Basic Concepts that Apply to CaseFinder

The following discussion applies to all CaseFinder installations, whether on a network or on a standalone computer.

A. Some Files Must Go On A Hard Drive: CaseFinder cannot be run from the CD; i.e., you can't just drop the CaseFinder disc in a CD drive and double-click on something to run it. In addition, the CaseFinder program files are recorded on the CD in a compressed format and cannot simply be copied from the CD to the hard drive.

Instead, CaseFinder must be installed by running the installation program ("setup.exe") located in the root directory CaseFinder Disc One.

During installation:

• The CaseFinder program and other files are copied to a folder that you specify on a computer that you specify. This folder is referred to throughout this website as the "application folder." In some situations, you may need to create this folder prior to installation.

• Two sub-folders are created beneath the application folder, and files are also copied into them.

• Additional CaseFinder binary files are copied to the \Windows\system folder on the computer from which the installation is being performed.

• Entries are made in the Windows Registry of the computer from which the installation is being performed.

• A Windows "shortcut" is created on the computer from which the installation is being performed.

B. Databases: CaseFinder's databases are contained in folders on the CDs. These files can be left on and accessed from the CD, or they can copied to and accessed from a hard drive, or a combination of both. If the databases are left on the CD, and the CD is left in the drive that was used for the installation, CaseFinder will automatically know where to find them. If the databases are transferred to a folder on a hard drive, you will need to specify the location of that folder, which gets recorded in a file that CaseFinder checks every time it runs. Although it is possible to copy the data files to a hard drive "manually" and to edit the location file, it is simpler to use an option in the CaseFinder installation routine to perform the transfer.

C. Updates: "Updating" CaseFinder refers to two similar but separate processes.

Data: CaseFinder's databases are current through the end of the month printed on the face of the discs. Each month, new discs are published, containing all of the materials in the databases on the prior month's discs, along with new materials issued by the courts and legislatures during the most recent month. CaseFinder subscribers receive a new set of discs every month. When databases are placed on a hard drive, they must be overwritten if there is new material, a process referred to as "updating."

Programs: Minor revisions, improvements and if need be, bug fixes, for the CaseFinder program are issued occasionally and always at no charge. This process is also referred to a "updating."

When CaseFinder is properly installed, both kinds of updating are performed automatically whenever a more recent CaseFinder CD is detected in the drive from which the original installation was performed.

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