LAWBase - Converting and Importing Client/Matter Billing Codes.
PaperCut MF can be used very effectively in Legal and Accounting Firms by modifying the Client/Matter codes so they are compatible with PaperCut Shared Accounts.
This example illustrates how to modify the Lawbase Client Matter File and set up an overnight Synchronisation with PaperCut.
Lawbase.
The Lawbase Client Matter File is generally a CSV file in the format:
Client Code, Matter Code, Client Description, Matter Description
At the the time of writing this technical note (December 2008..Updated October 2009) PaperCut does not have an automatic way to handle this format.
To overcome this limitation it is quite a simple task to run a Code Conversion Program through the Windows Scheduled tasks to convert the Lawbase File to a PaperCut File.
Generating the Lawbase Export
Generally, Lawbase will be installed on the Server D Drive in the following folder. D:\LAWbase\lbdata41 in this folder there are two files of importance.
Copier1.xml and exportformats.xml
You can download a zip containing the following files here.
ExportPaperCutData.bat
LawBaseExport.bat
Convert.Class
exportformats.xml
copier1.xml
These two files tell Lawbase where to export the Clients Data and in what format.
Download these two files and replace the existing xml files. Then open Copier1.xml with a text editor and check the paths as they may be different to where your PaperCut folder is located.
<filename>C:\Program Files\PaperCut MF\LawBaseData\copyusage.txt</filename>
<path>C:\Program Files\PaperCut MF\LawBaseData\</path>
The next step is to create a LawBaseData folder in your PaperCut MF Folder , located in the Windows Program Files folder.
In this folder create a batch file called LawBaseExport.bat. In this file you will copy the following lines.
REM Starting Export of Client/Matter codes from Lawbase
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Lexis LAWbase\Bin\lbshelle41.exe"
copierlogger /cmd /ce - client export
REM Now convert the csv file to a PaperCut Format
java Convert > importcodes.txt
Save the file.
Now we need to install the Conversion program that will convert the Lawbase CSV Data into a special PaperCut Tab Delimited format.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. By default PaperCut will synchronise at 1:15am. See more information on how to change this..
2. Before running an import, select the Template Account, then select the Security Tab. Now click on the drop down, select All Users then click Add. This will add the All Users group to permit access to all the accounts that you import as illustrated below.
Checking to see if Java is Installed
The first step is to see if you have a compatible version of Java installed on your Server.
To do this:
- Create the following folder in the PaperCut MF Directory:
C:\Program Files\PaperCut MF\LawBaseData\.
- Download and copy the following file into this folder.
Conversion Program [Convert.class]
- Next, open a command Window and type:
java Convert > importcodes.txt
At this point the Convert Program should execute and a file importcodes.txt be created. However, if java is not installed you will get the following error as illustrated below.
Installing Java
If you get the error message as illustrated above then you will need to download and install the java runtime. Click on the download link below, save it to a temporary location and run the executable accepting the default configuration.
Download Java
Synchronising Accounts with PaperCut
Now in PaperCut you can select Accounts - Shared Account Sync and Synchronize with the file created by the conversion process as illustrated below.
The next step is to create a Windows Scheduled task to run the batch file and update PaperCut overnight.
The following screen shots illustrate this process.
Create the Trigger
Create the action, which will be to run the batch file created above.
To test that everything is running as expected, manually run the task as illustrated below.
If the task completes correctly then in the folder C:\Program Files\PaperCut MF\LawBaseData you should have two files created as follows.
Clients.csv - this is the file that Lawbase creates
ImportCodes.txt - this is the Client codes converted into a PaperCut format ready for import.
Example of
Scheduled Tasks Timeline
-
Time Scheduled Task 11:00pm Windows Schedule runs the Lawbase Export.bat file. This creates clients.csv
11:30pm
Windows Schedule runs "java Convert > importcodes.txt" this converts clients.csv into the importcodes.txt file for PaperCut
1:15am
PaperCut locates the Import Codes file and imports into PaperCut.
.
Changing the PaperCut Scheduled Maintenance Time.
By default PaperCut runs it scheduled tasks at 1.15am. This can be changed by selecting the Options Tab - then selecting the Advanced Config Editor menu option from the left hand menu.
In the Quick Find, enter Schedule.daily-maintenence
.
As illustrated above, the time is set at 0 15 1. This is 1.15am. You can change this if required but ensure that it is still outside of working hours as there are a number of other tasks that use this time. For example, changing to 2.30 am you would enter 0 30 2 * * ?
Modifying the Convert File
Please feel free to download the Convert Source Code and modify the file name if you require. Currently the Convert.class file has a hard coded filename of Client.asc. On line 8 you will find the following entry:
ProcessLineByLine("clients.csv");
Once modified, save the changes then compile on a command line with:
javac Convert.class
Download the Convert Source Code
Lawbase Files
Please contact james.milne@xtra.co.nz for more information on upgrading from the CMS Copy & Print Management System to PaperCut MF.
Checking the Paths.
If you get errors associated with Java Classes of Classpath then check the Environment variables. By default when you installed Java it will have installed the files required to run the Convert Program in C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_05\bin. Make sure these paths are in the Path and Classpath
Checking the Classpath
