Frequently Asked Questions

Can you give me some more information on the fields in the Resources Content Tab?
What does each module in the Resources Content Tab do?
How should I display clinics and other events our organizations host?
Why do you discourage uploading word files (.doc)?
Why would I want to hide an Organization from the "Find Legal Services Directory"?
Can you tell me more about the Intake Types?
What about Sub-Profiles?
What about Widgets and Content Pages?
Can you tell me more about ranking?

Can you give me some more information on the fields in the Resources Content Tab?

Sure thing! As you can see there are seven fields under the Content Tab, only two of these are required.

Language- this required field is the language of the resource itself. If you are uploading on an English site, it will be English, if you are uploading a resource in a language other than English; you will want to note that here.

Name- this required field is the name of the resource itself. Often the name of the file your are uploading will be the name of your resource, but if you have to create a name be sure it is descriptive enough so users will know what the resource is.

Authoring Organization- the organization that created the resource itself. This is a smart list, and will fill in organizations on your site as you type. This ensures that each agency has the same title across all resources. It also allows you to create content page or widget with all the resources a specific agency created, or filter in the resource manager for items authored by a specific agency..

Resource Description- a brief description of your resource, to help your user quickly ensure that this is resource they are looking for.

A resource summary should be a 'teaser' of sorts, so your user knows, in very broad strokes, what the resource will tell them. For example:

Eviction: "Your landlord cannot change your locks, or move your belongings out of your apartment without taking you to court. This guide will provide information on the eviction process."

Consumer: "Debt Collectors may try to intimidate or scare by calling you many times a day or threatening to bring a lawsuit against you. These 'Frequently asked Questions' will explain what debt collectors can and cannot do."

Comments- These can be notes to yourself or to future admins, this is currently not viewable by users.

Last Reviewed Date- Some states use the 'last reviewed' date as a way to track when the resource was last reviewed by an attorney, while others use it to track when an admin last checked if the links were still good etc. You will want to make sure you have decided how to use this field. Also, currently, this is only viewed by the admin, but it may become visible to users on the public site in the future. Note: This is also under the General Tab in Organizations.

If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

What does each module in the Resources Content Tab do?

Direct links- this allows you to link directly to an external page. The resource itself is the link. To set this up you just input the text you want displayed, and the url.

Audio File- Here you can upload an .mp3 or .mp4 audio file, just as you would upload any other attachment.

HTML- this allows you to create a resource in HTML format. Alternatively, you can embed a resource, such as a flash video file or a third party calendar, or any other resource that is in HTML code. To do this, first you will need the html embed code for the resource. If you don't know what that is, search the help section of the platform you're getting the code from. Once you've found it, go to the resource module, select the "HTML" module, and click the source button. Then copy the html embed code, and paste it into the text box in the module, hit the source button again, and you should be done. If you need assistance, please contact support@lawhelp.org.

Attachment- this is one of the more traditional and most often used type of resource. This is simply a document that is uploaded to the site as a resource. This can be almost any type of document, but we encourage you to use a non-proprietary format, such as a .pdf, rather than a .doc.

Frequently Asked Question- This module is where you will input the actual text of legal educational materials (or anything else that fits into an FAQ). There are two text editors, one for a question, and one for an answer directly below it (see image on the left). When it's all done, it'll look like the image on the right.
Events- This module is where you can post clinics, organizational events other happenings from your organizations. This will appear as a list of events, and you can request a widget on your homepage to pick up new events as you add them so users can see new events on your state's home page. Click here for more information about calendaring options.

Alerts- Alerts can be added to existing resources to create an alert or notice that is tied to a particular date, for example program closures or deadline information that may impact your users. The alert will display on the resource until the expiration date you set in the alert module. Alerts can be tagged as "news" and can show up in a widget on your homepage similar to an event.

Resource Link- this allows you to easily link to other resources on your site. For example, you may want an eviction guide to have a link to a resource on security deposits. Type the name of the resource into the smart search field to quickly locate it.

If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

How should I display clinics and other events our organizations host?
There are a few ways to display events from your organizations. You can create an event as a resource using the Events module, and tag it or assign it to a channel, and create a homepage widget to display your events.

You can also create a calendar through a third party platform (such as google) and embed it in a resource page using the "HTML" module.

For assistance in thinking through what options are available, and how to create a calendaring set up, please contact support@lawhelp.org, or your contact person at Pro Bono Net.

If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

Why do you discourage uploading word files (.doc)?
There are a couple reasons Word files are not preferable formats for your resources. First, Word is a proprietary program, and although most people have access to Word, not all libraries or public computers have Microsoft Word installed on them. Second, with both the .doc and the .docx extension in use right now, if you have a file saved in the .docx format older versions of the software will not open it. Finally, once a Word file is downloaded, it is completely editable by the user. Although this may be a benefit in some instances, in others you will want to 'lock down' your content in a .pdf format, which can be opened with free software.

If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

Why would I want to hide an Organization from the "Find Legal Services Directory"?
Although, for the most part, Organizations exist on your site as referrals for users, in some cases you may not want to list an organization, or you may want to create an organization solely as a resource author which will create a link to that organizations external profile. If you decide not to list an organization under the Legal Services Directory, a user can view the organization information when they see the resource, but when they search for a legal agency, this organization will not appear. For example, if you post the FTC's Identity Theft Information as a link, the user can click on "FTC" and see the organizational profile, but when they search for "Consumer Law" in a specific county, the FTC will not appear.

If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

Can you tell me more about the Intake Types?

There are six different types of intakes you as the admin can describe. All of these have similar required information. Each intake type has a field for basic information, and information pertaining to any waitlists that may be associated with the intake type. All intake types EXCEPT for Legal Clinic has "Document Information" where you can detail the information each user must provide. The different intake types may also have other specific information required.

  • Appointments- The only unique information required here are the hours that the organization schedules appointments.
  • Phone- This intake type has fields for a phone number, hours of operation and allows you to indicate whether this is a hotline. Please confirm with the organization that the number they provide is a hotline.
  • Legal Clinic/Walk Ins- These types both have space for hours as well as a physical address.
  • Mail/Other- The Mail and Other options do not have any special fields for additional information. It is up to you as the admin to decide what information should be stored in what field. You may want to have a written policy on this.

You should also be aware that for each intake type you can select or deselect whether the organization is actually providing that type of intake. If you have input the information, and then deselect the "This intake method is currently open" option, the information will still be saved, although it will not be displayed on the organizations page.

If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

What about Sub-Profiles?
One of the most noticeable differences between LH2 and LH3's organizations is the sub-profiles. In LH2, the default was to create a sub-profile to reflect the different issue areas or intake method of particular units within on legal aid agency. The default for LH3 is to maintain only one profile for each agency, unless one practice area is completely different than the rest of the agency. For example, if an agency has regular phone intake, and a divorce clinic, you can add multiple intake methods to reflect this. The option to create a sub-profile is still available, but be sure to think through if this is necessary, as it adds a level of complexity to maintaining the agency information. If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

What about Widgets and Content Pages?
To find out more about creating Widgets and Content Pages, check out our screen cast. If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.

Can you tell me more about ranking?
In October, 2012, we published two blogs about Star Ranking and Positional Ranking. If this doesn't answer your question, contact us at support@lawhelp.org.