This Cool Stuff page provides tips to better use NetDocuments.
New tips are added regularly, so check back often.
Send comments to email@support.netdocuments.com.

If you have an iPad or iPhone, NetDocuments is now available.  It is not yet on the iTunes store, so just go to the Safari browser and enter https://vault.netvoyage.com  Posted 11/23/10
Learn more about using it by clicking here.  If you want to Edit your documents in addition to Viewing them, we suggest you use either DocsToGo or QuickOffice for the iPad.  Either app can be purchased from the App Store. 

Check out the upcoming new NetDocuments Design coming in 2011.  Posted 11/23/10
Click the Watch Video link at the top of your Home page to see the design for the new Interface coming Spring 2011.  We are working very hard to complete it and we are very eager to get it to you.  The link will be there for your reference until we are close to the release.  The information will be updated as we get closer to the release.

Below is a quick primer on how the Word integration works with NetDocuments.  This can be confusing sometimes to new users, so here is a summary chart to help you.  Posted 11/17/10
An important thing to remember is if you are creating a new document from scratch, as soon as you start, click the Save to import it into NetDocuments. If you click Save and don't want to import the document, click the Cancel button to return to your Word document.  Do NOT close Word.  If you do not see your document, close ALL browser sessions and your document will be visible again.

After your initial Save and as you continue editing your document, click the Word Save button frequently so the local echo copy will be updated with your most current edits.  This will avoid lost edits if something happens to your application or computer.

After you have Saved and Closed the document in Word, Check it in so the document is available to others.  If you do not have Auto Login enabled and it has been over 90 minutes, you will be prompted to login again when you click the Check in.  Once logged in, the document Check in can be completed.

When I login I want to go directly to the Recent Docs page.  Can I do that?  Posted 11/17/10
Yes, you can.  Just go to the Recent Docs page and drag the URL that shows in the browser address bar into your favorites bar or copy it to your desktop.  Then to open NetDocuments, just click that link.  If you have not logged in, you will be logged in and then end up on the Recent Docs page.

If you are using IE 9 and Windows 7, there is a cool new feature where you can also drag any tab you have open such as the Home page to the Windows Taskbar at the bottom of your screen and you will always have it available for quick access.  We have programmed it such that if you right click on the icon in your tray, you can go to the Recent Docs list and the Advanced Search page also.

If you use the Taskbar method, your taskbar would look like the following with NetDocuments showing as any other application.  It will help keep your NetDocuments tabs isolated somewhat from other browser pages.  Give it a try.

New feature for displaying My Matters lists.  Posted 8/10/10
We recently added a new feature that allows each user to show the names of workspaces in a different format when displayed in the My or Recent Matters lists. This feature can be useful for attorneys or others that may not use the numbering system for clients and matters, but rather prefer the names.  Please be aware that we have noticed it may slow the display of My Matters. We are looking into improving the performance of this feature in our new update.  If you encounter any slowness when using this feature, we suggest a couple of things.  First, that you consider changing your default to Recent Matters if you have lots of Matters in My Matters.  You can always still go to My Matters when needed.   If you still encounter slowness, we suggest that you hold off on using the rename option until we can speed it up.

To change your default to Recent Matters, go to the Matters option, select the Recent Matters tab and then click the link to make it your default.

To use the standard workspace names, check the first radio button as shown below.  This option is accessed at the bottom of your My Matters list.

Failsafe Document Edits  Posted 8/05/10
We provide a backup function so that before any Save as a new version edits are uploaded, we make a copy of the document in My Documents named NetDocuments Recent.  The document copy is always overwritten by subsequent document edits.  It is designed to be a way to retrieve edits of the last document version you have edited, if it can't be found in the normal location.  Only a copy of the last document version is stored there.

For this feature to work, Echoing has to be enabled on the computer.  The copy is not made when echoing is off for security purposes.

If you think you have lost edits on a document you have just edited, you should check in this location.  This document copy has nothing to do with the items in your Echo directory and is not monitored by NetDocuments at all once it is created.

This function works whether you have the Application Integrations installed or not.

Sharing documents outside of your organization?  Posted 5/07/10
We have made changes to the NetBinder to make it work more efficiently, so you will be happy if you are using them and if you are not, give them a try.  They are the primary recommended way to share documents outside of your organization.

To help you learn about them, take a look at the videos we have created and then give them a try.  Check out the NetBinder Sharing and the External User Access videos.  Sharing NetBinders works whether you are using Workspaces or not.

Easier Check-in  Posted 5/07/10
We have made a very nice adjustment to help you check documents in more easily.  You can now just click the Check-in button at the top right of the page and it will check in any closed documents not already checked in.  Before, you had to hold the Control key down first or open the Check-in List dialog.  Using this new Check-in method is preferred because it checks in the document(s) using a background process, so you can continue working while your documents are being checked in.  Give it a try.  

Keep it clean and simple  Posted 2/23/10
Have you ever thought, "you know it might look a lot cleaner and simpler if NetDocuments didn't have all those underlines under the document names and other links".  Well hidden deep down in the catacombs of the Internet Explorer settings, you can change it to have exactly that.  Just go to Tools, Internet Options, click Advanced tab and scroll down about a half page where it says, Underline links and change it to Hover or Never.  Now see what you think of NetDocuments.  Send an email to feedback@netdocuments.com if you like the look and we may even make it permanent at some point.

Stick it on your wall  Posted 2/22/10
We have now updated the Quick Reference Guide.  Print it out double-sided and you will have a handy reference guide when using NetDocuments.  Of course if you are a seasoned NetDocuments user, you probably have it all figured it out by now and may just want to print it for your neighbor who may be new to NetDocuments.  Take a look at it. 


Get your popcorn ready !!!  Posted 2/11/10
We have started creating a set of How-To videos to bring you up to speed or refresh you on various NetDocuments topics.  Go to Help, Training Videos.  We're not sure if any will receive an Oscar, but in our humble opinion, they are very good and worth spending some time with.  More will be added over time, so check back often.
 

Dragging documents from the right to the left navigation pane  Posted 12/17/09
If you want to file one or more documents from the right side to a folder in the left navigation pane, you can just drag it to the new folder.  It will be moved.  You can also check multiple documents and then drag them to the new location in the navigation pane.

Just a reminder that you can also drag to move or copy folders within the Navigation Pane - nice feature ! ! !
 

Where's my document?!  Posted 12/14/09
From time to time we get calls from users asking us where their document went. There are instances in NetDocs where it can appear that a document was lost. This post is meant as a tool for you to be able to locate your document quickly and easily if an upload is interrupted or if your computer experiences a crash while you are working on a document.

In any case, we always recommend that you use the "Save" function frequently in the program you are working with because without the file being saved locally, there is nothing we can do to get it back.  This will ensure your most recent edits have been saved to your computer.

First off, close down all browser windows:

Use the Home and End key on the keyboard to quickly go to the top or bottom of a page.  Posted 11/09/09
If you are scrolled down on a page, you can quickly go to the top of the page by clicking the Home page key shown below with the green arrow.  This can be quicker than using the scroll bar with the mouse.  When selecting multiple documents to perform an action on them, check the documents you want and then click the Home key to choose the NetDocuments Option.

When using the viewer, if all the options are not visible as shown below, just expand the dialog.  Posted 10/27/09
The viewer has several options at the top.  Sometimes some of those options are hidden because the page is too narrow as shown below..  Just drag the right side to the right to expand the dialog and it will display all of the options.

If you have a great idea, just go add it to the Idea Bank. - Posted 10/22/09
We really do watch these suggestions and make them part of the service as much as possible.  Several of the suggestions that rose to the top will be in the update next Thursday the 29th of October.  For example, on list views, you can customize the menu with options YOU want.  Beta users are liking this one a lot.  Give it a try.

If you want to copy text on the new viewer just click the I symbol. - Posted 8/25/09
With the last update, we have introduced a new and improved viewer.  You can zoom it, flip it, search for words, and select the page you want to display.  You can also copy text from the viewer, but you first need to click the I symbol at the top of the page as shown below.

Want to sort items on your Home Page? - Posted 8/25/09
You now have an option to sort items in a section on your Home Page.  Just click the Edit link to the right of the section heading you want to sort.  Then click the Sort All button as shown below. The sort will stay that way until you change it.  If you add items to the section, you will need to click the sort again - it is not dynamic.

Want Word documents to open in only one instance in the taskbar? - Posted 7/24/09
When you open multiple Word documents at once,  they open in different instances of Word.  If you prefer for them to open in one instance, make the following change.
-Click the Office Button in Word and select Word Options at the bottom.
-Click the Advanced option to the left of the page.
-In the Display section, uncheck the option show below.

As an Admin, using the Count option, you can now tell how many documents are in a search result - Posted 6/22/09
If you are a Cabinet Administrator and you do a search within one cabinet, you can now use the Count option to see how many documents meet the search criteria.

Just scan or forward a document into NetDocuments - Posted 6/22/09
You could always forward an email into a folder in NetDocuments, but did you know you can simply forward the documents attachments.  Two ways exist.  First, add NM: any where in the subject of the email prior to forwarding.

Now a new method exists which is useful when scanning and you cannot enter a subject.  Just add the letters NM in front of the @ sign when entering the forwarding email address.  It can be upper or lower case. Example: 1111.2222.3333NM@mail.vault.netvoyage.com 
 

Yes, NetDocuments works fine with Internet Explorer v8.0 - Posted 6/15/09
We have had customers who have asked about whether NetDocuments works OK with IE 8.0.  Yes, it does and IE has some nice new features.  Also, we have been testing NetDocuments with Windows 7 and we have found no issues so if you want to use it when it is released later this year with NetDocuments that would be fine.
 

Did you know users can always add threads to discussions in a NetBinder - Posted 6/05/09
If you share a NetBinder with someone and you do not want them to edit the documents, you give them View Only rights.  You can also place a Discussion document in the NetBinder so those sharing it can make comments related to the documents.  In other words, users always have the ability to add threads or replies to an existing discussion in a NetBinder even when they do not have edit rights to the documents themselves.


NetDocuments Service Status. - Posted 5/29/09
A few users experienced a Server error while using NetDocuments recently.  We had a server malfunction.  That happens rarely, but I thought it would be good to make sure that you are aware of our Service Status page. If you see such an error page or we have other Service issues, they are noted on the Service Status page.

Go to www.netdocuments.com and select the Support option and then Service Status.  You will see a reference to the issue. It describes what to do in this case.  If you are using IE 6 or 7, go to Tools, Internet Options and delete the cookies.  For IE 8, select the Safety option then "uncheck" the option that says "Preserve favorite website data" then click the delete button.  If the NetDocuments Service were to become unavailable, the Status heading would be changed to a red descriptive heading.  Also, the description body would provide updated status information every few minutes.
 

Too many browser tabs? - Posted 5/29/09
Sometimes when using NetDocuments and EMS, etc. you find yourself with more browser tabs than you want.  An easy solution is to right click on the tab you want to keep and select Close Other Tabs - all tabs, except the one you are on will immediately be closed.  This works with IE 7 and 8.  IE 6 did not have tabs.

Searching for dummies or searching made easy.  - Posted 5/28/09
We want you to find your documents, so we have this cool feature now.  If you are using IE 7 or 8, you have the ability to set NetDocuments as your default browser search engine.  Just go to My Account, Workstation and click the link as shown below.

Now in the top right of your browser, you will see NetDocs Search, the next time you open your browser as shown below.  You can enter any search term you want in that field and you will get a NetDocuments Search Results page - no matter where you are in your browser.

But now the really cool thing is that you can also just type the words you want to search into the browser address field itself as if it were the NetDocuments Simple Search page as shown below and it will find your words and highlight them in the NetDocuments Search Results page.

In the example below, based on the words entered, it will find Outlook messages (msg) that have the words agreement and real estate.  So if you are anywhere in the browser or on some NetDocuments page and you want to do a quick search, just enter the words in the browser address bar and presto you have your documents.  Very nice stuff - maybe even to the level of "cool".  Have fun!!

Remember to take a look at the idea bank and vote on the ideas posted there.  - Posted 5/22/09
The idea bank can be accessed at community.netdocuments.com.  It also contains our Forum, Blogs, Partners, and Marketplace with add-on services which have been created to work with NetDocuments.  It is still new and is getting some great stuff with more users being added each day.
 

  
Take a look at the Review option as an alternative to the View option  - Posted 5/18/09
The review option is especially useful if you need to look through a list of documents quickly. The option is available on list view pages after you have selected one or more documents.

Once in the Review page, you will see the following layout.
 

Want your browser favorites to travel with you?  - Posted 5/18/09
You can easily create web links of your favorite web sites and place the links on your Home page so you can access them no matter where you are by just logging into NetDocuments.  These can be favorite news sites, translation sites, information sites, research sites, etc.  Create a section on your Home page for these links.

Enter the URL and a reference name and store the link in your new Web Links section on your Home page.

More ways to find Emails in NetDocuments  - Posted 5/08/09
We have created a special page for searching Emails.  To get to it, click the link on the Simple or Advanced search page as shown below.

If you are looking for emails Sent to you or Sent from you, just click one of the options shown below with the green arrows.  Your search result will be listed with the most recent emails first by email date.

If you want to search for emails Sent to you or Sent from you AND include other search criteria, just click one of the small me links shown by the red circle on the right and then add your additional search criteria.

If you go to this page from EMS, after highlighting a workspace, you will also see the Client and Matter (or whatever your workspaces are based on) and the values will already be filled in as shown by the red circle on the left.

Need a new way to import documents into NetDocuments?  - Posted 5/08/09
If you are using EMS, you can drag any document that you have on your computer into one of the EMS folders in Outlook and then select ND Archive now and it will be moved to NetDocuments.
 

Searching by relative dates - Posted 5/08/09
When using the Advanced Search you can easily search for a document using a relative date by entering a number as in the example below.  So if you want to search for a document that you know was created in the last 7 days, enter -7 as shown below and it will find all documents created in the last 7 days.  The +0 gets entered automatically.

Searching within a Workspace - Posted 4/28/09
While you are in the workspace, it is very simple to search for documents related to that workspace.  On the top right of the workspace is a simple search that always filters for the client, matter, or project.  Just enter the phrase or words you are looking for.  If you know the document is a pdf, then enter pdf.  Also, if you know you are looking for a Word document, enter doc.  You can also enter other values that you know are in the profile of the document for which you are searching.  If you are searching a phrase enter it with quotes around it.

Easily Organize Your Home Page - Posted 4/28/09
Did you know that you can drag sections around on your home page as well documents and other items in those sections.  Just drag to where you want the section or item and when you see the red line, drop it and it will refresh the page.
 

Want an easier way to check in documents? - Posted 4/27/09
This is our favorite method - Hold the Control Key down and then click the green Check In List button and it will check in all closed documents.

Hold the Control key down and click this button after you have edited a document to check it in.  This method is always available and also does a background check in so you can do other things while it is being checked in.  Why wait around and watch the document being checked in.  Nice feature!

Note that you can also just navigate to one of the navigation links shown below and it will automatically check in any closed documents.

Drag and Drop folders in the navigation pane to move or copy them - Posted 4/27/09
If you want to reorganize folders in the navigation pane, just drag them to the new location.  If you want to copy them, just hold the control key down while you are dragging them.  This can work well if you have a set of folders you are using as a template that you want to re-use multiple times.

Is there a way to keep a set of internal users from adding documents to the cabinet? - Posted 4/27/09
If you force foldering and then give those users only View rights to the folders, they cannot add a document into those folders.  The force folder setting is a Cabinet Administration setting.

What is an easy way to locate a document that you have just copied from an existing document? - Posted 4/27/09
Whenever you copy a document from an existing document, the ID of the new document is stored in the History of the existing document as shown below.

Copy the document by right clicking on the document name.

Then go to the History of the existing document and copy/paste the Doc ID and then place it in your search page to find the new document. Of course you can also find it by searching the Document name.