The links below correspond to screens in the software.
Open/Save/Send
This screen has several functions relating to client files.
The options in the section relate to:
· Creating, retrieving and returning client data files to and from clients.
· Sending files back and forth between desktop and Cloud.
Click this link to start the process to send a client a link the client can use to enter his or her data electronically.
The link will have encoded information specific to the client.
The client will click the link, which will take the client to a login screen. The client will then be prompted to create a password.
Once the client does that, the client can log in at his or her convenience and enter his or her information.
The client can log in as many times as is necessary.
If the client does not receive the e-mail, just click New Client again, and send a new link to the client.
You should not need to do it more than once, but there is no limit on the number of times you can click New Client for any given client.
If the client does not know how to get back to his or her data, tell the client to go to:
When the client is finished entering his or her information, the client will click Transmit from within the Cloud Data Entry site.
This will generate an email to you to let you know to download the file.
When you get the email from us, click the Download button on this screen to download the client’s information into your software.
This button will show you all of the client files in your Cloud folder.
These will include:
· Files that you created on the cloud (if you have a Cloud license).
· Files that were transmitted to you by your clients.
· Files that you previously uploaded from your desktop to the cloud (if you have a Cloud license).
Choose the file you want and click Download.
If you download a file from the Cloud, that will not delete it from the Cloud.
So you could end up with two different versions of the file: one in the Cloud and one on your desktop. Please be careful about this.
If you want to download a file, work on it on your desktop, and then upload it, you can do it.
In order to prevent confusion, if this is what you have done, you probably will want to overwrite the older Cloud file when you upload the file back to the cloud.
Sometimes a client will finish entering his information but will not click the Transmit button.
If a client contacts you, saying he or she is finished with the data entry process, but you click Download (or you log in to your Cloud account if you have a cloud license) and you do not have the file, you can click Retrieve.
The Retrieve function will go out and “take” the file from the client, even though the client has not yet transmitted it to you.
At that point, it will be the same as if the client clicked Transmit.
This button enables you to upload the current file to the Cloud.
If there is already a file with the same name in the Cloud, you will be asked if you want to overwrite it.
The items in this section give you options relating to managing your files on the PC or Mac desktop.
These options will be slightly different in the Cloud.
This option lets you create a new client file. You would do this if you are NOT using the client data entry.
This option lets you change the state of filing of the action (for example, from New York to Connecticut).
You can also use this if you would like to see what child support would be in a different state.
This button allows you to open a file that has already been created.
If you are using the desktop software, it will allow you to open a file on the desktop. If you are using the Cloud, it will allow you to open a file that is stored in your folder in the Cloud.
Use the Download button on the desktop if you want to download a file from the cloud to the desktop.
Use the Upload button on the desktop if you want to upload a file from the desktop to the cloud.
If you are online using the Cloud software, it is not possible to send or retrieve files to the desktop. You have to start the desktop software in order to transfer files to and from the Cloud.
This option lets you save the current file.
It is available only on the desktop, because the cloud version is automatically saved with every entry.
The desktop version is also saving every few minutes, and when you exit, so it should not be necessary ever to click the Save button.
Save As
This option lets you create a copy of the file with a different name.
This is useful if you want to create scenarios that have differences that you cannot model using the What If Analysis, Guideline What If, Scenarios, or Property Division Scenarios options.
It is also useful if you want to save a file as it is at a particular moment. You can name it with the date and time.
This allows you to keep something of an audit trail with respect to changes you are making. You would Save As the file every time you make a set of significant changes.
The software will continue forward with the file using the new name.
If you want to continue forward with the file using the old name, open that file after you do the Save As.
This option allows you to send the client file to another person (typically an attorney or financial professional). The recipient will need Family Law Software in order to be able to open the file.
You can also send the file to technical support (support@FamilyLawSoftware.com).
If you have lost your file, or your data has been lost, you can use this option to restore from a backup.
As you work, the software is silently making backups of your work on your local computer.
In the desktop software, the software stores its back-ups only on the computer where the file was created.
If you are using a network, and you want to use the Restore function, you sit down at the computer where the file was created.
You will see a list of files that have been backed up.
Click the one that seems most likely to contain the information that you want.
This button will delete the current file.
The software contains a Sample file, which is especially useful to financial professionals.
You can change the data, and present the reports to attorneys and others, to show them the kinds of analysis you are capable of performing.
Once you open the Sample File, if you make changes, you should save it under a different name, so that you may open it again.