Still haven't tried Casemaker4?
You may be a bit hestitant to use Casemaker 4. Changing to a new system can be a bit overwhelming, but the improvements make it worth it. With the newest version of Casemaker, we have updated the homepage, improved the search, added an alert system and have given our users the ability to customize the interface to more suit their individual needs.
The home page design is a little different, but still retains the elements you are familiar with. These changes allow for quicker searching and browsing. We have added tabs to our navigation bar where you can easily access Libra, Case Digest, and Citecheck as well our new alert system.
The libraries menu can be found in the navigation bar. You can easily access the various libraries we offer, such as state materials, federal materials tribal courts and our archive from this location. The navigation bar is always present no matter where you are in Casemaker4. At any time, you can browse to another page quickly and efficiently.
We have put our currency directly on our libraries pages. In addition, if you ever need to know just how broad our currency is, you can now access that information by clicking any of the view currency links that we have added to the bread crumb as well as the libraries menu.
Speaking of breadcrumb, based on customer feedback we realized users wanted a way to more easily access the information in their browsing path. Now with our enhanced breadcrumb feature, you can easily click to any point in your path and go back to it without starting over. You will see this along the top of the browsing area as you navigate the system.
The Search Bar has been improved as well. Search tips, advanced search, and recent searches can all be accessed with just a click. The search bar is always with you and it knows where you are in the content. For example, if you are in the Pennsylvania admin code, and perform a search, Casemaker will automatically search within the admin code for your query without having to select it from the Jurisdictions and Compilations menu.
You can still perform searches from the homepage by putting in your search criteria and then choosing the jurisdiction and compilation you wish to search. We heard our users and based on your feedback we have added the ability to search by an individual federal circuit.
The search bar now offers a type-ahead feature. You can begin to type a citation, party name or keyword and Casemaker will offer suggestions based on what you are typing.
Our search results page gives you access to even more information. The Citing References graph is now visible directly from the search page so you can more easily how a case has been cited over time. We have also added more options to narrow your search. You can even choose to include or remove unpublished opinions. As always you can narrow by Jurisdiction, Court, Date and with a keyword.
In the settings section of the My Account menu, to the left of the navigation bar, you can configure Casemaker 4 to work for you. You can set the max results that are shown per result page, set the court level sorting, show the notes you have created as well as totally disregard unpublished cases when you perform searches.
In Casemaker 4, you can now open multiple documents in different tabs without a hitch. Next, to the title of a document, you will see an icon with an arrow, click on this to open this document in a new tab.
We have made parallel citations much easier to find. They are now color-coded to particular reporters and can be seen at the top of the case as well as throughout the document.
Our notes section has been upgraded as well. From the notes section of the My Accounts page, you can now access all of your notes in one place. The notes can be set to be displayed on the documents where they were created or hidden if you prefer. You can see the documents you have added notes to, as well as the note that you added, and edit those notes, all from the notes page.
CasemakerDigest is now Case Digest. It is now integrated into the Casemaker4 system. Of course, you still have the ability to set up email notifications for cases in a specific area of practice.
Our secondary materials which we offer through Casemaker Libra, are now integrated in the Casemaker system as well. These are books and documents that pertain to various practice areas that can be purchased by navigating to the document of interest. These materials are not included with your Casemaker4 subscription.
Casemaker 4 now offers a brand-new feature to its users, The Alert System. Our Alert System allows users to set up an email alert for a particular search query, or document. A search alert will send a notification when a new document meets the criteria of that query. The tracking alert will notify you when a document is updated or cited. This feature comes in handy if you would like to monitor any statutes and wish to see if they are modified, updated or used in any other cases.
Similar to Case Digest, you can view your alerts in your email, or have it set in your alerts section on Casemaker4. You can set up these alerts from the navigation bar, as well as from the search results or document pages.