OneLaw V4.2.5 Release Notes

This enhancement extends InfoSheet functionality to the Party level.

Currently, InfoSheets can be manually or automatically attached to Matters based on Fee Type - whether that's an individual Fee Type, a selected group of Fee Types, or all Fee Types.

With this release, the same flexibility is now available for Parties, including both Client and non-Client Parties. InfoSheets can be manually or automatically attached based on an individual Party Type, a selected group of Party Types, or all Party Types, and can also be set to auto-attach to Clients only if required.

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Precedent Libraries now support configuration and visibility at the Party level, in addition to the existing Matter level. This allows Template and System Administrators to make relevant libraries available when working directly with Parties or Clients.

Key enhancements include:

Party Type filtering - Precedent Libraries can now be filtered by individual, selected, or all Party Types, much like Fee Type filtering for Matters.

Clients only option - Libraries can be configured to appear only for Clients, or for all Parties.

New Party view tab - A new Precedents tab is now available on the Party view, showing the Precedent Libraries relevant to that Party’s type.

The same Party Type filtering capability has also been added to Clause Libraries, allowing Word users to access only the Clauses relevant to the selected Party or Matter.

These improvements provide greater control and context when managing document libraries, ensuring users see only the Precedents and Clauses that apply to the Parties or Matters they are working on.

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Document Search has been enhanced with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), allowing scanned documents, image files, and PDFs to be included in OneLaw search results.

OCR automatically extracts text from uploaded files when the text cannot be read directly - for example, scanned pages. This means documents that previously could not be searched can now be found by their text content.

OCR indexing only applies to documents uploaded or managed in OneLaw after this release.

Users can now save a requisition without closing the screen, making it easier to continue working through the next steps or keep the record open for review.

When editing a Receipt, Journal, or Payment Requisition, a new Save button is now available. Selecting Save keeps the screen open and immediately presents the next available actions — such as Authorise or Edit — based on the record’s current status and the user’s permissions.

This enhancement removes the need to use Save & Close and then reopen the Requisition to continue, reducing unnecessary clicks and aligning the workflow with the existing Bill Maintenance screen behaviour.

The Requisition Dashboard now includes a new Bank column, displayed between Urgent and SDCP. This column indicates when a payment has been entered at the bank, showing a green tick for any record where this applies.

Like other columns in the dashboard, the Bank column supports sorting and can be repositioned. Any changes to column order are remembered per user.

Template and System Administrators can now define default values for specific field types within Infosheets.

This allows fields to be pre-populated when an InfoSheet is first attached to a Party or Matter, whether added manually or automatically.

The following field types now support default values:

• Check Box - Can be set to selected (True), cleared (False), or left blank (Indeterminate).
• Choice List - Can default to any option from the defined list or remain unselected.
• Date - Can be set to Default to Today.

When an InfoSheet is attached to a party or matter, either manually or via the automatically attach option, these defaults are applied.

This enhancement reduces manual data entry and improves consistency across parties and matters.

The choice field type within InfoSheets now supports up to 10 additional values instead of the previous limit of 5.

This improvement allows Template and System Administrators to define more options where a wider range of selections is required.

Document Precedent Libraries now support Excel (.xlsx, .xlsm) and PDF (.pdf) files in addition to Word documents.

Excel workbooks open within OneLaw using the same process as Word documents, automatically pre-filling the edit document dialog with the related Party or Matter details.

PDF documents open in your computer’s default PDF viewer; in the same way PDFs are opened elsewhere in OneLaw.

Email Precedent Libraries are not affected by this change, and Excel template formats (.xltx, .xltm) are not currently supported.

Date fields when emails are managed from Outlook or dragged into OneLaw are now consistent.

Previously, dates could differ depending on whether an email was managed directly from Outlook, or by dragging and dropping into OneLaw. These inconsistencies have now been resolved.

All relevant email and attachment date fields - including:

Last Updated, Sent/Received/Updated, Send/Receive Date, Date Created, and Document Date - now use the same logic.

• For emails received, all date fields use the received date and time.
• For emails sent, all date fields use the sent date and time.
• Last Updated always reflects the date the email was last managed.

These rules apply whether managing an email with or without its attachments, and whether the email is handled in Outlook or via drag and drop in OneLaw, ensuring a single, consistent date set across all views.

This update improves the sorting order within the Document Browser and Document Picker to provide consistent results when multiple items share the same date.

When sorting by Last Updated Date, items with identical timestamps are now consistently ordered as follows:

• Emails appear before their attachments
• Then by Document ID (ascending)
• Then by Document Version (ascending).

When sorting by any other date column, items with matching values now follow this order:

• Last Updated Date (ascending or descending, matching your selected sort order)
• Emails before attachments
• Document ID ascending
• Document Version ascending.

Additional refinements include:

• Document IDs now sort numerically (fixing inconsistencies where numbering started from 1).
• When sorting by Document ID, the sort also includes Document Version automatically.
• All date columns now sort in descending order by default when first clicked, with a second click switching to ascending order.

These improvements make sorting within the Document Browser and Document Picker more predictable and consistent, especially for emails uploaded with attachments.

A new option has been added to the Manage screen in Word OneDesktop that allows users to include tracked changes and annotations when saving a PDF copy of a document.

This nested checkbox appears only when Also manage as a PDF is selected and applies only to Word documents (not Excel).

When selected, the generated PDF will include all visible markup, providing flexibility for firms that need to retain editing history or review notes in their PDF output. If left unselected, the PDF is created in its final clean format as before.

The Statement Builder has been enhanced to allow users to create new Parties directly from the addressee field in both Settlement and General Statements.

When selecting an addressee, the Party picker now includes a + (Add) button, enabling users to set up new Parties on an ad hoc basis - similar to the behaviour on the Trust Receipts and Payments screens.

This enhancement streamlines workflow by removing the need to exit the builder to create or add new Parties.

When printing a label during Matter creation, selecting an incorrect or unavailable printer could cause the New Matter screen to remain open after an error message appeared. If users clicked Save & Close again, additional copies of the same Matter were created.

This issue has been resolved. The process now correctly prevents duplicate Matters from being created after a label printing error.

The Edit Matter screen now correctly supports large Matter Teams. Previously, when a Matter included many team members, the list extended beyond the visible area and obscured the Print label on save option. As a result, users could not select the checkbox to print a label when saving the Matter.

The Matter Team list is now scrollable when the number of team members exceeds the visible height, ensuring the Print label on save option remains visible and usable.