In Aderant Total Office, to-do items are handled similar to appointments, but they have one distinct and important difference: Appointments are designed to show up on a certain day at a certain time, and after that date the appointment is no longer visible. However, if a To-Do item is not handled on the day it first comes up, it is designed to reappear and remind the user that the task still needs attention until it is marked completed.
This first section of this chapter involves to-do items, explaining how users can assign tasks to themselves and to other users, print to-do items, complete to-do items, view others’ to-do items, and more. To-do items remain on users’ “To-Do” screen until completed, and can be assigned to users whether associated to a case or not.
Unlike appointments, to-do items do not integrate with Microsoft Outlook, today.
To-Do Screen
Navigate to the Desktop to-do screen to cooperate with this section’s explanations below.
Click “To-Do Items” in the “Desktop” system menu. Click the check-mark icon on the system toolbar.
1. Date This field displays today’s date.
2. To-do Layout Selector
To-Dos can be viewed in one of four layouts: Daily Summary, Daily Detail, Weekly Summary, or Daily Activities. Each layout has a unique style reflecting its title. If you wish to change the layout, click the drop-down arrow and click a layout name.
3. Priority Level Users can select and filter which priority level of to-do items to see on their
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Selector Do screen. In this drop-down menu, you can select between showing all priority levels, highest-level, or any lesser-level priority to-dos.
4. To-do Multi-line Option
Enables the system to consolidate multi-user to-do items into a single item, versus having them listed for each user individually.
5. Date Selector Clicking an arrow button changes the date you are viewing to-do items for, according to the adjacent screen (field #6), so that for instance if the up arrow is clicked while the date is May 18th, the date will change to May 11th, and if the right arrow is pressed while the date is the 18th, the date will change to May 19th, and so on.
The “Jump” button enables you to specify the date in a pop-up window.
6. Month Selector In this two-month calendar module, you can identify the date currently being viewed (to-do items listed below the module) by noting the small box around a date number. You can click a specific date on the calendar by clicking on it, or navigate to a different month by clicking the left or right arrows on either side of the module.
Note: Grey boxes around dates indicate that at least one appointment/to-do has been set for that date.
7. Right-Click Menu The right-click menu (only available in Daily Summary layout, Daily Detail layout and Daily Activities layout provides the following to-do item options:
New Item: Opens the New To-Do Item window where you can create a to-do item. (See the“Creating To-Do Items” section for a walkthrough of this process.)
Save Changes: Saves any recent changes you have made to the main To-Do screen.
View Item Details: Opens the Add/Edit To-Do window where you can view or edit the details of an appointment. (See “Creating To-Do Items” for a walkthrough of appointment creation and maintenance.)
Delete Item: This option removes a selected to-do item from the list.
Print: Opens the Print To-Dos window which provides various options for printing out appointments. (See “Printing To-Do Items” below for details.)
Multiline On: Makes comments display on a separate line than the entries.
Change User: Opens the Select User(s) window which enables you to select which users or user group’s to-do items you want to have listed on your calendar. (See “Viewing Multiple User/Group To-Do Items” for a window walkthrough.)25 Total Office Case User Manual for version 9.1 SP1 (October 2012)
Search: Opens the To-Do Item Search window (see “Searching for To-Do Items” section below for details).
Complete To-Do: Click this option to complete the selected To-Do, which will mark it as completed in the To-Do screen and within the case.
Close: Closes the To-Do Items screen.To-Do Active Screen Toolbar
Many options below are similar or identical to options in the right-click menu of the To-Do screen. For option descriptions, see the “To-Do Screen” section of this chapter.
This toolbar is the lowest row of icons near the top of the application window, and appears when you are in the To-Do screen of the desktop.
Open Specific Attendees’ Appointments: Not applicable to To-Dos Preferences: Not applicable to To-Dos
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figure 3.2
Creating To-Do Items
This section is a window walkthrough of the Appointment Creation window. Use the navigator below if you need help accessing the window.
Click “To-Do Items” in the “Desktop” system menu. Right-click in the to-do item list. Click “New Item” in the right-click menu.
From the Desktop, the Case Search window is first thing to appear after you click “New Item.” If you want to associate the to-do item to a case, please see “Associating To-Do Items with a Case” section of this chapter.
Otherwise, close the Case Search window and proceed to the New To-Do Item window (figure 3.2).
1. Matter In this field, you can associate the to-do item to a case by using the Case Search window.
In this example (figure 3.2), a case has already been assigned to the to-do item.
3. For Click the magnifying glass icon to select the person(s) responsible for the selected to-do item. In the “Select Users” window that opens, click to select the user(s) you wish to make responsible for the to-do item.
4. Type In this drop-down menu, select the type of item this is.
5. Task Set the title/name for the to-do item.
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6. Priority In this drop-down menu, select the priority you want this to-do item to have.
Note: to-do items can be sorted by priority.
7. Notes Enter any comments about the nature of the to-do item.
8. Status In this drop-down menu, select from a number of status option—which option most accurately reflects the current status of your to-do item.
9. Complete Use the up or down arrows in this field to indicate about what percent your to-do item is completed.
10. Notes Enter any notes about the selected item in this text field.
11. Complete If you wish to delete the to do item, click this button.
12. Complete If you wish to mark the item as complete, click this button. A prompt will appear asking you if you want to complete the item. If you do not have permissions to delete the item, the option will not be available.
13. Package If you wish to open the to do package this item is part of, click this button. If the item is not part of a to do package, this option will not be available.
Completing To-Do Items
This section is a quick guide to completing a to-do item. Use the navigator below if you need help accessing the To-Do screen on the Desktop.
Click “To-Do Items” in the “Desktop” system menu. Right-click the to-do item you want to complete. Click
“Complete To-Do” in the right-click menu. You can also access this option from within the to-do screen.
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figure 3.3figure 3.4
When the prompt asks you if you would like to complete the to-do item, click “Yes,” and the item will be marked completed.
Printing To-Do Items
Click “To Do Items” in the “Desktop” system menu. Right-click anywhere in the to-do item list. Click
“Print…” in the right-click menu.
1. Based On Select the sort method for your printout: by reminder date or by deadline date.
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2. Start and Through Dates In these two drop-down menus, select the start and end dates in which you want to-do items to be printed.
3. For Click the magnifying glass icon and select whose to-do items you want to print.
In the window that opens, you can select a single user or multiple users as shown below (selected users will be highlighted), or a single user group or multiple user groups (turn on the checkbox beside the name to select)—or any combination of these, for the printout.
If you want to quickly add all users, click the “Mark All” button at the bottom of the same window.
4. Options to Include This field contains many additional options to include in the to-do item printout.
Pending or Complete To-Dos: Select which type of to-do items you want to include in the printout—pending or complete.
To-Do Notes: Include the to-do items’ notes in the printout.
Work Progress Notes: Include the notes on to-do item progress in the printout.
Page Break on User: Separates pages by user.
Add Separator Line: Include a line between to-do items, to help distinguish the items more easily.
5. Sort By Style: If you want to sort the to-do items by style, mark this check box.
Reminder or Deadline Date: For sorting purposes, select an attribute to sort the items by—reminder date or deadline date.
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figure 3.5
Reverse Date Order: For sorting purposes, check this box if you want the items to be sorted by a reverse date order.
Viewing Multiple User/Group To-Do Items
If you want to see more than just your own to-do items, the following section can show you how to add more users (or all users in a group) to your To-Do Items window.
Click “To-Do Items” in the “Desktop” system menu. Right-click anywhere in the to-do item list. Click
“Print…” in the right-click menu.
Note: When you add other users’ to-do items to your list, the To-Do Item screen’s title bar includes their username(s) along with yours in the heading.
1. User(s) You can select a single user (shown in figure 3.5) or multiple users by clicking on the multiple user names in the same list, while pressing the Ctrl key. Selected users will be shown as highlighted.
If you want to quickly select all users, click the “Mark All” button at the bottom of the same window. In the same way, you can quickly deselect all users by clicking the “Clear All” button.
2. User Group(s) You can also select a single user group or multiple user groups. Click the checkbox beside the name to select it.
When you have selected all users and/or user groups you want for your To-Do Items window, click “OK” and you will return to the To-Do Items window, with your changes applied.
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figure 3.6
Searching for To-Do Items
If you need to find a to-do item, and you know the generic date range, or keywords, or the to-do item type, or its status, or even just the user whom it concerns, the To-Do Search window can look for that item based on the information you provide.
Click “To-Do Items” in the “Desktop” system menu. Right-click anywhere in the to-do item list. Click
“Search” in the right-click menu.
1. Date Range In these drop-down menus, select a beginning and end date for the system to search from.
2. Reminder/Deadline/Completed Indicate how you want the search to sort the to-do items: by reminder date, by deadline or by the “completed” status.
3. Search Text and Text Options Enter your search keywords in this field, and activate the “Task”
check box if your keywords are part of the to-do item’s task name, and/or activate the “Notes” check box if your keywords are part of the to-do item’s notes.
4. Type To filter your search, indicate the type of to-do item(s) you are looking for by selecting an option in this drop-down menu.
5. Priority Indicate which level priority of a to-do item you are searching for by selecting the appropriate option in this drop-down menu.
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figure 3.7
6. User or Matter (Case) Involved with To-Do Item
Click the magnifying glass icon to open the Case Search window and select the case or user tied to this to-do item.
7. Status Indicate which status of to-do item you are searching for: pending or completed.
8. Results The search results will populate in this field, after you have entered your criteria (fields #1-7), and you have clicked the “Search” button on the bottom of the window (figure 3.6).
Associating To-Do Items with a Case
There are at least two methods you can use to associate a to-do item with a case: (1) with the Case Search window when creating a new to-do item, or (2) with the Case Search window when editing a to-do item. Both methods involve the Case Search window, displayed below (figure 3.9). Note the navigator below to know how to initiate either method.
Click “New Item” in the right-click menu of the To-Do window list. Double-click a to-do item. Click the magnifying glass icon in the editing window.
1. Search Category For this section’s purposes, click the “Matter” tab so that you can search by the case category.
2. Case Number Enter the number of the case you want to associate the to-do item with.
3. Search Button Click to search.
4. Select Case Double-click the case name or number.
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Note: For a more thorough window walkthrough of the Case Search window, see the “Searching for Cases”
chapter in Part 3 of this manual. Once you have selected the case in the Case Search window, your to-do item will be associated to the case.
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3.8figure 3.9