Tip of the Week

If you have visited the SWEB Library recently, you might have noticed a new link at the top of the Library's main page:
"Click here to see what's new in the library this week!"

The link returns a list of Library resources that have been added or updated within the past week. This list is actually generated as the result of an advanced search. We created a link that automatically runs an advanced search each time someone clicks on it. That way, each week new resources appear in the search results without an admin having to manually update a list of new resources. You could do something similar for your Library, for another tool, or even your entire site. Some other examples:

Georgia added advanced search links right on their practice area home page:
http://www.georgiaadvocates.org/GOJC/

Minnesota uses it within an organization's Opportunities Guide profile to highlight cases in the New Cases tool:
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?3206

To create similar links on your site, follow these steps:
1. Go to the advanced search page in your geo or practice area.
2. Choose which data in which fields you want to return. For example, if you just want to search Library content, choose Library in the "Search In" field. If you want to return content posted in the past month, select that in the "Date Posted" field.
3. Click the Search button at the bottom of the form.
4. Highlight and copy the URL of the search results in your browser.
5. Add link text where you want and then use the above URL to create the hyperlink.

back to top

What's New? Be in the Know with Advanced Search (01/06/05)

Did you know your probono.net site now has an advanced search tool? You'll find a link to it below the current search box.

You can now filter a search by Tool, Topic, Organization, Date Posted, and/or Keyword. You can even search shared content from other practice areas.

This new tool makes it easier to highlight new content that has been added to your advocate site. Using the "Date Posted" search field, you can find out what content has been posted in the last week, last month, last three months, and more. The search will generate a list of links to new content organized by tool. Collect and enter these links and a short description under a "What’s New" header on your homepage. It's a great way to spotlight recent contributions by your users and to keep content fresh.

back to top

Share and Share Alike¹ (06/11/04)

Did you know that there are 1000s of shared documents in the probono.net system currently available to be uploaded to your advocate site's Library, News Page or Calendar?

Remember that each time content is posted to a probono.net site, the author may opt to "share" the content with the larger network. To date, many of you have shared the content you've posted to your advocate sites, resulting in an impressive pool of shared resources.

Shared content can be found and uploaded to your practice area in two ways:

1. In your admin inbox, the Status drop down menu contains the option "shared content from other areas." Select this option to view ALL of the shared content for a particular tool (e.g. Calendar, Library, etc.). You can use the column headings to sort the material according to various criteria (alphabetical order by title, chronologically by submission date, etc.). For example, if you're looking at calendar events, click twice on the "Start Date" heading to get upcoming events at the top of the list. When viewing shared library items, click twice on "Submission Date" to sort the newest postings at the top.

When you've found something you'd like to upload to your own practice area, click on the resource title. On the following screen, mark the check box next to the practice area(s) to which you want to add the item. Hit submit, and the item will then be sent to your admin inbox under "Awaiting Approval" where you will tag it with desired topics or subtopics and then mark as approved.

2. If you find the number of resources to choose from in the first option overwhelming, you can conduct a targeted search using the site's search tool. When your initial search results are returned, click the box next to "Search shared content from other practice areas" and hit "go" to extend the search to the shared content pool.

Shared search results display a globe icon to indicate they are from other practice areas. The name of the originating practice area is listed below each item. To post a shared item to your own practice area, click on the globe icon and mark the check box next to the practice area(s) to which you want to add the item. Hit submit, and the item will then be sent to your admin inbox under "Awaiting Approval" where you will tag it with desired topics or subtopics and then mark as approved.

NOTE: Any member type restrictions placed on shared items by the original author carry over into your practice area(s).

NOTE: You cannot edit shared content, apart from tagging it with your practice area's topics and/or subtopics.

NOTE: After you publish shared content on your site, any updates or edits made to the content by the original author will be reflected on your practice area(s). This includes deletion of shared content: if the original practice area deletes the item from their site, it will disappear from your site as well.

If you have questions regarding shared content, please content your Circuit Rider.

back to top

Covering Your Tracks (03/24/04)

Make sure when posting a Word or WordPerfect document to your advocate site that you are not also inadvertently sharing prior draft versions and edits of the document via the Track Changes tool.

The Track Changes option, which must be manually enabled by an author, is a useful tool that records all changes made to a document by multiple authors, while preserving the original text. For a helpful explanation of this tool, see:

Word: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;305216
WordPerfect: http://www.integrativeink.com/html/tutorials/wptrack.phtml

Since viewing changes by multiple authors on one screen can make a document difficult to read, the Track Changes tool allows you to hide deleted sections from view. However, future users of the document can choose to reactivate and view hidden, deleted text. To prevent this from happening, remember to accept and save all changes to the document BEFORE posting it to the advocate site. This will ensure that those downloading your document will only see the final version.

If you have questions on the Track Changes tool, please contact your Circuit Rider.

back to top

Google News Alerts (10/23/03)

Did you know that Google.com offers a free news clips service? This is an easy way to keep informed about issues of interest, or to find regular content for the NEWS pages of your client and advocate sites.

To sign up, go to the Google News Alerts home page.

Simply enter your email address and topics you wish to search and Google will send you a summary of news on that issue(s) on a daily basis.

To enter more than one search term, use the word OR between each term, e.g. "pro bono OR legal aid OR legal services."

You can also use Google's advanced search feature to set your search parameters, including limiting the geographic scope of news stories to the U.S., or to your state. Go to the advanced search page, set your search parameters and then click the "Google Search" button. When the results page appears, copy the text that appears in the search box and paste it into the box labeled "News search" on the Google News Alerts home page.

See also the FAQ page related to Google News Alerts.

back to top

Marketing

Showcasing External Listservs (07/19/05)

Did you know that you can use the Listservs tool to highlight external listservs not hosted on your advocate site? The Listservs page divides content into Area Lists and Other Important Lists. Under the latter you can display relevant external listservs to your site members. To add an external list to your site:

1. In edit mode, click “Add a list” at the top of the right column on your listservs page.

2. On the form enter the title for the external listserv.

3. Select "yes" in the External List field to indicate that you are adding an external list, i.e., one not hosted on your advocate site.

4. Enter a description of the listserv. Since it is an external list, you should include instructions for joining the list, possibly providing a link for users to send a subscription request to. Note: this is an ActivEdit field.

5. Skip the Internal Settings fields and hit the Save button at the bottom of the form.

Here is an example of a page displaying both internal and external listservs: http://www.probono.net/statewebsites/groups.cfm
(you need to log-in to view this link)

back to top

Marketing -- Stay on Target (01/19/05)

As many site coordinators can attest, marketing an advocate oriented site is an entirely different challenge than conducting outreach to clients. Unlike clients, advocates are linked (to varying degrees) through professional and social networks, and often receive news and information through shared channels. Even more significantly, advocate sites are designed to support very different types of user interaction than client sites, meet different user needs, and turn on different user motivations.

As such, while it makes sense to adapt client marketing techniques whenever possible, a separate, specifically tailored marketing plan is a key element in the success of advocate sites. Take a look at the SWEB library for ideas to get you started. For example:

Marketing and Outreach for Pro Bono Advocates
This powerpoint presentation was created by Laren Spirer at Pro Bono Net.
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2628

Marketing Checklist
This marketing checklist offers ideas for free and low-cost marketing methods to promote your web site both with clients and within your advocate community.
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2629

Tips on Advocate Web Site Promotion
This brief article was created by Laren Spirer at Pro Bono Net.
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2630

Statewide Web Sites Training: Marketing for Advocate Portals
An online module from a training hosted by Pro Bono Net & NTAP.
http://lstech.org/node/784

back to top

A Warm Welcome (12/01/04)

Upon joining a listserv, it's always helpful for a user to get a welcome message that contains all the relevant information he or she will need to use it. The Pro Bono Net listserv tool allows you to host listservs on your advocate site, which allow users to engage in discussions around important issues, best practices, and changes in the law, and to seek advice from experts in the field who may be members of your site. Users mainly interact with the listserv via email, but all discussions are archived and searchable online. The listserv tool also allows you to list external listservs all in one place (ones that are hosted elsewhere, like YahooGroups, for example), so that your members can see and join all of the relevant listservs that are used in your legal community.

Here's a sample welcome email you can edit and use when you set-up your listserv on Pro Bono Net.

Subject: Welcome to the Poverty Law Advocates Email Group

Welcome to the Poverty Law Advocates email group, serving poverty law advocates statewide.

[Further listserv description.]

To post a message, send an email to:
povertylaw@mail.lawhelp.org

The administrator is Laren Spirer:
lspirer@probono.net

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
povertylaw-unsubscribe@mail.lawhelp.org

Archived messages from this group are available at the Poverty Law practice area on Probono.net:
http://www.probono.net/poverty/groups.cfm

Please remember that you should not use the email group for legally privileged or confidential information. Please do not distribute these emails, and be very careful about sharing information obtained through the email group. Save this email for future reference.

You can find more information about listservs at in the SWEB Library.

back to top

Giving Thanks (11/24/04)

Looking for new ways to thank your volunteers for their hard work? Take a glance at http://www.probono.net/bayarea for a wonderful use of the advocate site to showcase pro bono attorneys, their contributions, and the projects they work on.

Each month, the San Francisco Bar Association's Volunteer Legal Services Program (one of probono.net/bayarea's host organizations) selects a single attorney to highlight on the site's home page. VLSP posts the name and a photo of their Volunteer of the Month, along with a link to a short article posted on the News page profiling the attorney.

With a small investment of staff time and a digital camera, VLSP has turned their Home page into a powerful tool that not only thanks their volunteer, but also helps bind their pro bono community together by educating attorneys about their fellow volunteers and the work they do.

back to top

Probono Admin

Something's Afoot (07/21/04)

When sending out an email using the Mailings tool on your adovcate site, it is always helpful to add a footer. This way, recipients know why they are receiving the email and how to get more information. To add your footer, enter it just under the text of your email message in the "Messages" section of the mailing tool. Here is an example you can modify:

****You are receiving this email because you are a member of the probono.net/NY Family Justice site****
Site URL: http://www.probono.net/ny/family
Forgot password? Go to www.probono.net/forgotpassword.cfm

back to top

Wows with "Browse" (05/27/04)

Want to show off your advocate site, but don't want to confuse viewers who will see administrative settings and features when you log in? Use the "Browse Mode" feature, which allows you to see the site as your users will, without the Edit buttons and without any administrative settings. To enter Browse Mode, click the "Browse Site" link, located with your admin links on the bottom of the left navigation column. To return to the default "Edit Mode," click the "Edit Site" link that appears once you are in Browse Mode.

back to top

Shorter is Better (12/17/03)

Sending an email with links back to your LawHelp Client or Advocate site? Concerned that long URLs may break, take up valuable page space, or not gel with your layout? This week's tip offers a solution.

A LINK ABBREVIATION tool is available on the advocate template, listed under the "More Utilities" heading in the Admin Inbox. Enter a long URL, click a button, and the tool will generate a shortcut URL. You can use this tool to shorten any long URL, not just URLs associated with your advocate site.

back to top

Moving Library Folders (04/08/05)

As part of last weekend's code upgrade to the probono.net advocate site, you can now move folders and subfolders (and all documents contained herein) around in the Library. This new time-saving feature will allow you to easily reorganize your Library based on user feedback, new content, or even just a whim. Log-in as an admin and follow these steps:

1. Click on the Edit button next to any folder that you wish to move.
2. Under Item Order, there is a new field called Parent Folder. This field contains a list of all Library folders and subfolders. Select the new location where you want to move the folder.
3. Click Finish at the bottom of the page.
4. You will be returned to the folder's original location to confirm that it has been moved.

back to top

Carbon Copy Calendar (11/15/04)

Do you have recurring events on your advocate site calendar? Monthly meetings, regular clinics, and training sessions are exactly the sort of thing that should be in your calendar; here's an easy way to get all of them posted without re-entering the same data over and over again.

While logged in as an administrator, select the calendar tool. Find an event that you'd like to have in the calendar more than once, and click on the event's title (NOT the "edit" button). When the detailed description of the event loads, next to the event title you will see both an "edit" button and a second button labelled "copy". Click on the "copy" button, and you will be taken to a page that looks much like the standard calendar edit page, with all of the event's data already filled in.

Change the event date (and any other information) on this screen, click the "submit" button at the bottom of the page, and a copy of the event will appear at the new date. You can easily use this function to copy monthly events into the calendar for an entire year, or go back into previous months to re-enter a past event.

back to top

Do-It-Themselves (10/08/04)

As an administrator on a Pro Bono Net advocate site, you have the ability to oversee almost every change or addition to any page on the site; every piece of new content must be approved by you before it will be visible to the public. This does not mean, however, that you must intervene whenever a user wants to change their email address or phone number.

A site member who logs into any non-geographic practice area on any Pro Bono Net advocate site has access to the "My Profile" tool via a button on the left hand navigation bar. Clicking on this button will take the user to a page containing all of the information contained in their initial site application, where they can make any changes they see fit.

Naturally, non-administrative members cannot use this tool to change their member type or give themselves administrative rights, but they are free to change whether they receive monthly calendar emails, in which substantive areas they wish to receive update emails, and basic contact information whenever they want.

The occasional to your users about the "My Profile" tool can go a long way towards keeping your membership information up to date with a minimum of work on your part.

back to top

Advocate Admin Manual Online (09/24/04)

Probono.net site admins often ask questions such as, "Can I reorder folders in the Library?" or "What happens to expired news articles?" or "How do I create a new listserv?" The online Advocate Admin Manual has the answers to all of these questions and more! To locate the manual, log-in to your advocate site as an admin and click on Manual under the Admin tools. Read chapters on the library, calendar, searching, sending mailings, finding shared content, among other areas. The manual also opens up in a new browser window, allowing you to read along and edit your advocate site at the same time.

back to top

Save Your Login, Save Some Time (02/27/04)

Did you know that when you log-in to probono.net you can automatically save your login and password settings?

Saving these settings allows you to bypass the login process when you return to a practice area from the same computer. When we email you about new material in the LawHelp library, we often include shortcut links to individual documents. If you've saved your login settings on http://www.probono.net/statewebsites, those links will take you directly to the document--no more logging in!

back to top

Eek! A Bug! (01/12/05)

Have you ever encountered an error message on your probono.net advocate site? Did you know that there is an easy online form that you can fill out to report an error directly to Pro Bono Net? Using this form helps to ensure that we collect all of the information needed to diagnose and troubleshoot the error.

When you log-in to your advocate site as an admin, you will find the Feedback form at the bottom of the Admin left navigation box. The Feedback form asks for detailed information about what you were doing when the error occurred, where it occurred, and other information helpful for troubleshooting.

The form also asks you to upload a copy of the error page you see. In order to upload the error page, you must first save it to your hard drive as an HTML ONLY file. In your web browser, go to the File menu, select Save As, and then choose Web Page, HTML only from the "save as type" dropdown. Then, you can upload this saved file directly to the Feedback form.

back to top

Other

An Online Locksmith (07/14/04)

Ever lose your keys? We have, which is why neither you nor your site members will ever get locked out of your state advocate site. If you ever forget or lose your password, simply click on the "Forgot Password?" link near the top left side of the navigation, and type in the email address you use to login. The site will automatically send your password to that email address. When you login, you can click on the "My Profile" link to change your password. Sending passwords around in email can allow eavesdroppers to steal them, but it beats hunting around under the couch!

back to top

Public Site

Content Development

Promote ICAN EIC (02/10/05)

During tax season don't forget to promote ICAN EIC on your websites! ICAN EIC, built by our own Legal Aid Society of Orange County, allows income-eligible folks to file for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit online from anywhere. Each eligible family can receive up to a $4,204 refund, but only if they file!

http://www.icanefile.org/

It is easy to add the link on your site. Here are some examples of the ways programs are already promoting ICAN EIC online:

Using the home page Special Bulletin feature
http://www.lawhelpcalifornia.org

Creating a Topic Bulletin in Tax/Consumer topic
http://www.legalaid-ga.org/link.cfm?817

Posting as the top resource in Tax topic
http://www.alaskalawhelp.org/link.cfm?818

Listing on your organization's home page
http://www.brls.org/

Creating a promotion page on your website
http://michiganeic.org/RTF1.cfm?pagename=NewPageName1

back to top

English-Spanish Glossaries of Legal Terms (02/12/04)

Working on translation of your statewide web site content and/or navigational elements? Remember that some English-Spanish glossaries of commonly used legal terms have been developed which may be of use to you.

Some glossaries include:

Glossary of Legal (and Related) Terms and Courthouse Signs English/Spanish By: Court Interpreting, Legal Translating and Bilingual Services Section, Administrative Office of the Courts in NJ
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/interpreters/glossary2.pdf (this is a PDF document)

English/Spanish Glossary (of legal terms)
By: USDOJ Civil Rights Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/genglossary_esp.htm

English-Spanish Glossary of Federal Agencies, Officials and Laws
By: USDOJ Civil Rights Division
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/agenciesglossary_esp.htm

The module for the 11/18/03 "Translating Content into Other Languages" training co-hosted by NTAP and Pro Bono Net also contains links to several other such glossaries, including two developed by legal services programs:
http://www.lstech.org/ntap/trainings/training_topics/SWEB/SWEB109

If you know of other glossaries, please share via the LawHelp listserv.

back to top

Hotline Scripts (10/29/03)

In many states, legal services organizations' phone systems and/or hotlines provide callers the option of listening to recorded scripts with answers to common legal questions. Some states are now using these hotline scripts as a starting point for creating client legal education materials for their statewide web sites.

If your state has taken this approach and you have any thoughts to share, please let folks know.

back to top

Update Your Poverty Guidelines (03/10/05)

Based on the new federal poverty guidelines released by HHS last month, LSC has posted their 2005 income eligibility guidelines. Use the new guidelines to update the Income Eligibility data on the Help page on your LawHelp public site:
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2808

back to top

Managing Content Management (02/03/05)

High quality, accessible content is the most important aspect of your statewide website. It can also be one of the most challenging if many individuals and organizations are contributing content to your site.

Content protocols can help you manage a decentralized content development process efficiently and ensure that documents uploaded to your side are consistent and accurate. Protocols are written guidelines for addressing how, when and by whom content will be reviewed, posted and updated. Established protocols also help communicate and clarify the responsibilities of content developers.

There are many resources available in the SWEB library to help you with content management issues, including sample protocols posted by several states that presented on this topic at the TIG conference. Here are some of the scenarios you’ll find assistance on:

Developing content that can be read comfortably at a 5th grade reading level, from the MontanaLawHelp.org Guide to Content Development:
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2690

Preparing advocate site content to protect the confidentiality of the client, from Wyoming’s Content Maintenance Protocol:
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2686

Keeping documents current and tracking revisions, from Maryland Legal Assistance Network’s People’s Law Library Style Sheet:
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2687

In addition, PBN has developed guidelines on protocol development to help you get started. Visit the Content > Content Conventions folder below to see this resource and more:
http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?2683

back to top

Virtual Safety (05/21/04)

Many of you provide domestic violence content on your statewide web sites for clients. A number of established sites with DV information for the public contain alerts about ways in which an abuser can learn about a user's Internet activities, and the sites offer steps someone can take to cover their tracks. You may wish to provide such information on your LawHelp site as well.

Some sites that include information on Internet safety for victims of domestic violence include:

ABA Commission on Domestic Violence:
http://www.abanet.org/domviol/victims.html
(in the top box under the heading "Internet Warnings")

Women's Law Initiative:
http://www.womenslaw.org/internet.htm

People's Law Library (MD's statewide website):
http://www.peoples-law.org/core/your_protection_privacy.htm
http://www.peoples-law.org/misc/privacy/snoopin.htm

Working to Halt Online Abuse:
http://www.haltabuse.org/resources/index.shtml

back to top

Every Second Counts (04/08/04)

Internet users are a notoriously impatient lot, and there are few things more frustrating than waiting for pages to load. If forced to wait too long, users will simply go elsewhere.

As part of our ongoing Enhancement Grant work, Pro Bono Net is working on a variety of ways to reduce download and server response times, but there are things you can do as well. The more resources that appear on any given channel page, the longer a web user will have to wait; as such it is a very good idea to keep those channel pages from getting too long.

Be careful about overloading any one subtopic with materials. While everyone wants as much high-quality content as they can get their hands on, duplicative and lower-quality content not only slows down page loading, but also forces the user to sift through more information to find what they are looking for.
Limit the number of resources that display on each page. It is much better to display a single subtopic on three pages with 20 resources each than on a single page with 60. You can set such a limit by clicking on the "My State" link in the "Site Setup" section of the left hand navagation bar. In the text field labelled "Number of Results to Display Per Page" enter your selected limit; this limit will apply to each channel under every subtopic. Click the "Submit" button when you are done.
Use the geographic scope tools to your advantage. If you have a lot of zip code- or county-specific resources, require users to specify their location before entering a channel page. This not only limits the number of results on each page, but keeps users from accidentally looking up materials that may be inapplicable in their region. To require geographic information for a given channel, click on the "Channels" link the the "Site Setup" section of the left hand navagation bar; click on the "Yes" button labelled "Zip Code Required". Remember to click the "Save Channel" button when you are done.

If you have any questions, please contact your circuit rider.

back to top

Share and Share Alike² (03/17/04)

Looking for national resources covering domestic violence, group health insurance, identity theft, or nursing homes? Thanks to Molly French of Colorado Legal Services, materials prepared by the American Bar Association and the Law in Public Service Committee of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section on just those topics -- along with hundreds of other national resources posted by other states -- are now available on the LawHelp Shared Resources Library at http://www.lawhelp.org/ae.

To use any of the resources posted in the Shared Library on your site, simply log in at http://www.lawhelp.org/admin/Login.cfm with the following log in info:

User ID: shared
Password: password

You can then browse through all of the materials available, and use the content forwarding tool to send any resources you like back to your own state site. By the same token, you can use the forwarding tool to share any content on your site with the entire LawHelp community; when choosing a recipient in the forwarding tool, simply select "Shared Resources" instead of or in addition to another state.

If you have any questions, please contact your Circuit Rider.

back to top

Federal Agency Web Sites with Spanish Content (10/15/03)

Currently working on translation of your LawHelp site's content, or wondering where to start? Did you know that many federal agencies offer information in Spanish and other languages? We have compiled below a list of some of the better known federal agency web sites with Spanish content. Please let us know if you have any web sites to add to this list.

On a related note, remember that we have created a folder in the LawHelp library with links to (English) national online content.

Finally, for information on creating foreign language resources on your LawHelp template, see "Creating Foreign Language Resources (1/23/03)".

Bureau of Citizenship & Immigration Services (former INS)

Centers for Disease Control

Dept of Health & Human Services

Dept of Labor (consumer info)

Dept of Labor Occupational Health & Safety Administration

Dept of Veterans' Affairs (scroll to bottom for Spanish content)

Federal Reserve

Federal Trade Commission

HUD

IRS

National Consumer Law Center brochures (although not a federal agency, these brochures are useful)

Official Government Benefits web site

Official government web site for recipients of Medicare

Social Security Administration

back to top

Shopping Around for Titles and Terms (10/01/03)

As we've pointed out in past Tips, sometimes a slight change in wording can make a world of difference in terms of readability/usability. For example,using "Help" instead of "Assistance" on your LawHelp site can convey meaning much more readily for low literacy users. This week's Tip serves as a reminder that your quest for readability/usability should also include names of navigational elements used on your LawHelp site.

When looking for user-friendly, descriptive names for some of your own site's features, it pays to shop around. Visiting the various LawHelp sites can provide lot's of ideas. You'll notice that each state has come up with variations on what to call their channels and other navigational elements.

Some user-friendly terms recently spotted on LawHelp sites include:

Know Your Rights (Legal Information Channel)
We Can Help You (Organization Channel)
Need a Lawyer? (Organization Channel)
Going to Court (Court Information Channel)
Intake Workers (Advanced Search link)
Other States (Link to national LawHelp page)
Who We Are (About Us page)

If you have questions on how to change channel or navigation text on your LawHelp site, please don't hesitate to contact your Circuit Rider.

If your site has implemented user-friendly terms and we neglected to highlight them, please feel free to add to this discussion.

back to top

Are You Using Categories? (07/31/03)

Are you using Categories to organize your site's resources and/or organizations? Remember that through the LawHelp template, you now have the ability to control the order in which individual resources and organizations appear in each of your channels. (If you do not set the order of your resources or organizations within a channel, they will be sorted alphabetically by default).

New York has used this functionality to organize resources in their KNOW YOUR RIGHTS channel, within certain subtopics where needed. For example, in their Evictions subtopic, under HOUSING, they've grouped resources into categories such as About Housing Court and Procedures, General Information on Avoiding Eviction, Nonpayment Cases, Eviction Cases That are NOT About Rent and other categories. Click here to view an example on NY's site.

California, which just soft-launched their web site in late June, has used this tool to group organizations within their FIND LAWYERS AND COURT SERVICES channel into categories such as Legal Aid Programs, Lawyer Referral Services, Court Services, and County Services. Click here to view an example on CA's site.

Georgia is using categories on their COMMUNITY HELP channel. Information is grouped according to categories such as Dial 211 and Other Telephone Help, Social Service Agencies and Organizations, and Volunteer Opportunities. Click here to view an example on GA's site.

Complete instructions on creating and managing categories are available on the LawHelp library at http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?251. For assistance, feel free to contact your Circuit Rider.

back to top

HUD Launches New Spanish Site! (07/16/03)

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently launched a Spanish version of its web site! http://espanol.hud.gov/index.html

As many of you may know, HUD's site in English (http://www.hud.gov) contains useful information for the public on various housing related topics, such as fair housing, foreclosure, rental issues, homelessness and more. Now all of this same content is available on HUD's Spanish mirror site.

You can easily post resources to your client site in other languages by utilizing LawHelp's foreign language tools. To brush up, refer to "Creating Foreign Language Resources (1/23/03)"

back to top

Changes on the Foreign Languages Resources Pages (05/14/03)

Has your state posted resources in Spanish or other foreign languages? Did you know that you can customize the "Foreign Language Resources" page for each language so that the Page Heading, Intro Text, Topic Names and Resource Labels are presented in the same language a user has selected to view resources?

Here's How:

When resources are posted in foreign languages on your site, a Foreign Language Resource page is automatically created for each language. Links to these Foreign Language Resource pages appear on the right hand navigation, toward the bottom of the page. So, for example, when a user clicks on the "Espanol" link, she is brought to a page that lists all resources in Spanish, organized by topic.

As part of the recent round of usability design changes, you can now create different languge versions of the following text:

Page Heading and Intro Text (controlled on the admin side by clicking on the "Foreign Language Resource Page" link under PAGE INTROS).
Topics (controlled on the admin side by clicking on the "Topics" link under SITE SETUP).
Labels that accompany resources. These include "By," "Also In:" (e.g. other languages), and "Other formats:" (e.g. document types). (controlled on the admin side by clicking on the "Channel Labels" link under PAGE INTROS).

*IMPORTANT*: Remember to use the View Language/Add Language buttons to select the language for which you wish to enter the above language specific text. (For more info on how to use the View Language/Add Language buttons, refer to the online instructions).

Click here to view a sample Foreign Language Resources page where the above info has been supplied in Spanish.

If you have questions on how to use this new functionality, please contact your Circuit Rider.

back to top

Content Creation Resources (03/12/03)

Grappling with the challenges of developing high-quality, web-tailored, client-oriented content? The "Content Management, Development and Collection" folder in the statewide website library contains a host of materials to help you maximize the quality of your site's content.

Tips on Writing for the Web
Usability Concerns
Literacy/Readability Issues
Content Models
Content and the Digital Divide: What Do People Want?

Creating Foreign Language Resources (01/23/03)

To create a foreign language resource, start by editing Step 1 of the English version. Select a foreign language from the "Add Language" drop down list and click the orange arrow key to add the language to the "View Language" drop down list to the left. When the page refreshes, select the foreign language from the "View Language" drop down list and click the orange arrow. When the page refreshes, enter the foreign language version of the resource title and description. Don't forget to mark the resource ACTIVE. Click SAVE. The subtopic and geographic coding remain the same, so you will skip Step 2 and go directly to Step 3 where you can attach/create your foreign language resource.

In the future, you may view foreign language versions of resources on the admin side by using the "View Language" drop down list on the Resources Page.

When foreign language versions of your resources are published on your LawHelp web site, they are available to users in two places: via a link listed with the English version of the resource and on the Foreign Language Resources page, where users can browse ALL resources available for a particular language. Users can access the Foreign Language Resource page by clicking on links (e.g. Espanol, Francais, etc) that automatically appear in the right hand navigation column when translated resources are available.

back to top

Home Page and Topic Special Bulletins (10/02/02)

This tip comes from Molly French of Colorado Legal Services.

When creating a news article on your site, you have the option of designating it as a Home Page or Topic Announcement (AKA Special Bulletin).

If you designate a news article as a Home Page announcement, the article's title as well as the first 75 characters of the description will appear as a link at the top of the right-hand navigation column on your site's Home page. If you designate a news article as a Topic Announcement, a link and description will appear at the top of the right-hand navigation column on all site pages within that particular topic.

The title "Special Bulletin" will appear above the link. A state admin can change the title in "Right Hand Navigation" located under the heading "Home Page Set Up."

Molly has been using this feature to announce upcoming legal clinics. She creates an article describing the clinic and then designates it as a Home Page and/or Topic Announcement. This is a great way to alert the public of such events.

back to top

What's this all About? (10/09/03)

Are you getting the most out of your "About Us" page?

Given all of the work that goes into collecting, developing, polishing and reviewing the content on your LawHelp site, it can be very tempting to overlook the "About Us" page. To do so, however, is to miss an opportunity to communicate directly with your users. Certainly, the About Us page is not the first place most users will visit on your site, but many users will look there, particularly if they are having problems or are confused. A well-constructed "About Us" can provide those users with valuable information about how the site works, what it provides, who is responsible for content, and how to contact someone with questions. In doing so, it can reassure users about the accuracy of the site's content and the non-profit nature of the project.

For an example of a particularly good About Us page, take a look at Montana Lawhelp. The page is clear and simple, spelling out the site's purpose, participating organizations, and contact information in text crafted for low-literacy readers. It even includes a direct link to the site's feedback form.
The About Us page may seem like a minor detail compared to the rest of your content, but with web sites, details matter.

back to top

Content Current-cy (07/09/03)

Regularly reviewing posted content is a critical part of maintaining a statewide website. Laws change, old issues recede, and new issues arise. Moreover, maintaining the practical value and usability of each statewide site requires an ongoing search for ways to improve existing content, even when it is both relevant and technically accurate.

The Content Reports tool can be an invaluable tool for maintaining a regular and thorough review schedule. Selecting the "Content" link in the "Reports" section of the left-hand admin navigation bar will allow you to generate a list of every document within a specific channel and language, or filter your list by status, topic and author organization. Once you've defined the list filters, you can choose which information pertaining to each resource to display; selecting "Review Date" in this step will add a column to the list containing the date set for content review when each resource was created.

Once the list is generated, clicking on the column header will sort the list by review date in ascending order; the list can also be printed or downloaded for use in any spreadsheet application.

These reports, regularly generated, can make creating a content review schedule a snap!

Full instructions on how to use the report tool (also located in the Library under the LawHelp Admin Help folder) are available at http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?166.

back to top

Evaluation

Feedback Loop (11/05/03)

The Feedback form can be an useful tool for identifying problems with, and collecting kudos about, your LawHelp site. One of these sites' greatest strengths is their accessibility from a wide variety of settings, including homes, offices, and other private venues; many visitors to the site may never have direct contact with anyone involved with the LawHelp project. Though not designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of a site, the Feedback page serves as a users' best method of directly communicating their suggestions and frustrations to you. This feedback is also a great way to learn what issues interest your target audience to help shape future content development.

Remember to place the feedback you receive in context though. A handful complaints about a given feature or resource, for example, may represent either the tip of a huge iceberg or a tiny minority. That feedback, however, allows you to flag potential issues for further investigation.

Have any of your sites received feedback from users? Has this feedback caused you to change something on your site?

back to top

Using LawHelp's Usage Reports (02/20/03)

Did you know that you can gather data on use of your site by both public and admin users? The statewide template allows you to create three types of usage reports:

Summary Report: A breakdown of total public page views during any given time period
Detailed Report: Page view report on individual resources and organization profiles
Admin Usage: A log of admin user sessions on your statewide site

You can set reports to cover any date range you choose. Both the Summary and Detailed reports include a filter that allows you to exclude page views by logged-in admin users.

All reports can be downloaded as CSV (Comma Separated Value) files, which can be saved and manipulated using Excel or any other spreadsheet program.

Click here to view full instructions on how to use these reports (also located in the Library under the "admin help" folder).

back to top

Lawhelp Admin

Making Sure Topics Show Up (07/15/02)

Are all of your Topics appearing in the drop down menu when you code a piece of content? If not, check to be sure that the Topic has been assigned Subtopics. Since you code content by Subtopics under each Topic, only those Topics with Subtopics to choose from will appear.

back to top

Subtopics and their National Problem Code (03/26/03)

Need a list of your subtopics with its assigned National Index problem code, all in one place? You have it every time you click on the admin Subtopics page! To "grab" this list and manipulate it off-line, use the following steps:

Copy and paste all of three of the columns on the admin subtopics page (Code, Subtopic, Topic) directly into a spreadsheet program, such as Excel.
In your new spreadsheet file, you will notice that the subtopic names are still hyperlinking to your site. Stripping out these hyperlinks requires a "trick".
Save your new spreadsheet file as a CSV (comma delimited) format type file. This format option should be available under "Save As Type".
Now reimport the new CSV file back into your spreadsheet software program. Voila, an instant report!

Small Changes, Major Impact (02/05/03)

Did you notice?

In addition to many obvious changes, the recent usability update to the LawHelp platform included a number of subtle but important modifications. While perhaps not immediately evident on causal observation, these changes can be crucial for controlling and fulfilling user expectations, and thus avoiding frustration.

Prior to the recent changes, for example, the color in which text links were displayed remained constant, making it difficult for users to distinguish between links to pages they had already visited and those they had not. Now, while text links appear in blue by default, those links which a user has previously traversed are now displayed in purple.

Though apparently a minor detail, this difference in link color (called a Visited Link) provides users with important feedback, indicating those portions of the site a user has and has not already seen with clear and consistent but unobtrusive visual cues. By giving the user a better sense of their position within the site, this feedback helps the user to return to useful material after they have moved on, avoid unintentionally revisiting areas of the site that may not be responsive to their specific issues, and generally locate the resources they are looking for.

When it comes to user experience, details count.

back to top

Organizing Organizations (12/08/04)

Keeping track of all of the organizations on your site can be an extremely cumbersome task, particularly if you have lots of organizations with multiple associated "child" organizations. It's often difficult to even determine how many organizations are in your database.

New changes to the site, however, have made things a little easier. Selecting the "Organizations" link in the "Add Content" section of the left-hand navigation bar has always displayed a list of all of the parent organizations on the site. Selecting the "Show Child Organizations" now allows you to view child organizations at a glance as well. Immediately beneath this checkbox is a count of all the organizations currently displayed; the count will only include parent organizations, for example, unless the "Show Child Organizations" box is checked. Both of these new tools also interact with the new organization type filters also on the page. You can easily view the number of parent civil legal aid programs, for example.

back to top

Shorter is Better II (04/21/04)

Back in December, we did a Tip about using the Link Abbreviation tool on the advocate template. The same utility is now available on the LawHelp client template as well.

Why abbreviate a URL? Well, when sending an email with links back to your LawHelp Client site, long URLs may break, take up valuable page space, or just not gel with your layout. The solution? Check out the LINK ABBREVIATION tool on the LawHelp client template, listed under the "More Utilities" heading in the Admin Inbox. Enter a long URL, click a button, and the tool will generate a short-cut URL. You can use this tool to shorten any long URL, not just URLs associated with your LawHelp client site.

Here's an example of a link to divorce resources in the IowaLegalAid.org "Legal Information" channel. Rather than a 4-line URL, I am able to provide the following: http://www.iowalegalaid.org/link.cfm?22.

Note that if if your state is using an alternate domain for your site, like Iowa, the short-cut URL will carry that domain. However, be sure to log in as an admin from your OWN STATE HOMEPAGE to ensure that your domain is carried in the short-cut URL.

If you need help using this feature, please contact your Circuit Rider.

back to top

Up and to the Left (03/31/04)

Some human habits do not change from the real world to the virtual world. For example, most people in the Western hemisphere read web pages top to bottom, left to right, as they would printed matter. Work WITH this anticipated behavior to get your most important content noticed!

With that in mind, consider placing your most popular topic icon in the top left spot on your LawHelp home page, rather than simply alphabetizing your icons. On many sites, family law is probably visited more frequently than any other topic. You may wish to place other popular topics near the top of your home page as well.

To reorder topic icons, log in as an admin and click on the TOPICS link under SITE SETUP. Then, at the top of the following page, click on the CHANGE DISPLAY ORDER link. Highlight the topic you want to move, and use the MOVE UP and MOVE DOWN buttons to set the desired order. Remember to click SAVE when you are finished.

If you have any questions, please contact your circuit rider.

back to top

Are you Using Short Profiles? (04/30/03)

Are you using short profiles on your site?>P? What are short profiles, you ask? They are a tool on the LawHelp template that allows you to create simple, one page profiles for community organizations, social service agencies, and/or court programs. You can find short profiles along with your other attachment options (e.g. Links, Documents, Dynamic HTML documents and FAQs) when creating resources.

Several states have already begun using short profiles. For example, Michigan and Montanta have devoted entire resource channels to providing information on court programs and community services.

Some examples of how you might use short profiles (not actual programs):

Court Program

Social Service Provider

Note: You can modify the labels that accompany data on short profiles by clicking "short profile page" under the FORMS section on your admin side.To make short profiles available along with other attachment options, be sure that "short profile" is checked in your resource channel attributes. To do this, click on "channels" under the SITE SETUP section on your admin side.

back to top

Finding Orphaned Resources (04/21/05)

We first circulated this Tip in November 2003, but orphaned resources on your LawHelp public site are common enough that we thought it deserved a reprise.

Orphaned resources occasionally occur when the resource upload process is interrupted and a resource is added to the system with incomplete information. In order to sort and display resources properly to the public, the LawHelp platform requires that every resource be assigned at least one topic and subtopic. If a resource lacks topic and subtopic information, it becomes "orphaned." These "orphaned" resources will not show up on most of the standard admin screens. They also do not appear on the public site even if marked as "active" except in search engine results, where they will appear as dead links. (The search engine is being rolled out on LawHelp sites in stages this spring.)

These orphans remain in the system however, and need not fall through the cracks. You can view a list of current orphans from the administrative interface by clicking on the "Resources" link in the "Add Content" section of the left admin navigation bar. After selecting a channel to view, you will be presented with a list of resources filtered by channel, language, and topic. From the "View Topic" pulldown menu, select the "No Topics" option. From the resulting list, you can delete or edit orphans just like any other resource.

back to top

Ordering Text Sections of the About Us and Help Pages on LawHelp (04/15/05)

Last week's Tip of the Week highlighted a new feature on the probono.net advocate site to move folders and subfolders around in the Library. This week's Tip returns to the LawHelp.org client site to highlight a bug fix that now allows you to control the order of the text areas on the Help and About Us pages.

On the Help and About Us admin pages, "Up" and "Down" buttons appear next to each area of text you create below the Intro Description box. These buttons control the order text areas will display on the public side. Click on either button to move the area up or down. The order areas appear on the admin page is the same order that they will appear on the corresponding public page.

back to top

"By Location" vs. "By Service Area" (03/30/05)

One of the new features added to the LawHelp client platform during the first phase of the current enhancement process is the ability to display organizations in the Referral Directory by service area. The "By Location" tab displays all of the legal services offices physically located in a given county; the new "By Service Area", on the other hand, displays all of the legal services offices that serve clients in a given county.

Put another way: under the "By Service Area" tab, an organization that accepts cases in five counties will appear in all five, while under the "By Location" tab, it will only appear in the one in which its office is located.

Because the difference between these two options can be a bit confusing, we encourage states to select one and disable the other. This can be done by clicking on Page Intros-->Directory Page in the LawHelp administrative interface. You can also use this page to edit the labels that appear on each tab.

back to top

Little Orphaned Resource (11/20/03)

Have you ever been interrupted in the middle of uploading a piece of content? Ever wonder where that resource ended up?

In order to sort and display them properly, the LawHelp platform requires that every resource be assigned at least one topic and subtopic. Occasionally, however, the resource creation process will be interrupted, and a resource will be added to the system with incomplete information. Because they lack topic and subtopic information, these "orphaned" resources will not show up on most of the standard admin screens, and do not appear on the public site even if marked as "active".

These orphans remain on the system however, and need not fall through the cracks. You can view a list of current orphans from the administrative interface by clicking on the "Resources" link in the "Add Content" section of the left admin navigation bar. After selecting a channel to view, you will be presented with a list of resources sorted by channel, language, and topic. From the "View Topic" pulldown menu, select the "No Topics" option. From the resulting list, you can delete or edit orphans just like any other resource.

back to top

Are you using the FAQ Tool on your site? (09/12/03)

What is the FAQ tool, you ask?

This nifty feature on the LawHelp template allows you to create automatically formatted FAQ documents by simply entering text in a series of question and answer fields.

You can also display up to 3 links with each Q&A set, for example to refer readers to further information on a particular issue.

Additionally, documents created using the FAQ tool also feature a print friendly link, and will automatically display your site's disclaimer at the bottom.

You can find the FAQ tool along with your other attachment options (e.g. Links, Documents, Dynamic HTML documents and short profiles) when creating resources.

See these examples from around the LawHelp community:

Virginia
Louisiana
Alaska
New York

If you have questions on how to use this functionality, please don't hesitate to contact your Circuit Rider.

back to top

Are you using LRIS? (07/02/03)

Are you using the LRIS feature on your LawHelp template?

The optional Lawyer Referral Service (LRIS) feature allows you to provide assistance to users who do not meet the eligibility requirements of the organizations displayed in their search. If activated, a "Lawyer Referral" link will display at the bottom of your Lawyer Channel, connecting users to one of the following options:

1. Standard Form
Clicking on the Lawyer Referral link will open a referral form that the user fills out with his/her name, contact information, and a brief message. The form is then emailed to whomever the State Administrator designates. The form itself can be configured by a LawHelp State Administrator on the "Referral Form" admin page under FORMS. Example: Go to any Find a Lawyer channel page on www.LawHelp.org/VI

-- OR --

2. External Link
Clicking on the Lawyer Referral link will take the user to an external web site, e.g. your state bar's lawyer referral service web page. Example: Go to any Find a Lawyer channel page on www.mi.lawhelp.org

LawHelp State Administrators can modify the LRIS tool on the Lawyer Channel admin page. Click on the "Channels" link under SITE SETUP, select Organizations channel, and go to Step 2. Detailed instructions can be accessed by clicking on the "Instructions" link.

If you need assistance administering this tool, please feel free to contact your circuit rider.

back to top

Sorting Resource View on Admin Side (04/02/03)

Previously when viewing the Resources page on your admin side, the initial view of the page displayed resources for ALL TOPICS. As more resources were added, however, you may have noticed that the time it took for the Resources page to load increased. To minimize that page load, we have now changed the Resources admin page display so that when you first come to the page, only resources for one topic at a time display -- resources associated with other topics are hidden. If you wish to view content associated with a different topic, select a particular topic from the topic drop-down menu. If you wish to view all of your resources, simply select "All Topics" from the topic drop-down menu.

Remember that you can also sort resources by language, using the View Language menu.

Finally, note that clicking on the Title, Topic, Active or Category column headings across the top of the list will sort the displayed Resources accordingly.

back to top

Sorting/Filtering Resources on Admin Side (01/29/03)

Did you know that you have several options for sorting and filtering how you view resources on your admin side? (These options are available on the page that lists resources in a particular channel. To get there, click Resources, listed under ADD CONTENT, and then select a channel).

Options:

VIEW TOPIC: Use this dropdown menu if you wish to filter content by Topic. Only resources associated with the chosen Topic will display. The Subtopic and Category each resource is coded with will also display in this view. Resources associated with all other Topics will be hidden. If you wish to view all of the resources again, simply select "All Topics" from the drop down menu.

VIEW LANGUAGE: Use this dropdown menu to filter resources by the language in which they are posted. Only resources in the language indicated in the dropdown will display--all other language versions will be hidden. If you wish to return to English resources, select English from the dropdown menu.

Also note that clicking on the TITLE, TOPIC or ACTIVE headings across the top of the list will sort the Resources accordingly (i.e. alphabetically by title, grouped by topic or category, or sorted according to whether the resources are active or inactive).

back to top

Change Display Order for Topics, Subtopics & Channels (11/21/02)

Did you know that you can change the order in which your Topics and Subtopics display on your LawHelp site?

For Topics:
Go to the TOPICS link under "Site Setup" on the admin side of your site. At the top of the page, you will see a CHANGE DISPLAY ORDER link. Click the link and you will see your TOPICS listed. Highlight the TOPIC you would like to move, and use the MOVE UP and MOVE DOWN buttons to set the order you want.

For Subtopics:
Go to the SUBTOPICS link under "Site Setup" and click the CHANGE DISPLAY ORDER link. Then select a TOPIC from the drop-down field, and the related SUBTOPICS will display in the field below. Highlight the SUBTOPIC you would like to move, and use the MOVE UP and MOVE DOWN buttons to set the order you want.

For Channels:
Go to the CHANNELS link under "Site Setup" and click the CHANGE DISPLAY ORDER link. Highlight the CHANNEL you would like to move, and use the MOVE UP and MOVE DOWN buttons to set the order you want.

back to top

Number of Results Displayed per Page (10/11/02)

Did you know you can control the number of resources or organizations users see under each Channel on your LawHelp template? Log-in as a state admin and go to the the MY STATE page, which is listed under the Site Setup heading. In the third field on that page, "Number of Results to Display Per Page" you can control the number.

back to top

Breadcrumb Navigation Saves Editing Time (09/18/02)

Have you noticed that when editing a resource, breadcrumb navigation links display in the upper right hand corner of the screen that enable you to move directly to Step 1: General Information, Step 2: Geographic Scope, or Step 3: Attachments? Save time by using this navigation feature rather than clicking through those steps you don't need to edit.

back to top

Moving a Resource to a New Channel (09/13/02)

Help! I've created a series of new resources and just realized that I've created them in the wrong channel! What can I do? Do I have to create them all over again?

The answer is No! You can move resources from one channel to another by using the tools found on the Resources page (on the admin side of your template). Select the resource(s) you want to relocate using the checkboxes that appear to the left of the resource title. Now click the MOVE button at the bottom of the page, and on the next page select the new channel for your resource.

back to top

Are you using LawHelp's Online Instructions? (08/28/02)

Did you know that there are online instructions built into your LawHelp template that explain most admin features? Click on the [Instructions] link at the top of an admin page for an explanation of the page's purpose, information on the buttons and fields found on that page, and a step-by-step guide to that page's functionality.

back to top

Shortcuts for Geographic & Topic Coding (08/12/02)

We have recently added new features to Step 2 of Resource creation (where you code for topic/subtopic and geographic region) that will hopefully make your work easier.

Topics: You can now select multiple subtopics under one topic simultaneously. Simply choose a topic, highlight the first subtopic and drag your mouse cursor down the list to continue highlighting. When you stop, the subtopics will automatically move to the right hand column, indicating that you have selected them successfully.

Geographic region: When coding a resource to appear statewide, you no longer need to select all of the zip codes and counties in your state. Now if you do NOT select a county or zip code, the resource will appear statewide by default. If you choose to limit the resource to certain geographic areas, then you should still select those counties and/or zip codes.

back to top

Using Demo Mode (10/31/02)

Did you know that you can preview "inactive" resources and features on your state site without having to make them "active"? Demo Mode allows you to view inactive channels, topics, subtopics and resources.

To Enter Demo Mode:
In your browser's URL address bar, enter the following URL:
www.lawhelp.org/XX/indexdemo.cfm (where XX is your state's abbreviation). In the site header under your logo, "You are in demo mode." will now appear in red text.

To Exit Demo Mode:
Close all of your open browser windows. Next time you open your browser and type in your site's URL, you will access your "live" site.

Because this feature does not require a user to log in, you can use it to share portions of your state website that are under construction with stakeholders and other non-admins in your states.

back to top

Highlighting Multiple Subtopics Simultaneously (03/05/03)

Coding resources or organizations for not one, not two, but a whole group of subtopics?

Save your fingers the aches of selecting subtopics one by one! During step two of coding a resource you can highlight a single subtopic, then hold down the mouse button and drag the cursor to select an entire range of subtopics. All of the highlighted subtopics will then move simultaneously to the right hand box, indicating that you have successfully selected them. Use the same technique to select an entire range of subtopics when adding problem codes to an organization.

back to top

Gray -- The New Black (03/19/03)

You may have recently noticed that gray text has been implemented on several admin pages to signify inactive items. These instances include:

Inactive subtopics now appear in gray on admin pull down menus when coding resources and organizations.
Inactive topics appear in gray on admin pull down menus when coding resources, organizations and news articles.
Inactive topics and subtopics appear in gray on change display order tool.
Inactive channels, resources, topics and subtopics now appear in gray on Sort Order pages.
Inactive topics appear in gray when creating "subject matter" admin user profiles.

Marketing

The "Open Tent" Principle (06/26/03)

It's always important to remember that there are many organizations outside the traditional legal services community that regularly interact with our clients. These groups can have a great deal to contribute to any statewide website project, including testing and feedback, marketing opportunities, and user training.

New York, for example, has conducted trainings on LawHelp/NY for the local constituency offices of various elected representatives. The Virgin Islands invited local law enforcement to join its stakeholder committee, while Arizona is inviting the state library system to participate. Other states are reaching out to social work associations, community technology centers, welfare-to-work organizations, and staff at homeless shelters.

Has anyone else found creative partners for their website project? What kinds of organizations have you reached out to, and how have they contributed in your state?

back to top

Who is linking to your site? (11/01/04)

Knowing who links to your site and increasing the number of quality links is an important part of your web site outreach effort. Based on referrer data, we pulled together some great link models from across the country that are generating real traffic to their statewide sites. Not only do these links increase the direct traffic to the statewide sites, but also help increase the site ranking in search engines like Google.

Are the equivalent sites in your state linking to your statewide web site?

BAR ASSOCIATIONS
State Bar of Montana
http://www.montanabar.org
Louisiana State Bar Association
http://www.lsba.org/atj/
Atlanta Bar Association
https://www.atlantabar.org
D.C. Bar
http://www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/pro_bono/resources/net.cfm
The Florida Bar
http://www.flabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf

COURTS
California
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/lowcost/lawyers.htm
New York
http://www.nycourthelp.gov/lawyers.html
Arizona
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/selfserv/

LEGAL SERVICES
Pennsylvania Legal Services
http://www.palegalservices.org
http://www.palegalservices.org/community_education_programs.htm
Northwest Justice Project
http://www.nwjustice.org/
Alaska Legal Services Corporation
http://www.alsc-law.org/
Texas Legal Services Center
http://www.tlsc.org/

GOVERNMENT
New York City Commission on Women's Issues
http://www.nyc.gov/html/cwi/home.html
New York City Department of Homeless Services
(one of the single biggest referrers in the country)
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/html/atrisk/eviction.shtml
City of Seattle Aging and Disability Services
http://www.cityofseattle.net/humanservices/aging/Staff-Peers/default.htm

LIBRARIES
State Law Library of Montana
http://www.lawlibrary.state.mt.us
The Denver Public Library
http://denverlibrary.org/research/law
Virgin Islands Public Library System
http://www.library.gov.vi

back to top

Other

Color Cues, Revisited (09/18/03)

As you make design decisions regarding your LawHelp site, it's important to keep in mind that small details can have a large impact on usability. On one hand, this means that we can often make significant improvements to the site by making minor changes; on the other, it also means that we need to be very careful not to allow details that we may not even notice confuse our users.

For example, on the LawHelp platform, unvisited text links are displayed in blue, while visited links are displayed in purple; this provides users with useful navigational cues. If other, non-link text is displayed in the same or similar colors, however, users can easily mistake it for a text link. Not only can this frustrate the user, but it diminishes the usability value of color cues throughout the site.

By the same token, because many other web sites indicate text links by underlining them and/or displaying them in red or another color, using these techniques to highlight non-link text can also be confusing.

Text size, color, and font can be useful tools; use them with care.

back to top

LSC Logos Troubleshooting (02/26/03)

LSC logos not displaying with resources authored by LSC-funded programs? Or displaying for some resources and not others?

Be sure that you have selected the organization from the drop down box on the resource author field, instead of typing in the name of the organization in the "Other" field. This will clear up any logo display problems you may be having.

You can run a Content Management report for resources authored by "Other " to get a list of affected resources.

back to top

General

ActiveEdit

Help Users Jump to the Point (12/11/03)

By now we've all heard that people read very differently online--they tend to skim on-screen information to a greater extent than they do printed materials. One way you can help your readers get to the point more quickly is to provide a table of contents at the beginning of documents using HTML "jump" links.

Creating jump links in dynamic documents is not hard using the ActivEdit tool! To learn how, visit http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_links.asp

back to top

Using Tables in Dynamic HTML Articles (12/13/02)

Whenever you are creating "dynamic html" articles, it is a good idea to insert all text into a table, using the table icon found on your ActivEdit toolbar. Using a table gives you more control over the margins on printed versions of your document. You may also wish to implement this on your disclaimer page as well, since that text appears on printed versions of HTML resources. Read more about how to utilize tables in your HTML articles.

back to top

Alt Text (08/22/02)

ALT TEXT is the text that pops up (usually in a small tan box) when the mouse pointer moves across a graphic. Why is it important? Visually impaired users accessing your site with a screen reader cannot interpret images that do not have Alt Text. Instead of viewing an image, these assistive browsers read the Alt Text to the user.

For those graphics built into the template (topic icons, header & footer images), you'll find a field on the admin side that asks for Alt Text. If you are adding images to documents using ActivEdit, don't forget to define Alt Text here, too, in the dialog box field that appears after you've uploaded the image.

back to top

Troubleshooting for ActiveEdit Formatting

Single Return in ActiveEdit (07/09/02)

When working in Active Edit, you may have noticed that hitting Enter will give you a double spaced return. If you'd like a single spaced return, simply hold down the SHIFT key as you hit Enter.

back to top

Content Development

Take it From an Expert (05/11/05)

One of the most difficult parts of developing effective content for the web is understanding the user's perspective. It's all to easy to make assumptions based on our own habits, while forgetting that our users approach a web page in an entirely different way.

Luckily, you don't have to grapple with this issue on your own; Jakob Nielsen--one of the world's foremost experts on user behavior and web usability--will sends a bi-weekly email on his latest usability thoughts:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/

In one recent AlertBox, for example, Neilsen discusses recent studies focusing specifically on low literacy users, and how their behavior on web sites differs from others. This is a radical departure from earlier studies, which have looked almost exclusively at high income, high education users.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20050314.html

Go take a look--you may be surprised at what you find when you start to look at your site from another perspective.

back to top

Marketing

What's New on Your Site? (10/01/04)

Developing new content can be such a challenge, so don't forget to tell your users when you post it! www.WashingtonLawHelp.org posts a monthly "What's New" news bulletin on their home page, alerting users to new and revised resources on their site. This is an excellent way to keep the community and stakeholders aware of new resources on the site. This approach is easily replicated, and just as important, on your advocate sites as well. And even on other publications by your organizations.

Read the entire WashingtonLawHelp.org September 2004 update online: http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/link.cfm?596
Look at the "What's New" column on two advocate site home pages: http://www.selfhelpsupport.org
http://www.projusticemn.org/civillaw
Scroll down the left column on Minnesota Legal Services Coalition's e-newsletter:
http://www.mnlegalservices.org/enewsletter/

The CLE Carrot (01/30/04)

Some statewide web site coordinators have begun offering CLE credit for trainings/demonstrations related to their LawHelp client and/or advocate sites. This is a great way to draw folks in, spread the word about your project, and hopefully increase participation.

In Georgia, Tracey Roberts has been successful in offering 1 CLE professionalism credit for attorneys who attend training sessions (to be held at various private firms in Atlanta) on the advocate and public site scheduled for February. Attorneys in GA have a grace period to fulfill their CLE requirements after the year-end, and professionalism credits are relatively hard to find. The timing of the training and the kind of CLE credit offered makes for quite an incentive.

In NYC, Su Sokol will be conducting trainings on LawHelp/NY for legal aid attorneys and offering 1 CLE credit each for Skills and Professional Practice. Her training flyer can be viewed at http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?1088.

In Texas, Neish Carroll recently offered .5 CLE ethics credits to attorneys who attended demos of TexasLawHelp and the Texas advocate site, which is still in the planning phases.

Have you successfully used other kinds of "carrots" to promote your statewide web site? If so, please share your ideas on the LawHelp listserv!

back to top

A Marketing Aide (07/23/03)

This tip was inspired by AlaskaLawHelp.org!

As you plan to launch and market your public sites, don't forget to tell the TIG office at LSC. They are interested in promoting the achievements of their grantees. They recently helped Alaska publicize the launch of AlaskaLawHelp.org, and were particularly effective in getting news stories placed with national media like USA Today and CNN.

You can contact Jennifer Bateman for more information.

back to top

Extra! Extra! (05/21/03)

Looking for new ways to reach out to your stakeholders?

Keeping communication flowing between project managers and stakeholders can be a real challenge; it's important to be creative and to keep looking for new avenues.

One tool currently in use by Pro Bono Net and at least one state is the web-based newsletter. Like its print-based counterpart, the e-newsletter provides an opportunity to present your message to a broad audience in a more visually polished and engaging format than simple emails, but without the printing or mailing costs.

Pro Bono Net works with an outside vendor - imakenews.com - to create and host our e-newsletter. Imakenews.com provides an extremely broad feature set at a relatively low costs.

California's statewide website project, on the other hand, decided that they didn't need all of the bells and whistles offered by imakenews.com, and tried a simpler (and free!) approach: LawHelp's own program site tool. By creating a "placeholder" organization named "Newsletter" on their client site, California was able to make use of the familiar program site interface to create a newsletter that's user friendly and easy to maintain: http://www.lawhelp.org/Program/2284/.

If you have questions on how to use the program site tool to create a newsletter, please contact your Circuit Rider. If you have any creative new ideas, please feel free to share them by posting to the lawhelp listserv!

back to top

Open for Business (05/07/03)

Positioning your sites on major online search engines is an absolutely critical part of any effort to get the word out to the public. By some estimates, more than half of all web surfers navigate to sites through search engines, even if they already know the name or URL of the site they want to visit. Getting good site rankings is a long and complex process, but registration is the first step; before they can list you, search engines need to know you're out there and open for business. The lawhelp.org national page is already registered with the major search engines, but registering your own statewide home page can help increase exposure, especially if you've purchased a new domain name.

Every major search engine offers web forms that allow you to submit your site for review and inclusion in their databases. All search engines give preferential treatment to sites that pay for registration, and some require payment, but most offer some free registration option. Hitting these pages is a quick--and crucial--way to get your marketing efforts started:

Google:
http://www.google.com/addurl.html

Yahoo (instructions):
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/

AltaVista:
http://addurl.altavista.com/addurl/new

Lycos:
http://insite.lycos.com/inclusion/searchenginesubmit.asp?co=undefined

back to top

The Lowdown on Metatags (02/12/03)

Think metatags are the key to getting to the top of Google's search rankings? Think again.

Once upon a time, metatag keywords were the critical factor in determining if, where, and how often a website showed up in internet search engine results. It only made sense to cast as wide a net as possible, by cramming your metatags with as many relevant words and variations on words as humanly possible.

That was then, this is now. Today, tremendous resources are poured into making search engines resistant to manipulation by website owners and developers; sorting algorithms are often updated on a minute-by-minute basis in order to thwart efforts to artificially inflate search engine rankings.

In this environment, metatag keywords are inherently untrustworthy for gaining a high ranking for your site. Most search engines ignore them entirely; the few that do pay attention give them almost no weight in the ranking process. Moreover, even those search engines that look at metatags will ignore them for a specific site if its keyword lists are too long. What constitutes 'too long' can vary from site to site and hour to hour, but a list with more than 5 or 6 keywords is unlikely to get any attention.

The Bottom Line? It can't hurt to put a handful of relevant keywords into your metatags, but more than half an hour spent on them is time better spent on other marketing strategies.

back to top

Security

Lock Your Doors, Bolt Your Windows (12/03/03)

As reported this week through the LSTech listserv, researchers have discovered a new security flaw in the Internet Explorer browser. Microsoft is currently investigating the bug, and has not yet released or announced a patch to fix the bug. As you know, several important administrative tools on both the LawHelp.org and probono.net platforms require the use of Internet Explorer.

You can take precautions, however, that will minimize your exposure to security risks--including this recent bug--without blocking access to your sites. The process has quite a few steps, but is not too difficult. (Depending on your office computer set-up, it might be advisable to consult with your IT staff before completing these steps.) Here's what you do:

1. From within Internet Explorer, click on the 'Tools' menu and select 'Internet Options...'. A dialog box titled 'Internet Options' should appear.
2. Select the 'Security' tab. A panel titled 'Security Options' should appear.
3. Click on the 'Internet' zone to select it.
4. Click the Custom Level button. A window titled 'Security Settings' should appear.
5. Select the 'Medium' option from the pull-down list.
6. Click the Reset button. A dialog box should appear asking if you are sure you want to change the security settings for this zone. Click Yes.
7. Scroll down to the setting marked 'Scripting ActiveX controls marked safe for Scripting' and check the radio button for Disable.
8. Scroll down to the setting marked 'Active scripting' under the Scripting section and check the radio button for Disable.
9. Click OK to accept these changes. A dialog box should appear asking if you are sure you want to make these changes. Click Yes.
10. In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab. The Advanced Options panel should appear.
11. Make sure the setting 'Warn if changing between secure and insecure' under the Security setting is checked.
12. Click Apply to save your changes. Don't close the window.

These first 12 steps should turn off those features within Internet Explorer that an attacker might use to gain access to your computer. Now you need to allow your LawHelp.org and probono.net sites to make use of those features, even though they are blocked to other sites. Here's how:

13. While viewing the 'Security Options' panel of the 'Internet Options' dialog box (see above), click on the 'Trusted Sites' zone to select it. A dialog box titled 'Trusted Sites' should appear.
14. Click the 'Sites' button.
15. Make certain that the checkbox marked 'Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone' is NOT checked.
16. In the 'Add this Web site to the zone' box, type in the URL of the LawHelp.org or probono.net site you administer. For example, if you work on LawHelpCalifornia, type in HTTP://www.lawhelpcalifornia.org.
17. Click on the 'Add' button.
18. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have added all of the sites you administer.
19. Click 'OK' to close the 'Trusted Sites' dialog box.
20. Click 'OK' again to close the 'Internet Options' dialog box.

Keep in mind that these changes may cause some other sites to appear incorrectly. If this occurs with a site that you trust, you can add them to your list of Trusted Sites in the same way you did with your LawHelp site. Be very careful, however, only to do this when absolutely necessary, and with sites you consider absolutely trustworthy.

back to top

Who Goes There? (04/27/05)

Earlier this week, an easily guessed password led to an online security incident involving a LawHelp program site. There were no technical failures or disruptions and no lasting damage to the site or any data, but the incident does highlight the importance of good passwords; no matter how secure we make the LawHelp software, sites will only be as secure as the passwords that protect them.

Which brings us to our Tip of the Week: *please* remember to choose passwords that will be difficult for others to guess, and to change them on a regular basis. Ideally, passwords should be long (8 characters at a minimum) and should include both letters and numbers; do not use names, addresses, personal information, or words that can be found in dictionaries. Don't use the same password for different sites or accounts. And never use your username as a password.

If remembering passwords is a problem, consider using a "password safe" - these programs store your passwords in an encrypted file so that you don't have to remember them. One good, well-known password safe program is available for free download.

back to top

Program Sites

Get with the Program! (02/18/04)

Trying to jazz up your program site, or make it more distinctive? Some programs have incorporated images into their program sites, a relatively easy way to add interest and make a web site stand out.

Some programs have posted photos of their offices:
Legal Services of Greater Miami
Legal Services of the Virgin Islands

Other programs have included photos representing the clients they serve:
Legal Services of Greater Miami
Fair Housing Center of Southeast Michigan

Using your own photos is an option, however there are also numerous online sources of free stock photos. NLADA has posted an archive of free stock photos for use by non-profits at http://www.nlada.org/News/News_Publication_Resources (thanks to Mia Kim in Michigan for pointing this out). Other free stock images web sites (just two examples of many possible options) include http://www.freeimages.co.uk/ and http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml.

Keep in mind that image files will increase page download time, so use them judiciously. To avoid lengthy page download times, make sure that photos are optimized for the web. Optimizing photos involves reducing the file size as much as possible while maintaining the quality of the image. This can be done with any number of graphics software programs. Some helpful tips on image optimization can be found at:
http://www.fotofinish.com/resources/centers/photo/graphics/optimize/.

Remember also that you should always provide "alt tags" with images to accommodate those accessing your site with assistive technology.

Finally, you may find it helpful to talk to a designer when using images on your site. Even a small investment for a few hours of a designer's time can make a big difference in your web site's appearance.

For more resources on creating a program site, see the LawHelp library. Feel free to contact your Circuit Rider with questions.

back to top

Other

An Easy Way to Share your Good Ideas (06/04/03)

Have