Expense and Cost Recovery Software. Tabs3 Device Interface Instructions. WCNVASCV Instructions. DOS Device Interface Instructions

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E

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Various Windows and DOS programs written by Software Technology, Inc., the maker of Tabs3, are available for

importing cost transaction information into Tabs3. This area includes links to the documentation for these

programs. Call your local Tabs3 reseller or consultant or our Sales Department at (402) 419-2200 to purchase.

Tabs3 Device Interface Instructions

See also:

R10737 - Tabs3 Device Interface Product Information

R10955 - How Units, Rate, and Amount Fields are Imported When Using Cost Recovery Software

Generic Formats

ASCII Variable ASCII Fixed Other

Custom Formats

Avaya Billman

CONVTRAK (ERS) for Copitrak, Faxtrak and Phonetrak Danyl

- Danyl - Expense Logger (or the older Danyl format) - Danyl - LANsimile/RECOUNT

- Danyl - QBACOL JASPrint

XO

WCNVASCV Instructions

WCNVASCV - ASCII to Tabs3 Interface (WC)

DOS Device Interface Instructions

Custom Formats

CONVASCF CONVASCV

Fixed Length Record Interface (CF) Variable Length Record Interface (CV)

EQDCONV Equitrac Copier Interface (EC)

OTHER DOS /ECRS Interface Instructions

Custom Formats

CABWIRE COPITRAK FAXTRAK CONVTRAK PHONETRK COPYGDAD COPYGDCM DANYL EQPCONV EXPORT SUPERPRO OS-CALL OS-PLUS

Cable & Wireless Interface (CW) Control Systems Copier Interface (CT) Control Systems Fax Interface (FT) Control Systems H-Link Interface (CK) Control Systems Phone Interface (PT) Copyguard Auditor Interface (CO) Copyguard CM24 Interface (CG) Danyl Copier Interface (DA) Equitrac Phone Interface (EP) Export Program

General Meters Interface (GM) Infortext OS PC Call Interface (OS) Infortext OS Plus Call Interface (OP)

XPRTCONV THECOUNT MICROCAL NORSTARC HOURCONV PITNEY TELSENSE/PC CONVTS CHRGBACK PC-CALL TAPIT TRSADD ULTIMATE

Infortext XPRT Copier Interface (XP) Lex Systems Copier Interface (LX) Microcall Phone Interface (MC) Norstar Call Accounting Interface (NS) Norstar Hourglass Interface (HG) Pitney Bowes Interface (PB) TelSense Phone Interface (TW) Timeslips Interface

TRS/Exceltrak Copier Interface (CB) TRS/Exceltrak Phone Interface (PC) Tribase Systems Interface (TT) TRS ADD Copier Interface (TR) Ultimate! Call Accounting (UL)

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File Layouts

Note: The following file layouts are provided for the above DOS / ECRS Interface programs.

CABWIRE CONVTRAK COPYGDAD COPYGDCM DANYL EQPCONV MICROCAL NORSTARC OS-PLUS PHONETRK PITNEY SUPERPRO TAPIT TELSENSE THECOUNT ULTIMATE XPRTCONV

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Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice)

ASCII Variable Length Data Format

Overview

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) software (ASCII Variable format) can be used to convert fee and cost transactions from an ASCII file with variable length fields to be compatible with the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must reside in the same directory as the Tabs3 programs in order to work properly. The ASCII data file must reside in the Tabs3 program directory. Details regarding the exact file layout can be found on the following page.

Installation

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must be installed to the directory on your hard disk when the Tabs3 program resides. The Tabs3 program directory can be found in Tabs3 by selecting Help | About Tabs3.

1. Insert the enclosed CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. A CD Browser program will automatically start.

Note: If the CD-ROM Autorun feature is disabled, click the Start button, and then click Run... Click the Browse button and

navigate to the CD-ROM drive. Double-click the LAUNCH.EXE file. Click OK. 3. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the selected systems.

Configuring the Data Collection Device Type

Before you can convert any data from a data collection device, Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) must be configured to handle the necessary format.

1. From the Software Technology folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

2. If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK. 3. From the File menu, select the Configure option.

4. The Configuration window will be displayed. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field and select ASCII Variable. 5. In the File field, type the name of the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., TABS3.CV).

6. Select the Default check box if you want to make the ASCII Variable device the default in the Conversion program. 7. Click the More Config button.

8. In the Descriptions section, select the Upper Case Text if you want to use all upper case letters in the Tabs3 description. 9. Click OK.

10. Click the Save button.

11. Close the Configuration window.

Creating Validation Files

Validation files for the client (CLIENT.TXT), timekeeper (EMPL.TXT) and tcode (TCODE.TXT) files can be created. The client file will contain a record for each active client/matter that exists in the Tabs3 Client file. Use the following procedure to create the validation file:

1. If the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program is already started, skip to step 3. From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

2. If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK. 3. From the File menu, select the Validation option.

4. The Validation window will be displayed. If the ASCII Variable device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the ASCII Variable format.

5. Click the Create button.

6. Once the files are created, click OK.

7. Click Cancel to close the Validation window. 8. Transfer the files to the data collection device.

Note: Validation files should be recreated and transferred to the data collection device after changes have been made to the

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Converting ASCII Variable Length Data

Use the following procedure for the conversion:

1. Copy the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., TABS3.CV) to the Tabs3 directory.

3. If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK. 4. From the File menu, select the Convert option.

5. The Conversion window will be displayed. If the ASCII Variable device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the ASCII Variable format.

6. Click the Convert button. The program will look for the file name TABS3.CV. If the file is found to contain data, the program will read transactions from the file and increment the Processed count for every transaction that is read. All transactions that are successfully converted will increment the Added count and will be written to the Tabs3 Remote data files (RMT*.*).

Note: A TBDEVICE.LOG file is created and will contain any records that were not converted. If no errors were encountered

during the conversion, then the TBDEVICE.LOG file will include a start and finish time.

Note: If you are using a full user system, the ASCII Variable data file will automatically be deleted when the conversion is

complete to avoid double posting of the data. However, when using a trial system, the data file is not deleted.

7. When the process is complete, the data files will have been created allowing you to merge the information into Tabs3 using the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program. To merge the files, start Tabs3. From the Integration Task Folder, select Merge Tabs3

Remote Data. This program will merge the remote data files created by the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program

(RMT*.*) with your main Tabs3 data files. The Tabs3 Help includes complete details regarding the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

Note: You can change the Descriptions options used by the ASCII Variable format by selecting File | Configure.

Input Field Positions

File Layout

Field Field # Format

Client ID 1 Up to 12 characters

Timekeeper 2 Up to 3 characters (can be either timekeeper number or timekeeper initials)

Tcode 3 Up to 3 digits preceded by a "$" for costs (trans code cannot be greater than 999 in value)

Phase/Task Code 4 Must be in the format XXNNN, where XX is any single or double uppercase letter combination (excluding A and E) and NNN is 3 digits Activity Code 5 Must be in the format XNNN, where X is either the letter A (Activity code

for fees) or E (Expense code for costs), and NNN is 3 digits

Date 6 Must be in the mm/dd/yy or the mm/dd/yyyy format.

Hours (for fees) Units (for costs)

7 Decimal format up to 9999.99 maximum (i.e., 1.25 is 1 hr. 15 min.)

Rate 8 Dollar format up to 9999.99

Amount 9 Billable dollar amount up to 9999999.99

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CrLf carriage return/line feed

Notes

• Each field is delimited by a comma. The quotation marks at the beginning and end of each field are optional with the exception of the Description field. The Description field should begin and end with quotes (i.e., "text") so that commas in the Description field are not mistaken for a field delimiter. Also, embedded quotes in the Description text should be single quotes so they are not mistaken for boundary quotes (i.e., "this is a sample of 'quoted' text, with a comma within the text").

• The Client ID can be up to 12 characters in length. It must precisely match Client IDs that are entered into Tabs3.

• If the Tabs3 client is not a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code is converted and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are ignored. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code field is ignored (except for the "$" necessary to denote cost transactions) and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are converted instead.

• If the Rate field is zero, then Tabs3 will supply the default rate assigned in the Tabs3 client record when the transaction is merged into Tabs3.

• If both Rate and Amount fields are zero, then Tabs3 will supply a default Rate and calculate the Amount automatically when the transaction is merged into Tabs3.

• When the data is merged into Tabs3, the Client ID, Timekeeper, and Transaction Code fields are verified as being valid. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are also verified as being valid. Transactions with invalid fields are rejected and a list of rejected transactions can be printed along with an error code indicating why it was rejected.

• The description for each transaction merged into Tabs3 will come from the Collection device data file, field number 10. Each transaction that does not have a description in field 10 will use the default description from the designated Tcode or

Activity/Expense Code.

Sample Data File

The following is an example of a variable length ASCII data file. Please note that lines with longer descriptions were wrapped to the next line and indented in this example so the text can be seen on the printed copy. Actual transactions in a real data file will appear as one continuous line.

101.00,RJB,,L110,A101,02/19/09,1.50,60.00,90.00, "Office conference with Karen Barrett and all

of the apartment managers concerning the unpaid rents at the new apartments." 200.01,1,$23,,,02/15/09,0.00,0.00,15.00, "court filing fee."

101.00,MLJ,$,L110,E101,02/15/09,0.00,0.00,1.25, "photocopies."

101.00,MLJ,,L120,A106,02/19/09,1.22,0.00,73.20, "Telephone conference with Ms. Barrett." 200.01,2,$21,,,02/19/09,0.00,0.00,2.50, "Photocopy originals."

200.02,2,$23,,,02/19/09,0.00,0.00,25.00, "Pay County Court filing fee in advance on behalf of Client."

Startup Options

Command line options can be used when starting Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) to bypass the User ID prompt and automatically execute the Convert program thereby eliminating user interaction. These startup options can be quite useful when implemented as part of a batch file.

The following are examples of the available startup options:

Bypass the User ID prompt C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE ALICE Convert C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT ASCII VARIABLE

Note: The normal "sign in" routine is used when Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) is started with the "/CONVERT" option. If you have

not specified a User ID on the command line, you will be required to enter the User ID. If password security has been defined, you will also be required to enter the password before the Convert program will proceed.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) Help includes complete details regarding Startup Options.

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Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice)

ASCII Fixed Length Data Format

Overview

The Tabs3 Device Interface TBDevice software (ASCII Fixed format) can be used to convert fee and cost transactions from an ASCII file with fixed length fields to be compatible with the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must reside in the same directory as the Tabs3 programs in order to work properly. The ASCII data file must reside in the Tabs3 program directory. Details regarding the exact file layout can be found on the following page.

Installation

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must be installed to the directory on your hard disk when the Tabs3 program resides. The Tabs3 program directory can be found in Tabs3 by selecting Help | About Tabs3.

1. Insert the enclosed CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. A CD Browser program will automatically start.

Configuring the Data Collection Device Type

Before you can convert any data from a data collection device, Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) must be configured to handle the necessary format.

1. From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

2. If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK. 3. From the File menu, select the Configure option.

4. The Configuration window will be displayed. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field and select ASCII Fixed. 5. In the File field, type the name of the file containing the data from the collection device (TABS3.CF).

6. Select the Default check box if you want to make the ASCII Fixed device the default in the Conversion program. 7. Click the More Config button.

8. In the Descriptions section, select the Upper Case Text if you want to use all upper case letters in the Tabs3 description. 9. Click OK.

10. Click the Save button.

11. Close the Configuration window.

Creating Validation Files

Validation files for the client (CLIENT.TXT), timekeeper (EMPL.TXT) and tcode (TCODE.TXT) files can be created. The client file will contain a record for each active client/matter that exists in the Tabs3 Client file. Use the following procedure to create the validation file:

2. If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK. 3. From the File menu, select the Validation option.

4. The Validation window will be displayed. If the ASCII Fixed device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the ASCII Fixed format.

5. Click the Create button.

6. Once the files are created, click OK.

7. Click Cancel to close the Validation window. 8. Transfer the files to the data collection device.

Note: Validation files should be recreated and transferred to the data collection device after changes have been made to the

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Converting ASCII Fixed Length Data

Use the following procedure for the conversion:

1. Copy the file containing the data from the collection device (i.e., TABS3.CF) to the Tabs3 directory.

3. If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK. 4. From the File menu, select the Convert option.

5. The Conversion window will be displayed. If the ASCII Fixed device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the ASCII Fixed format.

6. Click the Convert button. The program will look for the file name specified in the Configuration window. If the file is found to contain data, the program will read transactions from the file and increment the Processed count for every transaction that is read. All transactions that are successfully converted will increment the Added count and will be written to the Tabs3 Remote data files (RMT*.*).

Note: A TBDEVICE.LOG file is created and will contain any records that were not converted. If no errors were encountered

during the conversion, then the TBDEVICE.LOG file will include a start and finish time.

Note: If you are using a full user system, the ASCII Fixed data file will automatically be deleted when the conversion is

complete to avoid double posting of the data. However, when using a trial system, the data file is not deleted.

7. When the process is complete, the data files will have been created allowing you to merge the information into Tabs3 using the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program. To merge the files, start Tabs3. From the Integration Task Folder, select Merge Tabs3

Remote Data. This program will merge the remote data files created by the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program

(RMT*.*) with your main Tabs3 data files. The Tabs3 Help includes complete details regarding the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

Note: You can change the Descriptions options used by the ASCII Fixed format by selecting File | Configure.

Input Field Positions

File Layout (record length = 128 bytes) Field

#

Field Position Length Format

1 Client 1 12 Up to 12 characters (with optional decimal point)

2 Timekeeper 13 3 Up to 3 digits (ignored for costs)

3 Date 16 8 mm/dd/yy format

4 Tcode 24 6 Up to 5 digits preceded by a "$" for costs (trans code cannot be greater than 999 in value)

5 Hours

(fees) Units (costs)

30 6 Decimal format up to 320.00 maximum (i.e. 1.25 is 1 hr. 15 min.)

6 Amount 36 10 Billable dollar amount up to 9999999.99

7 Rate 46 6 Dollar format up to 999.99

8 Category 52 3 Optional Tabs3 billing category for fees

9 Description 55 72 Up to 72 characters of text

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Notes

• The Timekeeper and Category (fields 2 and 8) are ignored for cost transactions (costs are denoted by prefixing the transaction code number with "$").

• The Client ID can be from 3 to 12 characters long with an optional decimal point separating the client portion from the matter portion.

• Tabs3 transaction codes can be from 1 to 999. It is possible to convert the Tabs3 bill code combined with the transaction code. A bill code of 10 (non-billable/non-printable), 20 (non-billable/printable) or 30 (billable/ non-printable) can be added to the beginning of the transaction code. No bill code is an indication of a billable/printable transaction. If bill code 10, 20 or 30 is used, the Tabs3 transaction code number must include leading zeros so it is 3 digits long (e.g., if using bill code 20 with transaction code 9, change 9 to 009; prepend the 20 to use transaction code 20009).

• If both Rate and Amount fields are blank or zero, then Tabs3 will supply a default rate and calculate the Amount automatically when the transaction is merged into Tabs3.

• If the Rate field is blank or zero (and the Amount field is not), then Tabs3 will supply the default rate assigned in the Tabs3 client record when the transaction is merged into Tabs3. The Amount field will not be recomputed by Tabs3.

• If the Category field is blank or zero, then Tabs3 will supply the default category assigned in the Tabs3 client record when the transaction is merged into Tabs3.

• When the data is merged into Tabs3, the Timekeeper, Client and Tcode fields are verified as being valid. Transactions with invalid fields are rejected and a list of rejected transactions can be printed along with an error code indicating why it was rejected.

• The description for each transaction merged into Tabs3 will come from the Collection device data file, field number 10. Each transaction that does not have a description in field 10 will use the default description from the designated Tcode or

Activity/Expense Code.

Sample Data File

The following is an example of a fixed length ASCII file. The sample transactions are preceded by three lines of numbers to assist you with visualizing field positions. These three lines should not be included in your file. The first line represents the starting position of each field number, the second line shows the character position by tens, and the third line shows character position by single digits.

• Each transaction must contain 128 characters.

• The numeric fields will contain leading spaces if the number does not fill all the characters allotted to that field.

• The alpha fields will have trailing spaces if the description does not fill all the characters allotted to that field.

• In an actual file, the transaction descriptions would not wrap onto another line, but would appear as one continuous line. We have wrapped them so they can be seen on the printed copy.

• The tenth field (Filler) is not displayed. It consists of two character positions, 127 and 128. These characters represent a carriage return and a line feed in that order. Since there is no way to display those characters in this document, we omitted them in the sample transactions.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 2 3 4 5

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345Positions 55 thru 126 101.00 202/19/09 1 1.50 90.00 60.00 10Office conference with Karen Barrett and all of the apartment managers.

200.01 02/15/09$ 23 25.00 Court filing fee. 101.00 02/15/09$ 21 1.15 Photocopies.

101.00 202/19/09 3 1.22 73.00 0.00 10Pay County Court filing fee in advance on behalf of client.

102.00 102/20/09 5 .50 50.00100.00 1Letter to Client's bank er.

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Startup Options

Utility program used to convert transaction data from various cost recovery data capture devices into a format that can be imported into Tabs3:

TBDEVICE.EXE WDIMENU.EXE

Help files for the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDEVICE.EXE) utility program: TBDEVICE.CHM (v15)

TBDEVICE.HLP TBDEVICE.CNT

Tabs3: 9 or higher (with the tbdevice.exe/convascv.exe/wcnvascv.exe utility, available from Software Technology, Inc.)

Command line options can be used when starting Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) to bypass the User ID prompt and automatically execute the Convert program thereby eliminating user interaction. These startup options can be quite useful when implemented as part of a batch file.

The following are examples of the available startup options:

Bypass the User ID prompt C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE ALICE

Note: The normal "sign in" routine is used when Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) is started with the "/CONVERT" option. If you have

not specified a User ID on the command line, you will be required to enter the User ID. If password security has been defined, you will also be required to enter the password before the Convert program will proceed.

Validation C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /VALIDATION JASPRINT

Note: The normal "sign in" routine is used when Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) is started with the "/CONVERT" or

"/VALIDATION" options. If you have not specified a User ID on the command line, you will be required to enter the User ID. If password security has been defined, you will also be required to enter the password before the Convert or Validation program will proceed.

Convert C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT DANYL – EXPENSE LOGGER (OLD FORMAT) Validation C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /VALIDATION DANYL – EXPENSE LOGGER (OLD FORMAT) Convert C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT ASCII FIXED

Convert F:\STI\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT ASCII VARIABLE Validation F:\STI\TBDEVICE.EXE /VALIDATION ASCII VARIABLE Installation

To install the TBDevice program on your hard disk:

1. Insert the TBDevice interface program disk into your floppy disk drive. 2. Click the Start button, and then click Run...

3. Type A:SETUP or B:SETUP (depending on the floppy drive used), and then click OK.

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to run the SETUP program.

Note: The TBDevice program (TBDEVICE.EXE) must be installed in the same directory where the Tabs3 program resides.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) Help includes complete details regarding Startup Options.

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Tabs3/ASCII Interface Program

(Variable Length ASCII Records)

WCNVASCV.EXE

Overview

The Tabs3/ASCII interface program (WCNVASCV.EXE) is used to convert fee and cost transactions from an ASCII file to be compatible with the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

The ASCII data must be in a file named TABS3.ASC and must reside in the Tabs3 program directory.

Installation

The WCNVASCV.EXE program must be installed to the directory on your hard disk where the Tabs3 program resides. 1. Insert the enclosed CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.

2. A CD Browser program will automatically start.

Executing the WCNVASCV Interface Program

From the Software Technology folder, double-click the ASCII to Tabs3 Conversion icon. Click OK to proceed. The program will look for the TABS3.ASC file containing the ASCII data. If the TABS3.ASC file is found to contain data, the program will read transactions from the file and increment the Processed count for every transaction that is read. All transactions that are successfully converted will increment the Added count and will be written to the Tabs3 Remote data files (RMT*.*).

When the process is complete, the following files will have been created: RMTFEE.DAT, RMTFEE.IDX, RMTCOST.DAT,

RMTCOST.IDX, RMTFEEID.DAT, and RMTCSTID.DAT. These files must then be merged into Tabs3 using the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program. To merge the files, start Tabs3. From the Integration Task Folder, select Merge Tabs3 Remote Data. This program will merge the remote data files created by the WCNVASCV program (RMT*.*) with your main Tabs3 data files. The Tabs3 online help includes complete details regarding the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

Notes

• If any transactions in the TABS3.ASC file are found to have invalid timekeepers, invalid dates, or the wrong number of fields, they will be rejected by the WCNVASCV program and will be recorded in the WCNVASCV.LOG file.

• The TABS3.ASC file will automatically be deleted when the conversion is complete to avoid double-posting of the data (unless you are using a trial version).

Unattended Operation

A command line parameter named “UNATTENDED” can be used to eliminate user interaction. This startup parameter can be useful when implemented as part of a batch file. When the “UNATTENDED” startup parameter is used and the TABS3.ASC input file is present, the program will complete automatically and write any errors to the WCNVASCV.LOG file. If no errors were encountered, the WCNVASCV.LOG file will be created as a zero byte file. If the TABS3.ASC file is missing, a message will be displayed indicating that the TABS3.ASC input file was not found.

To use the “UNATTENDED” startup parameter, simply enter the WCNVASCV.EXE command followed by a space followed by UNATTENDED.

TABS3.ASC File Layout

Field Name Format

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2 Timekeeper Up to 3 characters (can either be timekeeper number or timekeeper initials) 3 Transaction Code Up to 3 digits preceded by a "$" for costs (trans code cannot be greater than 999 in

value)

4 Phase/Task Code Must be in the format XNNN, where X is any upper case letter (excluding A and E) and NNN is 3 digits

5 Activity Code Must be in the format XNNN, where X is either the letter A (for fees) or E (for costs), and NNN is 3 digits

6 Date Must be in the mm/dd/yy or the mm/dd/yyyy format.

7 Hours Worked (fees)

Units (costs)

Decimal format up to 9999.99 maximum (i.e. 1.25 is 1 hr. 15 min.)

8 Hourly Rate (fees) Rate (costs)

Dollar format up to 9999.99

9 Amount Billable dollar amount up to 9999999.99

10 Description Up to a maximum of 4,900 characters

CrLf Carriage return/line feed

Notes

• Each field is delimited by a comma. The quotation marks at the beginning and end of each field are optional with the exception of the Description field. The Description field should begin and end with quotes (i.e., "text") so that commas in the Description field are not mistaken for a field delimiter. Also, embedded quotes in the Description text should be single quotes so they are not mistaken for boundary quotes (i.e. "this is a sample of ‘quoted’ text, with a comma within the text").

• The Client ID can be up to 12 characters in length. It must precisely match Client IDs that are entered into Tabs3.

• If the Tabs3 client is not a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code is converted and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are ignored. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code field is ignored (except for the "$" necessary to denote cost transactions) and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are converted instead.

• When fee and cost transactions are merged into Tabs3 and the Rate field is zero, then the Tabs3 Merge program will supply the default rate assigned in the Tabs3 client record.

• When fee and cost transactions are merged into Tabs3 and both Hourly Rate and Amount fields are zero, then the Tabs3 Merge program will supply a default Rate and calculate the Amount automatically.

• When the data is merged into Tabs3, the Client ID, Timekeeper, and Transaction Code fields are verified as being valid. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are also verified as being valid. Transactions with invalid fields are rejected and a list of rejected transactions can be printed along with an error code indicating why it was rejected.

Sample TABS3.ASC Data File

Please note that lines with too much description text were wrapped to the next line and indented. "Actual" lines in a real data file will have one line per transaction entry no matter how long they are.

101.00,RJB,,L110,A101,02/19/04,1.50,60.00,90.00, "Office conference with Karen Barrett and all

of the apartment managers concerning the unpaid rents at the new apartments." 200.01,1,$23,,,02/15/04,0.00,0.00,15.00, "court filing fee."

101.00,MLJ,$,L110,E101,02/15/04,0.00,0.00,1.25, "photocopies."

101.00,MLJ,,L120,A106,02/19/04,1.22,0.00,73.20, "Telephone conference with Ms. Barrett." 200.01,2,$21,,,02/19/04,0.00,0.00,2.50, "Photocopy originals."

200.02,2,$23,,,02/19/04,0.00,0.00,25.00, "Pay County Court filing fee in advance on behalf of Client."