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. 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 but 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. You need not do this at the station from which you ran the step immediately above. You may skip this step if you run Legalmaster on a stand-alone computer.

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; it is now eponymous with its maker; i.e., it is called Pervasive. Windows Legalmaster runs with any release of Btrieve since version 6.15. Please read our technical notes section if you want to learn more about Btrieve and its various versions.

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 install a more robust version that you purchased elsewhere.

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.

1. 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.
2. If the command consists of just the single word BTRIEVE, you are using work-station Btrieve version 6.15.
3. 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 version of Btrieve. Call us if you have questions about this or can't find a local dealer.

Installing work-station Btrieve 6.15 for Windows

The work-station version of Btrieve must be installed at each network station from which you wish to access Legalmaster. You may install Btrieve 6.15 for Windows using the CD that came with your Legalmaster host software.

1. Close all other programs before installing any software, including Legalmaster.
2. Insert the CD in your computer.
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 on the shortcut C:\Program Files\Bti\Win32\Btrieve Technologies Database\Microkernel 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. Save these settings.
5. Close all of your windows and reboot your machine.

II. Installing Legalmaster

Legalmaster software requires access to two folders.

1. The first folder stores the Legalmaster application software itself. Although you may name it anything you please, it is generally stored in a folder with the name LM61PROG. If you plan to run Legalmaster on a network, this folder must be stored on your server.
2. The second folder stores your data. This folder is generally given the name LMWDATA. Legalmaster allows you to store as many as 30 independent data folders. We're addressing the installation of just the first one for now. If you're a user of DOS Legalmaster, be sure that the name you give to your Windows Legalmaster data folder is not the same as that of any other Legalmaster data folder, either DOS or Windows.

The Installation Steps

1. Insert the CD-ROM labeled "Legalmaster" in your CD drive.
2. Click on the START button and choose RUN.
3. Type D:\LMW\SETUP.EXE (substitute for D the drive letter that corresponds to your CD drive) and click on the button that says "OK".
4. Follow all of the prompts and answer all of the installation questions regarding the location of your software and data. Select typical installation. If you are running Legalmaster on a network, remember that you must indicate a network drive both for the program files and for the data files.

   The installation program may ask you for a serial number. Type any number in that field to proceed.

   Even if you have installed Legalmaster on a network drive, you must still indicate the correct drive letter of your local workstation.

   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. The reason that you assign each station multiple WSID's is so that you may run multiple reports simultaneously from one work-station. 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.

5. When the installation is finished, select "YES" to reboot your machine.

6. If you currently use Legalmaster'97, copy CONFIG*.ENV from your LIBRA1 folder into your new Windows Legalmaster program folder. This allows you to use your existing printer drivers in Legalmaster.

7. Start Legalmaster by clicking on the icon that was created during installation. You can locate it from your Start menu/Programs/Legalmaster.

III. Enabling Another Work-station to Access Legalmaster

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

The reason that you must perform this step, at all, is that certain information regarding the location of Legalmaster's application programs, the location of your data, certain printer settings etc. are stored on the disk of each of your local computers. This information is stored in two locations.

First, the Registry. The Registry is a collection of files that store information about all of the programs that you run. Although you may edit the contents of the Registry with REGEDIT, a program that comes with Windows, we recommend against it. The Registry is automatically modified when you make certain changes on Legalmaster's screens. You should only use REGEDIT in cases of emergency and even then only with someone with Registry experience. Operator errors whilst running REGEDIT can result in conditions that are extremely difficult to rectify.

In addition, there is a small file called SUPERB.INI stored in your Windows or WinNT folder. Its contents are determined by your answers to questions on some Legalmaster setup screens. It may be displayed or modified with any editor (such as NOTEPAD or WORDPAD). Again, don't do this unless you have a dire need.

If you installed the work-station version of Btrieve 6.15 for Windows at the station where you installed Windows Legalmaster, install Btrieve again here in precisely the same manner.

Using the same CD that you used in section II above, install Legalmaster in the identical manner with but one difference. This time select Custom Installation instead of Typical Installation,.

IV. Converting Legalmaster'97 Data into Legalmaster'6x's Data Format

We made virtually no changes to the structure of Legalmaster's data between these two versions. Nevertheless, 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. So, most of the "conversion" consists of no more than our copying data from your '97 data folder into your new data folder. That's why it runs so fast (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.

It goes almost without saying that your old Legalmaster'97 data and your new Legalmaster data folder must be located on the same computer or the same network as one another. If you've installed Windows Legalmaster on a system separate from that used for Legalmaster'97, you will have to copy your old data to the new computer prior to running the conversion program.

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. That's an option on the Utilities menu.

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.

Return me to the list of Frequently Asked Questions.