Converting to the New Interface

NB: The classic interface has been fully retired, so this page will not help you. We just didn't have the heart to delete it after all the work put in to creating it.

This help topic covers configuration changes administrators should consider when a site is converted to the new interface, and some of the functional differences between the interfaces.

Sites using the classic interface can convert to the new interface at any time.

Watch the video (or skip the background stuff and start with the actual clicks).

Cost to Convert

There is no cost to convert to the new interface unless an agency chooses to pay LegalServer staff to do the conversion.

The staff time required to convert will vary widely depending on a site administrator's familiarity with the site editing tools and the number of changes desired. Based on feedback, a site administrator with decent site editing skills should expect to spend approximately 4 hours of uninterrupted time to implement the changes outlined on this page.

LegalServer staff can convert a site for $450. Note that converting a demo site, then later converting a live site is $900. Training on the new interface, which would typically be done via web meeting is charged at the normal training rate.

No Changes to Data

The new interface changes the visual appearance of the site, not any of the underlying data. Existing customizations will continue to work.

Enabling the New Interface

On the Admin / Site Settings page, change the "Template Style" setting from "LS3" to "LS4". You may need to refresh the page or move to another page to see the change. If you do not see this setting, send an email to support@legalserver.org requesting the change, specifying if it is for the demo or live site.

Functional Changes in the New Interface

Aside from aesthetics, the new interface has some additional features. The primary changes are noted here.

Sidebar moves from Right to Left

Although not a functional change, we note here that the sidebar (called the taskbar in the legacy interface) has moved from the right side of pages to the left. There is no option to have sidebar links and information displayed on the right.

Active Filters on Lists are Displayed

Knowing which filters are active on a list in the classic interface requires clicking "Show Filters" and reviewing the various filter options. In the new interface, active filters are displayed in the filter bar. Here, you can see that the Cases list is currently filtered by disposition and office:

Active filters have an "X" icon that allows that filter to be easily removed.

Showing filters on lists has also been changed to display the available filters as a list of categories on the left, options for the currently selected category in the center, and the active filters on the right:

Actions Menu Replaces Taskbar Links

The new interface can optionally display links and information in a left side bar, but the rightside taskbar tabs and links have primarily been moved to the new Actions menu. Like the taskbar, the Actions menu is context sensitive and displays links relevant to the page you are on. In this example from a case, you can see the 'tabs' from the taskbar are clickable categories. The example also shows use of the search box available in the Actions menu.

Floating Search Bar

The Search bar in the new interface will float at the top of the page as you scroll down long pages. This places the Search menu, Actions menu, and other links in that bar within easy reach without needing to scroll back to the top of a long page. This example is from a case, and also shows how the snapshot element on the left also floats at the top of the page after scrolling down.

Profile Views for Cases and Home Pages

The new interface supports displaying different Profile Views when a user visits a case or displays their home page. In addition to the default main profile, an agency may have, for example, a view for family law cases, but a different view for housing cases. The default view someone sees when looking at a case can be based on user preference, user role, or problem code. See Profile Views for more information.

Quickbar

The Quickbar provides links to selected processes (such as timeslips) and allows those processes to be completed in a popup window, without needing to leave the current page. For example, while viewing your calendar you could add a timeslip without needing to leave the calendar page or opening the timekeeping page in another browser tab.

The Quickbar is enabled by default, but will not display unless at least one process is configured to display. Dynamic create processes (including intake and prescreen processes) have a "Show in Quickbar" setting. Auxiliary processes like Add Case Note can't be shown in the Quickbar.

The Quickbar is best suited for short, one-step processes like timeslips.

There is also an associated user role permission "Front Page - View Quickbar (When Available)" that is enabled by default for all user roles except the "Pro Bono Restricted Access" role. Sites using External Permissions for user roles will need to enable the permission in the external section if desired.

Admin Page

The Admin page contains the same links in the new interface, but instead of a single 'flat' page, clickable categories are on the left side and a search box is available to locate links. In this example, 'forms' has been entered in the search box and narrowed the list of pages to one:

Required Changes

Calendar Style

If your site is still using the old style calendar, go to Admin > Calendar Settings and change "Use New Style Calendar" to Yes.

The old style calendar functions in the new interface, but things like the Next and Previous links in Week and Month view don't work properly. We will not be doing development to fix any quirks for the old style calendar.

Quick Case Copy

If your site is using the Quick Case Copy feature (sometimes called "Quick Client Add"), the process may disappear from the Actions menu in the new interface without some adjustment. In the classic interface, this intake process needed to be inactive to prevent it from appearing on the home page along with other intake process links (and prescreen links). In the new interface, it needs to be active, and set to not appear on the home page.

Find the process on the Processes tab of the Admin / Processes, Forms, and Profiles page. Remove the default Active filter on that list so you can see it. Edit the process, set Active to Yes, Show on Quickbar to No, and Show Process Link in Module Static Profile to No, then Continue to save the changes.

Edit the Side/Actions Elements section of the Main Profile to make this process appear in the Actions menu (if your site is using Menu Boxes for the Side/Actions elements, edit the Menu Boxes). Two elements can display Quick Case Copy (and New Case for Client and New Subordinate Case): 1) the legacy Link Boxes element, or 2) the Case Copy Custom element. Edit the element being used, select the process in the appropriate section and add the desired link display text. The display text does not need to be the same as the name of the process.

Recommended Changes

The changes in this section are highly recommended. Although a site will function with the new interface without these changes, the visual anomalies without these changes are significant.

Replace Snapshot with Snapshot New for Cases

The Snapshot element that displays a summary of case information in the rightside taskbar in the classic interface does not display well in the new interface. Administrators will want to replace it with the Snapshot New element. The existing element can be replaced on the Profiles tab of the Admin / Processes, Forms, and Profiles page by editing the Main Profile. In the Side / Action Elements section of the main profile, add a new element, then select "Snapshot New". Drag the new element to the same spot as the existing Snapshot element, then drag the Snapshot element into the Disabled section.

The Side Bar section of a typical main profile in the new interface contains three display elements:

All other elements will be in the Action Menu and optionally the View Menu section. None of the above elements are required. A site may choose to not display a side bar at all on cases, and can leave the Side Bar section empty to achieve that.

Move Side Bar Elements into Actions and Views Menus

Although the side bar can continue to contain links from various elements, administrators will likely want to take advantage of the new "Actions" and "Views" menu available in the new interface.

Comparison of the Side/Action Elements sections of a generic Main Profile page in the classic (left) and new interface (right):

Administrators may want to disable the "Intake" and "Eligibility" side bar elements because they do not display well in the new interface. That information can be displayed somewhere on the main profile, typically on a Financial tab for the eligibility information, and a Case Information tab for the Intake information.

Administrators may also want to consider replacing the "Link Boxes" side element with one or more "Custom Link Box" elements. Custom Link Box elements provide more flexibility regarding link organization and link text. Note, however, that this can be a significant and time-consuming task by itself, and may be better left until after staff are familiar with the new interface. If the Link Boxes element is replaced, and the site uses the 'case copy' features, those links can be displayed with the "Case Copy Custom" element.

Reconfigure Documents Block on Cases

Note: This change is no longer necessary on most sites.

A typical setup in the classic interface to display documents on a case is using the Document List block element, with the configuration set to display the document list, and the Recommended Documents and Email Templates lists.

This configuration does not display well in the new interface, so administrators likely want to change it. The simplest way to fix this in the new interface is to change the configuration of the Document List block and add the Recommended Documents and Email Templates list as separate elements.

Replace Prescreen Element with Prescreen New

If your site uses prescreens, disable the Prescreen side bar element and add the Prescreen New element to the side bar on the Prescreen Summary or other prescreen followup profiles.

Optional Changes

Administrators should review the items in this section, but no changes are needed for the new interface to be functional.

Configure the New User Stripe Elements

The new interface displays several elements in a user stripe:

Administrators configure the user stripe per user role on the Admin / User Roles (Permissions) page. At the bottom of the page for each role are checkboxes for each available element. The "User -" elements are links that display when you put your mouse cursor over your name in the stripe.

The "MyLS" and "MySupeLS" elements are under development and are not recommended for use at this time.

Convert to Menu Boxes

Converting to menu boxes is optional. Administrators considering implementing views will want to consider using menu boxes for ease of maintenance. This can be done at any time after converting to the new interface.

The Side/Action Elements of a profile are specific to that profile, and must be built for each profile. If a site has multiple case profile views, this can make changes to all views tedious. An alternative is to add a single Menu Box element to a profile that will contain all the links defined in that Menu Box.

For example, if a site has 3 profile views, then adding, removing, or editing a common link will require 4 edits — the main profile and each of the 3 profile views. If that link was defined in a menu box, a single edit of the menu box would take care of all 4 profiles (assuming all 4 used the menu boxes).

Sites can 'mix and match' menu boxes and view-specific side/action element sections. A main profile and 2 views may use menu boxes, but a third view still uses its own unique set of elements.

Menu boxes can be built manually on the "Menu Boxes" tab of the Admin / Processes, Forms, and Profiles page. There is also a Convert To Menu Boxes button available on profile pages (below the Side/Actions section) that will automatically convert a set of Side/Action elements to a menu box element. The button is typically used once on an existing Main Profile to create the initial set of menu boxes.

Miscellaneous Notes

* The box that appears at the top of the side bar on cases if a case has incomplete tasks has not been ported to the new interface. (59609)

Optionally Converting Your Demo Site

Administrators may want to convert their demo sites first to provide staff training before converting their live site. Note: Changes on a demo site for the new interface must be redone manually on a live site. There is no method to 'copy' interface changes from a demo site to a live site.

An agency may want to copy its live site to its demo site before starting the conversion process if the two sites have gotten out of sync over time. This is optional. For more information, see Copying a Live Site to Demo.