). To deactivate this feature to load only specific files, clear the "x" from "Copy All."

Once the file(s) to be loaded is selected, click on "Copy." If you chose the "Copy All" option, all the files are loaded at once.

If Summation Blaze cannot determine the formatting settings, a message appears identifying the format problem(s). Click on "OK" to continue.

The "Transcript Format Information" dialog box appears. Type a description for the transcript and confirm that the other settings are accurate. When the settings are correct, click "OK."

The transcript is copied to the "Transcript Location" for the current case.

Click "Close." You are prompted about Blazing the transcripts in your case. If any formatting errors were detected during the load process, you should correct these before Blazing your transcripts. You can re-Blaze all transcripts at any time using Utilities.

Field Sort

The field sort feature allows you to temporarily sort your document summaries by one field quickly and easily from the "Column" page without launching a search.

To initialize a field sort, do one of the following from the "Column" page:

Click on the field name at the top of the column containing the values you want to sort.

Click on the "Field" menu. From the menu displayed, select "Sort By." Summation Blaze automatically places the name of the active field in the menu. Only a primary sort can be done this way. For sorts involving more than one field, use the "Sort" page under the "Query" tab. An "Exploded Sort" option is displayed in the pop-up menu when the field selected is a multi field.

Linking Documents to Document Database Summaries

This feature lets you open a document that has been linked to a document database summary. The linked document is displayed in the program associated with the corresponding file type. For example, .pdf files are displayed in Adobe's Acrobat Viewer, .doc files are displayed in Microsoft Word, .htm(l) files are displayed in your default Internet browser.

When editing the form, you can drag-and-drop a filename (from Windows Explorer for example) into the DOCLINK field (or another note field in your database table designated for this purpose). This establishes the link between that summary and the document. Of course, you can also type the full path to the file when editing.

Linking Transcripts to Document Database Summaries

You can jump to a transcript from a document database summary. Doing so requires having a field in your database designated to contain the transcript filename information. You can use the field name "DepoId" (deposition ID), or set up your own transcript filename field. Once this information is saved in your database record, simply press ALT+Z or select "Transcript Zoom" from the "Summary" menu in order to open the transcript.

To determine the filename of a transcript:

Open the transcript whose filename you would like to know.

From the "File" menu, select "Format Transcript."

The transcript filename is listed in the upper right hand corner of the "Transcript Format Information" dialog.

To link a database summary to a transcript using the DepoId field:

Summation’s default STDFORM contains a field called "DepoId." If it isn’t on your form, determine whether or not this field is available in your current table by opening your database and selecting "Display Field List" from the "Options" menu and scrolling through it. Do one of the following:
- If the field exists and is shown in bold, then it is not currently being displayed in "Column" view. Double-click it to add it to your columns. Close the field list.
- If the field exists but is grayed out, then it is already being displayed in "Column" view. Close the field list.
- If the field does not exist, then you must add it to current table using the "Form Editor."

Once the field is in your "Columnar" or "Form Display" (it’s not required to be on your form), go to the summary to which you want to link the transcripts.

Select "Edit Summaries" from the "Summary" menu.

Enter the transcript name into the "DepoId" field.

Press F10 to save the record.

Once the record is saved, you can zoom to the transcript by going to the appropriate summary and either pressing ALT+Z or selecting "Zoom Transcript" from the "Summary" menu.

To link a database summary to a transcript using any other field:

Determine whether the field you want to use is in your "Field List" by opening your document database and selecting "Display Field List" from the "Options" menu.
- If so, make sure that it’s available from either your "Column" or "Form display."
- If not, add it to your current table using the "Form Editor." Make sure it is available from either "Column" or "Form" display.

From the "Options" menu, select "Defaults." Click the "Transfer Fields" tab to make it active.

Next to the "Transcript" label, click the down arrow to bring up your list of available fields. Select the desired field and click on "OK."

Open your document database.

Once the field is in your "Columnar" or "Form Display" (it’s not required to be on your form), go to the summary to which you want to link the transcripts.

Select "Edit Summaries" from the "Summary" menu.

Enter the transcript name into the new "Transcript" field.

Press F10 to save the record.

Once the record is saved, you can zoom to the transcript by going to the appropriate summary and either pressing ALT+Z or selecting "Zoom Transcript" from the "Summary" menu.

Field Tally

The field tally feature provides you with a list of each value in your current field and the number of times it occurs.

While the Tally dialog is open, you can:

Use the scroll bar to scan through your results.

View the number of different items (values) in the field and the total number of summaries in your database.

Print the tally by clicking the printer icon.

Go to the first summary with any of the field values in it by clicking on the desired value in the tally.

How to tally a field in the document database:

From the "Column Page," click on the field name at the top of the column whose values you want to tally.

From the menu displayed, select "Tally." Summation Blaze now calculated the field tally. When finished, the tally list is displayed on your screen.

Note that for the "Date" field, you have the option to tally by either the month, day or year. The asterisks indicate that the field value is longer than the "Note Field Sort Length," which can be reset in your "Database Defaults."

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