We're pleased to announce the birth of our new baby, version 1.55. This latest release includes:
- User Preferences. Predefined filters can now be set on all tabular data throughout the application. This means that every user can "always hide closed cases" or "only show my events" by default. This new feature is accessible in Tools -> Settings -> Preferences.
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Google Calendar Sync. You can now sync all events assigned to you in MerusCase to your Google Calendar account. Since Google happens to synchronize with Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, and Outlook, you can now synchronize virtually any third party application with your MerusCase calendar. This feature is still considered "beta" and must be turned on in the new Preferences control panel.EDIT: We have since updated the way that we do calendaring through MerusCase and, because of this, we no longer offer 2-way sync with Google Calendar. If you'd like to sync your Google Calendar with MerusCase, we offer options for both Android and iPhone mobile devices. - Improved Word Templating and Merging engine. The Word 2007 engine got a face lift and is now much more forgiving. The Microsoft Word 2007 merge field codes have a tendency to attract stray characters here and there (a shortcoming of Word's merge field implementation), causing some headaches when authoring new templates. MerusCase now seeks out these merge fields more aggressively, making the template authoring process much easier.
- Tritek merge field support. While we were upgrading the Merge feature set, we went ahead and added aliases for most of the Tritek field codes. This means that the majority of your existing Tritek forms can be used within MerusCase by simply re-saving them in Word 2007 format.
- Tighter Integration with GenieDocs. Now when ordering records from Gemini, an entry is automatically recorded in your Case Activity log. We're also actively prompting for the Doctors, Insurers, or Employers you wish to subpoena (from the list of "parties" in your case) and transmitting them to GenieDocs automatically. We're waiting on an update on the GenieDocs side for the magic to complete, but our side of the house is in order. The Gemini folks are planning on releasing an update to GenieDocs supporting these new features in the next few days. Once that is complete, not only will your subpoena requests automatically populate from the list of parties in a case, but when the record is delivered, it will automatically be attached to your case. So, a subpoena order placed today will automatically appear in your Case Activity, attached as a PDF, when it's been retrieved on your behalf.
- A new installer for MerusDrive has been released. The new installer adds support for Windows Vista and Windows 7 and will attempt to verify your credentials during installation. The installer can create a 'Places' shortcut in Microsoft Office and can put a shortcut to MerusDrive on your desktop. If you have experienced any inconsistency recently with your MerusDrive installation or, if you've never used MerusDrive, we recommend running this installer. It definitely won't hurt anything and is likely to help. We've also, incidentally, sorted out the Mac MerusDrive story, so we'll be publishing an installer for Mac OS X in the next month or so. For now, support can walk you through setting this up manually if desired.
- Tasks has been given a head-to-toe update, both within the user experience and under the hood for responsiveness. We believe the feature list and usability to now be on par with the likes of Highrise, Outlook, and Gmail Tasks. In fact, since MerusCase is meant to hold on to all your data for future reference, our data caching and sorting technology can handle thousands of entries, where Highrise or Outlook would experience major slowdowns and even crash in some circumstances.
- Large data sets can now be loaded in the background to eliminate some of the "wait states" encountered when initially loading (or reloading) MerusCase. This is largely an experimental feature because it makes use of cutting edge HTML5 technology (web workers for the propeller heads out there), but has been shown to improve load time and user experience. It can be turned on in the new User Preferences control panel.
Wait. You say this is version 1.55? What happened to 1.54?
Oh, we released it in early March. We apologize for never writing about it proactively. You've probably noticed these new features and have been using them for weeks. However, just for the record, version 1.54 included, among other things:
- Batch Scanning Support. MerusCase can accept as many pages as you can give it, splits the file based on your direction, and drops them in your inbox, where you can preview, drag-and-drop them into the appropriate case, annotate and forward, and apply a description. With this feature, we unequivocally handle scanning and paperless workflows better than the competition.
- Injuries User Interface was improved. We tightened up the experience surrounding injuries quite a bit, removing a tab altogether and combining various data sections.
- The Defense Groupings feature was eliminated and replaced with a simply "party list" attached to each injury. The new approach is snappier and easier to understand.
Great. How do I take advantage of all these new features?
As always, because MerusCase operates as a service and requires no server, these features are pushed out to users like yourself automatically. No updates are required and no DVDs will be shipped.
What's Next on the Horizon?
For our next release, tentatively scheduled for the second week of May, we'll be focusing on solidifying our Google Calendar integration based on user feedback and adding time tracking to case activities/ledger for billing purposes. A savvy applicant attorney on our client list recently shared with us that a lawyer representing the applicant can issue a lien based on hours worked if the worker requests representation
after the defense has already filed and Application for Adjudication. Since the point of MerusCase is to help your bottom line, appropriate tools will be forthcoming. :-) This will also, of course, be of great interest to our defense clients, although many of them have established accounting systems for this task.
We're also considering some effort around pre-defined "global" contacts and tools for consolidating duplicates, but that's still up in the air. If you have any special requests, we're always keen to
hear your feedback.
Some of my colleagues mentioned something about a MerusCase Beta program. What is that about?
As part of our testing process, we offered a pre-release version of 1.55 on a secondary server to a few select customers. We believe this has helped improve our quality assurance process while offering some of our technically savvy "power users" a sneak peak at what's coming. We're always open to have more participants so please
let us know if you'd like to take part in this program in the future.
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