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Comparing Legal Documents Using the iPad? Not yet (but a workaround).

By on April 16, 2010 in Tips

A couple days ago I received the following e-mail:

Hi Josh,

Thanks for a great blog.

Just wanted to highlight one feature that, unless I am mistaken, no iPhone/iPad app offers: track changes in word processors.  Being an M&A/contracts lawyer, a track change option is an absolute need for me if I want to use the iPad for work.

Have you heard that track changes would be coming to any of the apps?

Greetings from Belgium.

Christophe

I am also a business/M&A lawyer and I deal with document comparisons extensively. Unfortunately, I think our friend Christophe from Belgium is correct. I am aware of no tool that correctly handles track changes from Microsoft Word or that can generate markups while typing or from between two documents. Some observations and a bumpy workaround.

In Pages on the iPad,  tracked changes are simply accepted upon opening. Opening a document with tracked changes in a file viewer like GoodReader (iTunes link) has a similar result as does opening a document with tracked changes in QuickOffice (iTunes link) or Documents To Go (iTunes link). Of course, marks are viewable as pdf but not editable.

Select Versions to Compare

A person can create a markup using the iPad through Google Docs. Doing so is not an easy task. First you must create a new Google Doc as your “original.” From there, you either edit or paste replacement text as your “revised” version.  Google Docs saves all your changes as separate versions. At any time you can select any two versions to generate a markup. Google Docs seems to work fine on the iPad.

So, you can’t see your markups as you edit, but you can generate a markup. Google Docs gives you something like this:

Google Docs Markup

Interestingly, this has not been a problem in my particular work flow with the iPad. So far, much of my writing on the iPad has either been “rough draft” of letters or contract provisions. In the couple times where I have been editing with the need to generate a markup, I’ve been making my edits in a new version and doing the comparison at my desktop (I personally don’t like to see the markups as I type, but I know some people do). Pages for the iPad chokes on things like auto numbering and formatting which many structured contracts employ. So for that reason, I haven’t found the iPad a good tool for editing documents with that type of formatting. Google Docs also struggles with some of the same formatting stuff imported from Word.

I fully expect an app to come along with this functionality.

I’ll keep you posted if I see something addressing this need.

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Get Your Docs onto the iPad using Dropbox

By on April 5, 2010 in Tips

So, you are on the go and need to edit some files? If you have your iPad, the iPad versions of the iWork applications and a Dropbox account, you can easily access, import, edit and deliver files while on the go.

Note: If you don’t have a Dropbox account, go get a free one and thank me later. Also, if you don’t know how to use Dropbox, watch the short video at the Dropbox website and you’ll be up and running in no time.

Now, you won’t be using the Dropbox iPhone app to do this. While Dropbox has a killer iPone app, in my initial testing, I had problems with the iPhone app properly displaying documents on my iPad. So, to accomplish the import, you’ll be accessing your account on the Dropbox website using Safari on the iPad.

Once you have your Dropbox account open in Safari, click on the file you want. On a desktop computer, your browser would either display the file or download it depending on your preferences. On the iPad, mobile Safari displays the file. While the file is displayed, a black bar across the top of the document displays the document title and a button asking whether you want to open the file:

Import Button in Safari

Import Button in Safari

The black bar disappears after a few seconds so simply tap the screen to make it appear again. Tapping the “Open in…” button downloads the file to “My Library” (your library, actually) and displays it in the proper application. From there, you can edit, save, export, etc. While you can’t save it back to your Dropbox account from the iPad, you can send it off to its final destination by email or move it off the iPad when you get back to your computer. Moving files saved on your iPad to your computer and vice versa is a subject we’ll cover later (for those who can’t wait, see this Apple Support article)

Safari is context sensitive to the type of document being opened. So, open a Pages or a .doc file in Safari, and you get “Open in Pages” button. Find a Numbers or .xls spreadsheet, and the button asks “Open in Numbers.”  In my tests, the imports from these various formats worked flawlessly. Below is a list of import compatibilities:

I know some small and solo firms that use Dropbox essentially as a server for all firm documents. Note that you can use this tip to pull editable documents from anywhere on the net, not just your Dropbox account. There are products similar to Dropbox that have similar features (I think Box.net is one of them) that should work the same way.

Let us know in the comments how you are managing files on your iPad.

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Lawyers: Use an iPad to Close the Deal

By on March 16, 2010 in Apps, Tips

A reader e-mailed me the other day asking about solutions for getting documents signed using your iPhone. While I’ve tried one such product in the past, the question got me looking at what else is out there. I think the iPad is the natural platform for these products. While there is no emotional substitute for wet ink on paper at the end of a long transaction, many signatures are almost a formality and the iPad offers an opportunity to collect such signatures with little overhead. Expect to see the apps below and similar products more fully utilized on the iPad.

I looked at two products for this post – both of which I’ve used. For each, I gave them a quick run through with a focus on how these products might be deployed or extended on the iPad.

RightSignature. This SaaS product pairs with an iPhone app to provide “easy online document signing.” A user uploads documents for signature to the RightSignature website. From there, documents can be distributed, signed, monitored, and archived. While the iPhone app doesn’t allow management or distribution of documents for signature from the device, it does act as a digital signature pad, allowing you to obtain signatures while mobile.  The RightSignature online interface also allows users to create custom input fields on documents. RightSignature looks like it shines for users with high volume of contracts or users that need signatures on lots of different standardized forms. I used the free trial and found it easy to use (as did the recipients of contracts through RightSignature). They offer three different pricing models, with the first starting at $14 per month. RightSignature is a very powerful tool and for the right user could be indispensable – a full description of the service is beyond the scope of this post. For a full tour and explanation of benefits, check out the very informative RightSignature website.

RightSignature wrote on its blog the day the iPad was announced and spilled the beans about iPad development straight away:

You’re probably already thinking ahead, so we’ll spare you the drama and answer the big question. Not only will the RightSignature app be fully compatible with the iPad, it will thrive on this groundbreaking device. You’ll be able to have clients fill out and sign documents anywhere … in the lobby or waiting room, on a job site, or at a trade show. Imagine handing over your iPad and having a client sign with his finger on the vibrant 9.7-inch color screen. RightSignature on the iPad will satisfy a host of new use cases and has the potential to make the clipboard a thing of the past.

The image at right looks to be the RightSignature website in mobile Safari. While RightSignature has an iPhone app, its strength is in the SaaS application which one would expect to operate identically to its desktop companion. I think the size of the iPad is no accident and its parallels to a standard piece of paper make it a compelling device for document management. I’d expect people to consider using RightSignature on the iPad even more than on the iPhone because of this.  That said, I wonder if the pricing structure could benefit from a plan for the “occasional” user. Even though the web app is very powerful, many of its features aren’t needed for simple signings. If an iPad app is deployed, I’d like to see the core functionality of easy document review and signing brought to the fore with the document distribution and management tools pushed to the back or offered in more contextually appropriate places.

Zosh. Zosh is at its heart a pdf annotation tool that allows users to sign, annotate and deliver documents all from the iPhone. Zosh lacks some of the powerful document management features of RightSignature, but its iPhone application is much more powerful. More than just a signature pad, the Zosh iPhone application controls the entire process. Users set documents for signing through Zosh by emailing them to their Zosh account. Docs in your Zosh account appear on your iPhone library where they can be annotated, signed and delivered. Zosh’s strengths are many. Its iPhone app is soup to nuts document management and has the ability to add more than a signature to a document while on the go. It also supports a variety of document formats including .doc, .pdf, .xls, .ppt, .jpg, .png, .tif and .bmp. The gallery below gives hints as to the features of the $2.99 app. For more details, check out the Zosh website or iPhone J.D. for a full review.

I’ve not seen specific mention of an iPad specific version of Zosh though I’d be surprised if one isn’t already in the works. Of course, full screen document viewing will make the annotation and execution process much easier. The menu system will need a rewrite to take advantage of the iPad form factor, though I suspect we will see the screen split with library and tools to one side or available via contextual menu. I like the more robust annotation tools and I’d like more development in that area. I’d especially like to see integration with file storage services like Dropbox or MobileMe to avoid having to go through the Zosh servers. Zosh is terrific for a periodic need or where price is an issue.

Note a key difference in the core of these applications: RightSignature is at its core a SaaS product while Zosh is an iPhone/iPad app. The full page views and power of the online app through Mobile Safari will make RightSignature a compelling product. That said, one of the great things about Zosh is its simplicity and integration (a fortunate byproduct of good iPhone development). If redesigned for the iPad, I think Zosh may be a compelling tool and a terrific fit for many users. RightSignature on the other hand allows power without compromise through its full featured website through mobile Safari. How these products develop on the iPad might be an interesting test case for apps generally: is the better bet more robust SaaS development for use through mobile Safari or will lean and integrated iPad/iPhone apps with highly customizable interfaces be preferable to users?

What are you looking forward to?

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