Legalmaster for Windows Installation Instructions

for both stand-alone and network systems

There are as many as four components to a Legalmaster installation.

1. First, you must ensure that you have an appropriate version of the file management software that we use, namely, Pervasive/Btrieve. Although we provide you with a copy of Btrieve along with every Legalmaster system that we ship, you may have a more robust or later version already installed. If you want to use a version other than the one we ship, do not install the one we sent you. Please determine what version you are using.

2. Once you have dealt with Pervasive/Btrieve, you install the Legalmaster application programs. This step is done only once, even if you are running Legalmaster on a network.

3. You must perform the third step once at each work-station (i.e., each computer) from which you intend to access Legalmaster.

4. If you are upgrading from Legalmaster'97, you must run a short routine that converts your ‘97 data into our Windows Legalmaster format.

I. Btrieve

Legalmaster uses file management software manufactured by a company called Pervasive. The software was called Btrieve until a few years ago; now eponymous with its maker; it is called Pervasive. Windows Legalmaster runs with any release of Btrieve since version 6.15. Please read our Pervasive/Btrieve versions page if you want to learn more about your Pervasive/Btrieve options.

The gist of the matter is that you must ensure that you are running with a proper version of Pervasive/Btrieve.

If you are new to Legalmaster, that is, you are not upgrading from our DOS version, you must either install the version of Btrieve that we shipped you on the Legalmaster CD or use a presumably more robust version that you purchased elsewhere. We also keep a copy of the same version we send on our CD on our website. You'll find it in a zip file named B615.zip toward the bottom of the page labeled "Download Host."

If you are upgrading from the DOS version of Legalmaster, you already are running some version of Pervasive/Btrieve. Whether or not you install the version of Btrieve that we sent you depends upon which version of Pervasive/Btrieve you're running now.

How to Determine What Version of Btrieve You're Running with Legalmaster'97

1. Right-click on the short cut (icon) that you use to launch Legalmaster for DOS.
   

2. Left-click on properties.
   
3. Left-click on the tab labeled program.
   
4. Look for the text labeled command line. That points to the name of the batch file used to launch Legalmaster. It's usually LIBRA1\LM.BAT.
   
5. Using the editor of your choice, such as Wordpad, Notepad or DOS Edit, display the contents of that batch file.
   
6. At this point, you want to find the line that actually loads Btrieve. Most likely, you'll see a line that reads CALL GOBTREE. If that's the case, the command that loads Btrieve is located in another batch file whose name is GOBTREE.BAT, which is located in the same folder as is the batch file that calls it. If you don't see a CALL GOBTREE line, it means that Btrieve is loaded in the first batch file.
   
7. If GOBTREE is called, then go look at GOBTREE.BAT.
   
8. Regardless of the location of the command that loads Btrieve, all you need do is to find the actual command line. Ignore all lines that begin with the characters REM.
   
9. The command that you're looking for generally begins with the word Btrieve or Brequest or Breqnt or Bdosstub. This first command word goes a long way to determining what version of Pervasive/Btrieve you are using.
   
10. If the command line is BTRIEVE followed by a series of parameters such as /P:2048 /L, you are using work-station Btrieve version 5.1.
    
11. If the command consists of just the single word BTRIEVE, you are using work-station Btrieve version 6.15.
    
12. If the command begins with BREQUEST or BREQNT or BDOSSTUB, you are using some version of client-server Btrieve or Pervasive.SQL.

Now that you know which version of Pervasive/Btrieve you are using, you are in the position to determine whether or not you need to install the work-station Btrieve 6.15 that came with Windows Legalmaster.

If you are already using a client-server version of Btrieve 6.15 or later, then you need not install the Btrieve that we shipped you. You must ensure, though, that you have installed Btrieve's Windows client. Although the client-server versions of Btrieve include both the Windows client (required by your new copy of Windows Legalmaster) and the DOS client (required by your old Legalmaster'97), you may not have previously installed the Windows client since you didn't need it for DOS Legalmaster.

This section is only for those of you who want to use the work-station version of Btrieve 6.15 for Windows that we included on the installation CD.

Before you install the version of Btrieve for Windows that we provide, you must make sure that you are not already running a version of Btrieve for Windows for some other software application. If you are not sure, you can call CSP and we may be able to help you.

Pervasive, the people who write Btrieve, have informed us that even though the work-station version of Btrieve runs on a network, they are not comfortable with it supporting more than three or four stations accessing Legalmaster simultaneously. It has been our experience, though, that users who merely enter their fees do not put much strain on their system. If your firm will have more than a handfull of stations running back-office management reports, bills, conflict searches, etc, you should consider purchasing a client/server or work-group version of Pervasive. Call us if you have questions about this or can't find a local dealer.

Installing work-station Btrieve 6.15 for Windows

Remember, if you're using another version of Pervasive/Btrieve, do not install the version we provide; i.e., skip this section.

If you plan to use the work-station version of Btrieve that we provide, it must be installed at each network station from which you wish to access Legalmaster. We include workstation Btrieve 6.15 for Windows on the CD that stores your Legalmaster software.

1. Close all other programs before installing any software, including Legalmaster.
   

2. Insert the CD in your computer or unzip the B615.zip file into some folder on your local drive.
   
3. Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, find the SETUP.EXE file in the BTRSTUF folder on the CD and double click on it.
   
4. Follow the on-screen instructions and accept all of the default configurations.
   
5. Close all of your windows and reboot your machine after you finish the Btrieve installation.

Providing the proper parameters to your Btrieve Setup Utility

1. Click Start/Programs/Btrieve Technologies Database/Microkernal Setup.
   

2. Under the first three settings of file resources, make sure Files, Handles and Locks are at least 100, 200 and 400, respectively.
   
3. Under the first three memory resources settings, make sure that buffer size is at least 2048 (rather than the default 512), largest record is at least 32768 (rather than the default 16384) and compressed record size is 10 (rather than the default 1).

   Btrieve Settings
   Categories	Settings	Value
   File Settings	Open Files	100
   	Handles	200
   	Record Locks per Client	400
   Memory Resources	Cache Allocation	2048
   	Communication Buffer Size	32768
   	Largest Compressed Record Size	10

4. If you are using workstation Btrieve 6.15 on a peer-to-peer network, note that all stations but the "defacto server" must have "Remote file sharing" set to multi-user (the default value), while the server must have "Local file sharing" set to multi-user (not the default value). Both of these settings are under file resources.
   

5. Save these settings.
   
6. Close all of your windows and reboot your machine.

II. Installing Legalmaster

Legalmaster uses two folders. One stores our programs; the other, your data. If you plan to run Legalmaster on a network, both of these folders must be stored on your server. While you may name these folders pretty much anything you wish, here are our suggested defaults.

1. Pick a drive letter where you're going to store your Legalmaster programs and data. Do not use UNC's (Universal Naming Convention); use explicit drive letters.
   

2. Create a folder on that drive and name the folder LMW.
   
3. Create two folders in LMW and name them LMWPROG and LMWDATA.

The Installation Steps

1. Go to the Download Host page on our website. Read the instructions if you want.
   

2. Unzip the first group of files (roughly 25) into your LMWPROG folder. Don't skip any of the files.
   
3. Copy the Wintone file that we e-mailed to you into your LMWPROG folder. Your Wintone file's name should have no extension on it. If it does, remove the extension.
   
4. Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, whichever you prefer, open your LMWPROG folder and create a shortcut to the file named LGLMAIN.EXE. Drag the shortcut to your desktop and rename the shortcut Legalmaster.
   
5. Toward the bottom of the Download Host page of our website you'll find a file named LMINST.ZIP. Unzip it anywhere on your local workstation and execute it.
   
6. You'll be asked to provide the location of your Legalmaster program folder and your Legalmaster data folder. Provide the full path in each case, for example, L:\LMW\LMWPROG. This step creates the Registry settings and INI files that Legalmaster needs in order to run. Consequently, it is important that you have the rights to modify your Registry.
   
7. Launch Legalmaster.
   
8. You'll receive a handful of messages that only occur to new users. Read them, do what they say to do and click through them.
   
9. One of the first messages you'll see regards workstation ID's. Every station must be assigned a series of unique workstation ID values. We suggest that you assign each station four (4) WSID values. These values must be precisely two (2) characters long and may consist of letters or numbers. For example, you might assign one station the ID's 01, 02, 03 and 04; while another has 11, 12, 13 and 14. You might also use A1, A2, A3 and A4 at one station and B1, B2, B3 and B4 at another. If you are converting your data from Legalmaster'97, it will be convenient for you to assign as the first WSID to each user the same value he or she had in Legalmaster'97.
   
10. Should you receive a "Btrieve Status 12" during this process, just exit and reenter Legalmaster.
    
11. When you're all done and have finally make it to Legalmaster's main screen, click, Utilities/Lconfig and hit the F9 key.
    
12. We copy two Btrieve files into your Legalmaster program folder. These files are useful, if not necessary, if you are using the version of Btrieve that we ship, namely, workstation version 6.15. These files sometimes disrupt the running of certain versions of client/server or workgroup Pervasive, typically causing a Btrieve status 20 error message. If you are using a version of Pervasive or Btrieve other than the one we ship, you may wish to delete or rename these two files. Their names are WBTRV32.DLL and W32BTICM.DLL.
    
13. Some versions of Pervasive object to large files with "page sizes" of less than 4096. Typically, the only Legalmaster files large enough to elicit an error (Btrieve Status 19) are TRDESC.LF and HFEE.LF. If you get a Btrieve Status 19 merging or altering a financial transaction, rebuild TRDESC.LF with a page size of 4096. If you get the same error posting to History, the likely culprit is HFEE.LF; do likewise to it. The rebuild utility is a Pervasive utility, not a Legalmaster function.

III. Enabling Another Work-station to Access Legalmaster

If you run Legalmaster on a stand-alone computer, skip this step.

1. Install Btrieve as above.
   

2. Perform steps 5-11 from the section immediately above.

IV. Converting Legalmaster'97 (DOS) Data into Legalmaster'6x's (Windows) Data Format

We made some changes to the structure of Legalmaster's data between these two versions. In addition, the development tool that we used to write Windows Legalmaster (Borland's Delphi), afforded us a few attractive opportunities that required we add a few keys to some of Legalmaster's file indices. The data conversion runs fairly quickly (about 1 to 2 megabytes per minute). When it's all over, your Legalmaster'97 data are intact and unchanged and still located in their original location. As a result you may continue to bill with your DOS system while you play with the Windows version until you are comfortable with it. Following this practice period, you merely erase your "practice" Windows data and reconvert.

Note that if you used the Security module in Legalmaster'97, your passwords will be inherited by Legalmaster for Windows in the conversion. If you created a new password in the Windows version prior to running the conversion, it will not be accepted afterwards. So make a note of at least one DOS password to use once your conversion is complete.

It goes almost without saying that your old Legalmaster'97 data folder and your new Windows Legalmaster data folder must be located on the same computer or the same network as one another, though they are two distinct folders and, as such, should be given different names. If you've installed Windows Legalmaster on a system separate from that used for Legalmaster'97, you must copy your old DOS data folder to the new computer prior to running the conversion program. Do not copy your DOS Legalmaster data into the folder that will ultimately contain your Windows Legalmaster data; the latter folder should have no data in it prior to the conversion. The Windows Legalmaster programs do not read the files in DOS datafolder except during the data conversion step.

If you entered practice data into the Windows Legalmaster database that you intend to use for your real data, erase your practice data before converting. You will find an option on the Utilities menu to erase your data. The folder into which you are converting your data should have no data in it prior to your running of the conversion.

You convert your Legalmaster'97 data by selecting the obvious option from the Utilities menu. The only question you must answer is to tell Legalmaster where your old (i.e., Legalmaster'97) data are located.