When it comes to organizing your clients, transactions, statements, and more, the Quick Clicks pane in Tabs3 Billing and PracticeMaster provides an easy way to navigate and customize how you interact with records.
The Using Quick Clicks video demonstrates how to utilize filters, QuickViews, and column layouts, which means that you can save time by arranging information in a way that is relevant to you. The Quick Clicks pane is available on all lists and in the Matter Manager.
Watch this three-minute video here:
Training Videos can be accessed at Tabs3.com/videos. You can also access the videos while in the software by selecting Help | Training Videos.
If you are new to using lists in PracticeMaster or Tabs3 Billing, creating and using QuickViews can help save you time by filtering and sorting information just the way that you need.
QuickViews are a powerful tool that combine a Filter, Column Layout, and Sort Order. By accessing the QuickView from the Quick Clicks or from a tab at the top of the list, you can easily find the information you are looking for at the click of a button.
Watch this three-minute video here:
Training Videos can be accessed at Tabs3.com/videos. You can also access the videos while in the software by selecting Help | Training Videos.
If you need to find data in PracticeMaster based on just a word or phrase, we have you covered! There are several ways to search in PracticeMaster to find what you need.
Search Box
The search box, which is available on the List tab for all files, the Matter 
Manager, and the Graphical Calendar, can be used to quickly search for all records that contain a specific string of text in any of the fields included in the currently selected column layout. You can optionally search for different text in multiple fields at one time. You can enter text directly in the Search List field, or click the button to show a list of fields for more specific searching. If the desired field is not shown, click the Fields button for a list of all fields in the current column layout.
Conflict of Interest
PracticeMaster’s Conflict of Interest Search (Search | Conflict of Interest 
Search) provides robust searching capabilities including whole word or partial word searching and word order, phonetic searching, and record drill-down capabilities on reports.
Files searched in PracticeMaster include the Client file, Contact file, fee transactions, cost transactions, Calendar, Journal (including email records, call logs, research tasks, and phone timer records), Document Management (including linked documents), and Area of Practice files. If PracticeMaster is integrated with Tabs3, all fields in PracticeMaster that exist in both programs (such as Miscellaneous Lines in the client file), will contain information from Tabs3 in addition to existing information in PracticeMaster.
Note: A field must be marked as Include in Conflict Search in File Maintenance (Maintenance | File Maintenance) in order to be included in the Conflict of Interest Search.
Document Search
The Document Search program (Search | Document Search) is a powerful
program used to search the contents of Document Management documents, email attachments, and linked documents associated with PracticeMaster records. Although the Conflict of Interest also searches documents, the Document Search provides additional options to narrow your search to specific clients, document types, and/or users.
Searching capabilities include whole word or partial word searching; phonetic, stemming, and fuzzy searching; and record drill-down capabilities on reports.
Contact Search
The Contact Search (Search | Contact Search) helps you quickly find a 
single contact so that you can drill down to a phone number or other information for the contact. This search only looks for hits in Contact fields. Searching capabilities include partial word searching, phonetic searching, and record drill-down capabilities on reports.
Note: A field must be marked as Include in Contact Search in File Maintenance (Maintenance | File Maintenance) in order to be included in the Contact Search.
Find and Replace
On any List tab, the Find and Replace program (Edit | Find and Replace) 
can be used to find one or more records containing specific text, and optionally replace the text with a new value. You can search the current list or just highlighted records, all fields or specific fields.
Find and Replace is a quick and easy alternative to updating multiple records with the same information one by one.
Data can always be found using the various search options in PracticeMaster. Learn more about the various PracticeMaster search features in the PracticeMaster Search Guide.
We have several clients with the same client name, so searching for them brings up multiple results. Is there any way to make the search more unique?
The Name Search can be used to access client records by name. When a new matter is created, the Name Search field automatically uses the first 16 characters of the client’s name as the default value. As additional matters for the same client are created, this field will repeat the same 16 character string.
If your firm typically looks clients up by the Name Search value, you can enter a unique value into this field to make it easier to find an exact match for your search value.
To change the Name Search field
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Client.
- Select the desired Client ID.
- In the Name Search field, enter a unique name.
- Press Ctrl+S.
If you need to find data in PracticeMaster based on just a word or phrase, we have you covered! There are several ways to search in PracticeMaster to find what you need.
Search Box
The search box, which is available on the List tab for 
all files, the Matter Manager, and the Graphical Calendar, can be used to quickly search for all records that contain a specific string of text in any of the fields included in the currently selected column layout. You can optionally search for different text in multiple fields at one time. You can enter text directly in the Search List field, or click the 
button to show a list of fields for more specific searching. If the desired field is not shown, click the Fields button for a list of all fields in the current column layout.
Conflict of Interest
PracticeMaster’s Conflict of Interest Search (Search | Conflict of Interest Search) provides
robust searching capabilities including whole word or partial word searching and word order, phonetic searching, and record drill-down capabilities on reports.
Files searched in PracticeMaster include the Client file, Contact file, fee transactions, cost transactions, Calendar, Journal, Document Management, and Area of Practice files, which include e-mail records, call logs, research tasks, and phone timer records. If PracticeMaster is integrated with Tabs3, all fields in PracticeMaster that exist in both programs (such as Miscellaneous Lines in the client file), will contain information from Tabs3 in addition to existing information in PracticeMaster.
Note: A field must be marked as Include in Conflict Search in File Maintenance (Maintenance | File Maintenance) in order to be included in the Conflict of Interest Search.
Document Search
The Document Search program (Search | Document Search) is a powerful program used to 
search the contents of Document Management documents, e-mail attachments, and linked documents associated with PracticeMaster records.
Searching capabilities including whole word or partial word searching; phonetic, stemming, and fuzzy searching; and record drill-down capabilities on reports. Additionally, you can narrow your search to specific dates, clients, document types, and/or users.
Contact Search
The Contact Search (Search | Contact Search) lets you quickly find a single contact so that 
you can drill down to a phone number or other information for the contact. Searching capabilities including partial word searching, phonetic searching, and record drill-down capabilities on reports.
Note: A field must be marked as Include in Contact Search in File Maintenance (Maintenance | File Maintenance) in order to be included in the Contact Search.
Find and Replace
On any List tab, the Find and Replace program (Edit | Find and Replace) can be used to 
find one or more records containing specific text, and optionally replace the text with a new value. You can search the current list or just highlighted records, all fields or specific fields.
Find and Replace is a quick and easy alternative to updating multiple records with the same information one by one.
Data can always be found using the various search options in PracticeMaster. Learn more about the various PracticeMaster search features in the PracticeMaster Search Guide.
As you know, one of the greatest features of our online newsletter format is that you can search our entire newsletter archive for quick tips, Q&As, and other helpful articles.
If your results are not what you expected, then try our top five tips for getting the most out of your search:
- Use quotation marks for exact phrases
- If you want more specific results for a certain phrase, then enter that phrase in quotes so the results will only include articles with the same words in the same order. For example, searching for practice management could return 19 results, while searching for “practice management” could return 2 results.
- Do not use common words and punctuation
- Try not to use common words (e.g., a, and) and contractions (e.g., do not instead of don’t, cannot instead of can’t) as they can limit your search results.
- Do not worry about capitalization
- Search engines disregard capitalization, so whether you search for print, Print, or PRINT, they will all return the same results.
- Drop the suffixes
- It’s best to enter the base word so that you don’t exclude relative pages. For example, client and not clients, vendor and not vendors.
- Use keywords strategically
- Search engines do not read sentences the way people do. Asking questions in the search, such as “How do I print statements,” will not receive great results, whereas searching for “print statements” will provide better and more relevant hits.
If you can’t find what you’re searching for, send us an e-mail at newsletter@tabs3.com to submit your idea for a future article!
As a company, we take great pride in the documentation we provide for our software. There are multiple resources for finding information about how the software works. The following provides information on the various documentation resources, including how to access them and the primary uses for each resource.
Help Files
While in the software, Help can be accessed via 
, F1, or Help | Help Topics. Help files provide topics on the following:
- Field by field information on the program, including any potential limitations
- General procedures
- Quick links to Knowledge Base Articles, Guides, Report Packs, and Training Videos
There are multiple ways to find information in the Help:
- Opening the help will open a Help topic for the specific window that is currently open. For example, let’s say you are on the Setup tab of the Client file, and you want to find out more information about how to set up Fee Compensation Rules. Pressing F1 will open the Help topic specifically for the Setup tab of the Client file. From here, click the Fee Compensation Rules link to start reading about how this option is set up.
- The Contents tab on the Help window can be used to find information grouped by subject. For example, in the PracticeMaster Help, the Contents tab provides expandable sections on Data Entry, Calendar, Journal, Reports, Documents, File Maintenance, and more.
- The Index tab on the Help window can be used to jump to topic keywords. For example, let’s say you are in General Ledger Software and want more information on reconciling your bank statement. On the Index tab, enter “reconciliation” and multiple topics will be listed to choose from.
- The Search tab on the Help window can be used for more finite searches, such as words or phrases that do not have a keyword. Optionally use quotes to search for an exact phrase and/or select the check boxes at the bottom of the pane to Search previous results, Match similar words, or Search titles only.
- Use the Favorites tab on the Help window to bookmark Help topics you may visit frequently.
Knowledge Base
The Knowledge Base can be accessed from within the software via Help | Internet Resources | Knowledge Base or at support.Tabs3.com. The Knowledge Base provides articles on the following:
- Overviews
- Best Practices
- “How to” articles
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Troubleshooting specific scenarios
- Troubleshooting errors
- More in-depth information on various features
Like the Help, the Knowledge Base contains Contents, Index, and Search tabs to help you find exactly what you need. However, the Search tab in the Knowledge Base can be used to Search by Article ID or Search all Text. Use a Search Type of exact phrase, all of the words, or any of the words. There are close to 800 Knowledge Base Articles.
Quick Guides
Guides can be accessed via Help | Documentation, or at Tabs3.com/docs. Quick Guides spotlight basic information on specific features and range from 3 to 9 pages.
Guides
Guides can be accessed via Help | Documentation, or at Tabs3.com/docs. Guides provide the following:
- Detailed information on various features
- Basic software setup
- Various procedures
Guides range from 11 to 103 pages. There are more than 25 Guides, including Quick Guides.
Report Packs
Report packs can be accessed via the 
icon in the Help topic, via Help | Documentation, or at Tabs3.com/docs. Report packs provide the following:
- Purpose of each report
- How fields on reports are calculated
- Examples of reports
Report packs range from 39 to 164 pages.
Tip: You can use KB Article R11697, “Report Finder: Info in Tabs3 Reports,” to help determine which report will suit your needs.
Training Videos
Training Videos can be accessed via the 
icon in the Help topic, via Help | Training Videos, or at Tabs3.com/videos. Training Videos provide audiovisual tutorials of specific software features. There are more than 110 training videos. Videos are available for Tabs3 Billing and PracticeMaster and range from 1 to 20 minutes.
Over the next few months, we will go through some of the best features of our new online newsletter format. This month, we’re going to walk you through how to search for topics.
To search for articles
- On the rightmost side of any page on the Newsletter site, enter your search term in the “Search the site” box.
- Click
, or press Enter.
The results of your search will be shown with an indicator of how many articles include that word or phrase.
If you want more specific results for a certain phrase, then enter that phrase in quotes so the results will only include articles with the same words in the same order. For example, searching for practice management could return 19 results, while searching for “practice management” could return 1 result.
If you can’t find what you’re searching for, send us an e-mail at newsletter@tabs3.com to submit your idea for a future article!
