Earlier this month Lexis released Time Matters 16.4 as an upgrade to their existing Version 16 practice management software. Time Matters customers with an active Annual Maintenance Plan (AMP) can download this software update by clicking on the Help | Program Updates | Check for Updates menu item from the top-level menu in Time Matters. Downloading will NOT automatically kick off the installation of the update, so it can be safely downloaded and saved for later installation. Note where the update file will be saved, so it can be readily accessed when needed. The update will need to be first applied to the server where the database resides, and then to each workstation that accesses the server database.
The focus of this update appears to be improved integration with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Exchange, along with a few minor bug fixes that remain in Version 16. In their release announcement for Version 16.4 Lexis listed the following product improvements:
- Re-engineered Microsoft Exchange Sync technology for calendar and contact synchronization on any device
- The Time Matters Save and Time Matters Connect functionalities have been refreshed to ensure reliability with all versions of Office, including Office 365
- Support for QuickBooks 2018
- Support for Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader 2017
The re-worked Exchange Synch is especially notable, in that it fundamentally changes the way that Time Matters synchronization occurs with Microsoft Exchange Server. In the past each time a synch was run the application created a series of “metadata” entries in a log file, which was stored locally. With this release that metadata is no longer written to a log file; the synch details are instead stored as fields in a SQL table within the Time Matters database, providing a distinct improvement in both speed and reliability.
A note of caution before installing: Be sure that your server and your workstations are all fully patched with the latest releases of the Windows operating system. Failing to patch prior to installation of Time Matters 16.4 can significantly impede the installation process, adding considerable down time to the system while the update progresses.
We have been informed that Time Matters 16.5 is now in development, and is slated for release early in the 4th quarter of 2019. The major focus of this next release is expected to be improvements to the integration routines with various other third-party applications beyond Microsoft Office, most notably Timeslips 2019.
If you are on a Lexis AMP and are feeling squeamish about installing this service release, give us a call or email us to discuss our installation services. If you are not on a Lexis AMP and are interested in upgrading to this latest release to leverage some of these new features, call us at 877-357-0555 or email us at [email protected] to learn how you can obtain this update.
Jeanine Rhode, a Partner at Software Analysis Corporation and a member of Crosspointe Consulting Group, LLC possesses extensive experience with law office automation and legal technologies. She graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Administration and is also a Certified Paralegal. During her 25+ years as a consultant, Jeanine has earned and maintains certifications on many traditional and cloud-based practice management, document management, accounting and time & billing software packages. As a consultant, Jeanine has implemented software in law firms, legal departments and companies of all sizes. She conducts training for all levels of management, one-on-one or in classroom-style environments. Additional experience includes implementing software packages and providing project management skills in non-legal environments. Jeanine is knowledgeable about the capabilities of systems currently in the market. Industry experience includes legal, accounting, manufacturing, real estate and telecommunications, among others for organizations ranging in size from small entrepreneurial to large conglomerates.
Beware running this update if you sync your calendar with MS Office 365. Test and verify that a calendar entry created in TM actually appears on your Outlook calendar on your mobile device. Test and verify that a calendar entry created on your mobile device actually appears in your TM calendar. I learned — after 2 weeks and a couple double booked appointments — that this TM patch “broke” the sync. It took a TM tech 1 week to fix it.
There are many “moving parts” to the synch from TM-to-Exchange-to-mobile, which need to be monitored carefully. WE have seen very few “anomalies” so far with this upgrade, but it is not entirely unprecedented. Good backups for each step are a needed safety net, and in some cases it is most efficient to FIRST wipe and disconnect the calendar on the phone completely, THEN do the TM-to-Exchange synch,THEN re-connect the phone’s calendar to the Exchange app.