TBDevice - OTHER

Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice)
Other Data Format

Overview

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) software (Other format) can be used to convert fee and cost transactions to be compatible with the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must reside in the same directory as the Tabs3 programs in order to work properly. The data file must reside in the Tabs3 program directory.

Installation

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program must be installed to the directory on your hard disk where the Tabs3 program resides. The Tabs3 program directory can be found in Tabs3 by selecting Help | About Tabs3.

Insert the enclosed CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.

A CD Browser program will automatically start.

Note: If the CD-ROM Autorun feature is disabled, click the Start button, and then click Run... Click the Browse button and navigate to the CD-ROM drive. Double-click the LAUNCH.EXE file. Click OK.

Follow the on-screen instructions to install the selected systems.

Configuring the Data Collection Device Type

Before you can convert any data from a data collection device, Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) must be configured to handle the necessary format. The main purpose of the configuration is to specify the name of the collection device data file and map the input field positions.

From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK.

From the File menu, select the Configure option.

The Configuration window will be displayed. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field and select Other.

Select the Default check box if you want to make the Other device the default in the Conversion and Validation programs.

In the File field, type the name of the file containing the data from the collection device.

Click the drop-down arrow next to the Tcode field to select the transaction code number to be used for the records imported without a tcode specified in the data file.

Specify an amount in the Rate field. Enter "0.00" if you want the default billing rate in Tabs3 to be used. (Note: When 0.00 is specified, the next time you access the Other configuration, the Rate field will be unavailable. If you need to change the rate, you will have to delete the tbdevice.dat file from the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program directory. Doing so will require you to reconfigure all previously configured formats.)

In the Input Field Positions section, map the position of the fields in the data file to the associated fields in Tabs3. For example, if the Client ID is in field position 1, enter 1 in the Client ID Position field. If a field position is not needed, leave the Position field set to "0". Additional information regarding the Input fields can be found in the "Input Fields" section at the end of this document.

If you want the description in the Tabs3 transaction (i.e., "on copier unit nnn") to use all uppercase letters, click the More Config button and select the Upper Case Text check box.

Click OK.

Click the Save button.

Close the Configuration window.

Creating Validation Files

Validation files for the client (CLIENT.TXT), timekeeper (EMPL.TXT) and tcode (TCODE.TXT) files can be created. The client file will contain a record for each active client/matter that exists in the Tabs3 Client file. Use the following procedure to create the validation file:

If the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program is already started, skip to step 3. From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK.

From the File menu, select the Validation option.

The Validation window will be displayed. If the Other device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the Other format.

Click the Create button.

Once the files are created, click OK.

Click Cancel to close the Validation window.

Transfer the files to the data collection device.

Note: Validation files should be recreated and transferred to the data collection device after changes have been made to the Client, Timekeeper, or Tcode files in Tabs3.

Converting the Data

Use the following procedure for conversion:

Copy the file containing the data from the collection device to the Tabs3 directory.

If the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program is already started, skip to step 4. From the Tabs3 & PracticeMaster folder, double-click the Data Collection Device Conversion icon to start the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program.

If the Logon dialog box is displayed, enter your User ID and Password and click OK.

From the File menu, select the Convert option.

The Conversion window will be displayed. If the Other device is not displayed in the Device field, click the drop-down arrow next to the Device field to select the Other format.

Verify that the file name to be converted is displayed in the File field.

Click the Convert button. The program will look for the file name specified in the Configuration window. If the file is found to contain data, the program will read transactions from the file and increment the Processed count for every transaction that is read. All transactions that are successfully converted will increment the Added count and will be written to the Tabs3 Remote data files (RMT*.*).

Note: A TBDEVICE.LOG file is created and will contain any records that were not converted. If no errors were encountered during the conversion, then the TBDEVICE.LOG file will include a start and finish time.

Note: If you are using a full user system, the data file containing the logged data will automatically be deleted when the conversion is complete to avoid double posting of the data. However, when using a trail system, the data file is not deleted.

When the process is complete, the data files will have been created allowing you to merge the information into Tabs3 using the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program. To merge the files, start Tabs3. From the Integration Task Folder, select Merge Tabs3 Remote Data. This program will merge the remote data files created by the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program (RMT*.*) with your main Tabs3 data files. The Tabs3 Help includes complete details regarding the Merge Tabs3 Remote Data program.

Note: You can change the transaction code and input field positions used by the Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) program by selecting File | Configure.

Startup Options

Command line options can be used when starting Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) to bypass the User ID prompt and automatically execute the Convert and Validation programs thereby eliminating user interaction. These startup options can be quite useful when implemented as part of a batch file.

The following are examples of the available startup options:

Bypass the User ID prompt C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE ALICE

Convert C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /CONVERT OTHER

Validation C:\Program Files\Tabs3\TBDEVICE.EXE /VALIDATION OTHER

Note: The normal "sign in" routine is used when Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) is started with the "/CONVERT" or "/VALIDATION" options. If you have not specified a User ID on the command line, you will be required to enter the User ID. If password security has been defined, you will also be required to enter the password before the Convert or Validation program will proceed.

The Tabs3 Device Interface (TBDevice) Help includes complete details regarding Startup Options.

Input Fields

Field	Description
Client	Up to 12 characters.
Matter	Optional field. Up to 12 characters.
Tcode	Up to 3 digits preceded by a "$" for costs (trans code cannot be greater than 999 in value).
Timekeeper	Up to 3 characters (can either be timekeeper number or timekeeper initials).
Date	Must be in the mm/dd/yy or the mm/dd/yyyy format.
Category	Optional Tabs3 billing category for fees.
Phase	Must be in the format XXNNN, where XX is any single or double uppercase letter combination (excluding A and E) and NNN is 3 digits.
Activity	Must be in the format XNNN, where X is either the letter A (activity code for fees) or E (expense code for costs), and NNN is 3 digits.
Rate	Dollar format up to 9999.99.
Hours (fees) Units (costs)	Decimal format up to 9999.99 maximum (i.e., 1.25 is 1 hr. 15 min.).
Description	Up to a maximum of 4,900 characters.
Amount	Billable dollar amount up to 9999999.99.
Record Type	Not used.

Notes

Each field is delimited by a comma. The quotation marks at the beginning and end of each field are optional with the exception of the Description field. The Description field should begin and end with quotes (i.e., “text”) so that commas in the Description field are not mistaken for a field delimiter. Also, embedded quotes in the Description text should be single quotes so they are not mistaken for boundary quotes (i.e., “this is a sample of ‘quoted’ text, with a comma within the text”).
The Client ID can be up to 12 characters in length. It must precisely match Client IDs that are entered into Tabs3.
If the Tabs3 client is not a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code is converted and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are ignored. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the transaction code field is ignored (except for the “$” necessary to denote cost transactions) and the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are converted instead.
Although most task based billing formats do not require a Phase/Task Code for cost transactions, Tabs3 requires the presence of both a Phase/Task Code and Expense Code when importing transactions for Task Based Billing clients. If you are unsure what Phase/Task Code to use, simply use a default Phase/Task Code such as L100 for all cost transactions.
When fee and cost transactions are merged into Tabs3 and the Rate field is zero, then the Tabs3 Merge program will supply the default rate assigned in the Tabs3 client record.
When fee and cost transactions are merged into Tabs3 and both Hourly Rate and Amount fields are zero, then the Tabs3 Merge program will supply a default Rate and calculate the Amount automatically.
When the data is merged into Tabs3, the Client ID, Timekeeper, and Transaction Code fields are verified as being valid. If the Tabs3 client is a Task Based Billing Client, the Phase/Task Code and Activity Code fields are also verified as being valid. Transactions with invalid fields are rejected and a list of rejected transactions can be printed along with an error code indicating why it was rejected.

Sample Validation Files

Examples of the validation files created by the “Other” format are shown below.

CLIENT.TXT – Client File

100.00,"Phillip/Marcus","Real Estate Acquisition"
101.00, "Williams/John","State v. Williams"
102.00, "Federated Casualty, LTD.","Andrew C. Gilbert v. Federated Casualty"
200.01, "Peterson Insurance Co.","General Legal Counsel"

EMPL.TXT – Timekeeper File

1, "Michael L. Jensen"
2, "Jennifer A. Martin"
3, "Ronald P. Anderson"

TCODE.TXT – Transaction Code File

1, "Office conference with"
2, "Outside conference with"
3, "Telephone conference with"
4, "Open file"

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