Task Scheduler

Windows 7 users, don't miss the application called Task Scheduler which comes pre-installed with the operating system.

If you're tried of relying on Outlook to give you reminders of your daily appointments, you can enter alerts in Task Scheduler, which will give you an alert in a Windows message dialog box.

Just go to the Start Menu and type in task scheduler. The application should appear and you just need to click on it to open it. Go to Action . . . Create Task.

On the general tab of the dialog box that opens, enter a name for the task. Then move to the trigger tab.

Click on 'New' and then choose 'On a schedule' from the Begin the task drop down menu at the top. Then enter a specific date and time.

Next, go to the Action tab and click 'New'. Select 'Display a message' in the Action drop down menu, and enter an appropriate message.

At the specified time, the message you designated will appear.

MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Video Files May Not Play on Windows 10

Here's a tip that comes by way of IPro's tech support team for Trial Director. IPro is recommending that video files used with Trial Director be in the MPEG-4 format. I'm sure there are an awfully large number of litigation support professionals out there we have deposition video files in the MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 formats needed for upcoming trials whose firms will upgrading to Windows 10 soon. Windows 10 doesn't support these codecs. A separate codec pack can be purchased but it will only help with playing DVDs. Its function is not extended to the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which developers use for building desktop Windows applications.

As per IPro, "This is critical because WPF is the component that houses Trial Director Presentation so none of the MPEG-2 or MPEG-1 videos can be guaranteed to start and end properly. MP4's were not affected by Microsoft's decision so they are a valid alternative."

I don't believe very many deposition reporters are aware of this problem, and from what I can tell they are likely still providing firms with videos in the MPEG-1 format.

In any event, a lot of firms and their trial techs are going to be faced with a difficult choice: Either retain a 'legacy' laptop running Window 7, or have a vendor convert all video files to the MPEG-4 format.

Bypassing the Windows Explorer 255 Character File Path Limit

It's well know that if you attempt to copy files in Windows 7 and earlier and to a directory in which the file name and folder path will comprise more than 255 characters, Windows Explorer will not be able to complete the task. This can turn out to be a real problem if you're trying to replicate the network paths of data collected from a client, or merely trying to set up a space on your own directory which is very descriptive.

As you can see in this example we have a directory which has 247 characters.

C:\FooFolder\InformationgovernanceidentificationpreservationcollectionprocessingreviewanalysisproductionpresentationInformationgovernanceidentificationpreservationcollectionprocessingreviewanalysisproductionpresentationelectronicdiscoveryreference

When we try to copy a file into it with 14 characters, an error message is received.

The Litigation Support Tip of the Night for October 10, 2015 discussed how to use the subst command to get around this problem.

Code Sector has developed software, TeraCopy, which makes it even easier to get around the 255 character that Windows Explorer (but not Windows 7 itself) imposes. TeraCopy can be downloaded here. After TeraCopy is installed, when you try to copy files from one directory to another in Explorer you'll be prompted to complete the task with either Explorer or TeraCopy.

TeraCopy will successfully add new files to a folder even if the total length of the directory is more than 255 characters.