Lesson One - Organize

Lesson one provides an overview of key terms used in CaseMap, some tips for using the product successfully, helps you create a case and start populating spreadsheets with data to organize your case knowledge.

 

hmtoggle_plus1Learn the four basic terms
•Spreadsheet — The different working areas in of a CaseMap file that display in the main window pane. Access spreadsheets by clicking icons in the Favorites pane under Case Shortcuts. Spreadsheet views are the basis for creating reports in CaseMap.
•Field — The columns that display in spreadsheet view are known as fields. For example, the Date & Time field stores the date and time when each case fact occurred. A record is made up of fields. A spreadsheet record contains multiple field data.
•Record — The information in a case that describes a particular fact, object, issue, question, or research item. Records display in spreadsheet views as rows, running from left to right.
•Cell — A cell is where you type data or select a data value. A cell is where a field and record intersect in the spreadsheet.

 
hmtoggle_plus1Learn four more important terms
•Link — A connection between two case elements, e.g., a connection between a fact and the issues on which that fact bears.
•Search — A way to explore your case information. CaseMap offers two primary search methods: filtering and tagging. Filtering limits the rows in your spreadsheet to those that meet criteria you set. Tagging marks the spreadsheet rows that meet your search criteria. Tagged records display with an icon to the left of each row.
•Object — In CaseMap, an "object" refers to the people, organizations, documents, and other things in your case. When you read "object," think "cast of characters".
•Short Name — Short Names are special names that you (or CaseMap) assign to each object and issue in your case. Short Names help you make links between various types of case information.

 
hmtoggle_plus1Use these spreadsheets to get started

When you first create a case, you will want to enter data in the following three spreadsheets and learn how to use the basic tools and feature for each.

•Objects — Use the Objects spreadsheets to create and organize the cast of characters. The characters are the people, documents, organizations, and other things that are important to know about in the case.
•Issues — Use the Issues spreadsheet to organize and explore an outline of claims and arguments.
•Facts — Use the Facts spreadsheet to lay out the chronology of case facts.

 
hmtoggle_plus1View three tips for using CaseMap successfully

The following three tips are essential for using CaseMap successfully.

•Start a new case when you take a new case

The best way to get the most out of CaseMap is to put it to use during the first days of a case. Start a new case when you have the first conversation with a prospective client. Long before the first box of case documents arrives, you can use CaseMap to organize early case knowledge and to plan discovery.

•Always use short names

Short Names are special, unique identifiers that are assigned to each person, place, or thing in your case. Short names also link your data in CaseMap spreadsheets so you can search and view information faster and create meaningful reports. Don't worry about creating short names, CaseMap will do it for you. See About short names.

•Right-click a lot

The two most important locations that you can right-click within CaseMap are field (column) headers and within cells. Each field header displays a Tool Tip with hints that provide quick information on what to do in a field. Simply place your mouse pointer over a field header (title) to display the Tool Tip.

 
hmtoggle_plus1Create a test case

Open CaseMap and click Start a new case on the Getting Started with CaseMap pane. The New Case Wizard will guide you through the steps of creating a new, empty case for you.

 

When you create a new case, CaseMap helps you by:

•Automatically generating a set of default fields for each spreadsheet. You do not have to use all of these fields (columns), but they are available for use if needed. The default fields provided by CaseMap should handle most of your data entry needs. It is also possible to create custom fields as needed. See also About spreadsheets and About spreadsheet fields.
•Launching the Case Jumpstart Wizard when you complete the New Case Wizard. Once your new case is created you can start building your cast of characters and entering information right away. The wizard provides different pages for you to enter the various types of people involved in your case. In the wizard, click the categories on the left or use the Next and Back buttons on the bottom of the page to navigate the categories. See also Case Jumpstart Wizard.
•Automatically populating the appropriate spreadsheet in your new case. You can now add details for the people, documents, organizations, etc., using the individual object type spreadsheets. You can find shortcuts to all the spreadsheets in your CaseMap file by clicking All Shortcuts in the Navigation pane. See also About objects.
•Providing an interactive, three-step work flow learning tool that offers CaseMap best practices and tips for how to organize a case. Place your mouse pointer over each work flow step (Organize, Analyze, and Report) to view each set of tips. Click on a link to view additional details. See also Using the Getting Started Tips.

 
hmtoggle_plus1Use short names to link data

Short names are unique names created by CaseMap for each object entered in a case and are what make linking case data possible. CaseMap automatically creates short names from the Full Name field entry. When you type using short names, CaseMap automatically identifies text that already has a short name created for it and links the object short name with case information (documents, facts, questions, research, and issues). When using short names, CaseMap automatically does a significant amount of the linking for you.

You can create your own object short names or modify CaseMap's default short name as needed. Fields that store short names and link to other case information are Description fields, identified by the chain link icon CM_chain_link_field_icon in the field header.

Using short names is not required; you can enter data without using short names. However, not using short names limits the power of CaseMap's primary feature: linking and connecting case knowledge elements between spreadsheets. This feature is what allows you to search and view data in various ways at a moment's notice so you can locate essential information and create reports that shape and support your case strategy.

For more information, see About short names.
hmtoggle_plus1Enter data with ease

You have created your new case; now you are ready to enter information about the case into spreadsheets to organize case knowledge. To enter data, simply type information directly into the cells of each spreadsheet record. To add a new record, press the Insert key or click File > New.

Information is automatically saved as you navigate to a new cell / field / spreadsheet. If you need to undo your last edit, press the ESC key before leaving the cell.

For more information, see About entering data, Entering Objects, and Entering Facts.
hmtoggle_plus1Learn about dates and times

CaseMap's date fields accommodate common dates (mm/dd/yyyy by default). You also have the option of using the Fuzzy Dates and the Date Stamper tool.

A fuzzy date is a partial date entry. You may need to enter a fuzzy date when you know the month and year, but not the day. Or perhaps you only know the year. CaseMap allows you to enter question marks in place of the missing date.

In CaseMap, typing 99 in the Date & Time field will display as ??/??/1999. Likewise, typing 8/99 is also valid. CaseMap displays it as 08/??/1999 and sorts it as August 1, 1999.

You can also enter date ranges in date fields. Date ranges are sorted based on the first date entered. An example of a valid date range is: 7/1/08 to 7/4/08. You can also use a hyphen to define the date range: 7/1/08 - 7/4/08.

The Date Stamper tool is used to assist with date and time entries by setting the date and time, or editing it if already displaying within a field. Using this tool is optional, but it is helpful for setting time zone abbreviations when cases include facts occurring in various parts of the country or internationally. When you click in a Date & Time field a button display to the right of the cell, which launches the Date Stamper.

CM_date_time_button

You can also enter times in CaseMap’s date fields. You have the option to display the times in 12-hour or 24-hour time. Along with the fuzzy dates, you can enter fuzzy times such as 4:??.  Your date ranges can also include times.

To choose how your dates display, e.g., whether the day of the week displays 24-hour time, or to change the date format (mm/dd/yyyy), select Options on the Tools menu, and click on the Date tab.

For more information, see Setting the date and time for facts.
hmtoggle_plus1Change your spreadsheet view

You can change how the data is displayed on your screen, which is very important for two reasons:

•Changing the spreadsheet view helps you organize your thinking while you are viewing the data on screen.
•Since reports are what- you-see-is-what you-get (WYSIWYG), modifying the spreadsheet gives you control over the appearance of reports.

Right-click on its field header (title) and select Hide Field on the menu.

When you hide a field, you're not losing any of the data, you're just temporarily removing it from view.
1.Right-click any field header and select Insert Field(s) on the menu. A list of available fields will be displayed.
2.Then check the box(es) next to the fields you want to add to your spreadsheet and click OK.

Left -click on the field header, hold your mouse button down and drag it.

Release your mouse button to drop the field in a location in the spreadsheet.

For more information, see Changing spreadsheet elements, Creating spreadsheet views, Inserting/hiding fields, and Moving fields.
hmtoggle_plus1Learn about the Object spreadsheets

CaseMap's Objects spreadsheets are where you organize lists of the persons, organizations, documents, and other things your case is about. Use Objects spreadsheets to produce Document Indexes, Exhibit Lists, Witness Lists, and Cast of Characters reports.

Use the Case Shortcuts pane to determine which Object spreadsheets you view. Favorites include All Objects, Persons, Organizations, and Documents. Display all Object spreadsheets by clicking the All Shortcuts bar in the Case Shortcuts pane.

•All Objects spreadsheet

When your view is set to All Objects, the spreadsheet displays a mixture of persons, organizations, documents and other objects. The fields in the All Objects spreadsheet are common to all object types.

•Objects sub-spreadsheets

When your view is set to a specific type of object, like Documents, the spreadsheet displays only items/objects of that specific type.

When your Object spreadsheet is set to display only one type of object, it will include fields that are specific to that object type. For example, when your view is set to Documents, the spreadsheet will include the default fields CaseMap creates for documents, e.g., Bates-Begin and Bates-End.

CaseMap's Add Objects On the Fly feature makes it easy to pop new objects into the case as you enter facts and other descriptive information.

If you are entering facts and need to refer to a person or organization that has not been entered into the case as an object (and so has no short name), you can easily do this on the fly. And you do not have to change to an Objects spreadsheet either. You can do it from the Facts spreadsheet in any description cell, like Fact Text. To try this, see Entering Objects.

For more information, see About Objects and Entering Objects.
hmtoggle_plus1Learn about the Facts spreadsheet

The easiest way to add facts to the Facts spreadsheet is to cull them from documents. Over 30 litigation support programs have integrated with CaseMap, incorporating a Send to CaseMap feature.

The most common format for electronic documents is PDF. CaseMap's DocPreviewer add-in program enables setting up documents as objects and culling linked facts from them. To learn more, see About PDFs and DocPreviewer.

You can also try this yourself using the Hawkins v. Anstar example case in CaseMap. Follow the steps in the Sending Facts from PDFs topic. Using the Send to CaseMap tool, the PDF file will automatically become an object in CaseMap with a short name. And the file will be included in the Documents spreadsheet. Selected text in the PDF file will automatically display in the Fact Text field in the Facts spreadsheet.

You can also use DocPreviewer's Send to CaseMap feature while in Review Mode and you are viewing documents already linked into your CaseMap case. The DocPreviewer PDF Review Wizard will guide you through reviewing linked PDFs and the steps to add a new fact to the Facts spreadsheet while doing so. Follow the steps in the Reviewing PDFs topic.

You can add new facts directly in the Facts spreadsheet by clicking the New Record button (upper left corner) and then clicking Fact.  Or you can press the Insert key to add a new fact. All new fact records are added at the bottom of the Facts spreadsheet. In the Fact Text field, type in the new fact information.

To re-sort facts to chronological order by date, click Refresh Table on the Records menu or use the keyboard shortcut F5. Fact records with a date of To Be Determined (TBD) sort to the bottom of the spreadsheet until a date is entered.

For more information, About facts and Entering facts.

 
hmtoggle_plus1Understand about linking

CaseMap links data in two manners: linking data together between spreadsheets using short names or linking (attaching) a source file in a network directory folder to spreadsheet record.

CaseMap makes it easy to establish internal relationships among the different types of information you capture in a case. For example, you can link a fact to the persons and organizations the fact is about, to the documents or depositions from which it is sourced, and to the issues on which it bears.

Once you make links, you can use them to explore and analyze your case. For example, as you view the Issues spreadsheet, you can display a list of the facts linked to any issue with just two mouse clicks on a # field.

CaseMap makes linking as easy as possible. Most linking is accomplished for you automatically as you enter case data using short names.

Any field that has a chain link icon CM_chain_link_field_icon recognizes short names and you will benefit greatly by using short names whenever appropriate in these description fields.

For more information, see About short names.

The most common linking task is linking case issues to facts, people, documents, other things, questions, and research using the Issue Linking Tool.

In CaseMap, it is useful to extract lists of facts linked to various issues in the case. The same is true for documents that have been laboriously issue-coded. The easy way to do issue linking on any spreadsheet in CaseMap (except the Issues spreadsheet where you define the issues) is by using the Issue Linking Tool.

The Issue Linking pane allows you to apply issues records while working in a spreadsheet. To open the Linking Issues pane, click the Issue Linking button on the toolbar. From the Issue Linking pane, you can also add a new issue that will automatically be added to the Issues spreadsheet. To try this, see Analyzing and linking documents topic and follow the steps To link document records to case issues.

A primary feature of CaseMap is that you can link relevant documents to the Documents spreadsheets and Facts spreadsheet using the Send to CaseMap feature (part of CaseMap's DocPreviewer add-in program). The Send to CaseMap feature is integrated me in 30+ litigation support programs, like Adobe® Acrobat® and Reader®, and LexisNexis Concordance®.

To learn more, see About PDFs and DocPreviewer, About the Send to CaseMap tool, Sending facts from PDFs, Sending facts from Concordance.

 
hmtoggle_plus1Define case issues

When you accept a case, start outlining your issues in the Issues spreadsheet so you can quickly develop a hierarchy of claims, counterclaims, and any other known arguments. The Issues spreadsheet can hold as many levels or sub-issues as you want.

To try this, see the About Issues and Entering Issues topics.

 

related_topics_buttonRelated Topics

 

 

Need additional help? Email the CaseMap Support team at: casemap.support@lexisnexis.com, or contact a support representative at 1-800-833-3346 (option 3). The CaseMap Support team is available between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday - Friday.

Copyright © 2015 LexisNexis. All rights reserved.