CaseFinder runs on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Novell networks in the "client-server" mode. It can also be installed on a group of computers running Windows 95/98/2000 in the "peer-to-peer" file sharing mode. This White Paper provides information about the way CaseFinder is designed to run on a network, in order to help you plan your network installation.

Understanding several unique features in the way CaseFinder runs and how it locates its databases will help you design, perform and troubleshoot your network installation.

1. CaseFinder "knows" where it started from.

When you double-click on the CaseFinder shortcut icon on the desktop or Program Menu item (which is actually a shortcut also), the file named "casefind.exe," located in the folder (local or network) specified by the shortcut, gets loaded into your computer's memory and initialized. If casefind.exe was loaded from a network drive, the CaseFinder program will be able access databases from CDs or hard drives on the network. However, if casefind.exe was loaded from a local drive, the CaseFinder program can only access databases from local drives.

Thus, if you install CaseFinder to the local drive of a workstation, the CaseFinder on that workstation will only be able to access CaseFinder databases from a CD in the workstation's CD drive or databases residing on its local hard drive(s). In addition, unless a concurrent use permit is available on the workstation, the current CaseFinder CD will have to be in the CD drive of the workstation for the program to run.

In order to run CaseFinder from several workstations across the network which share a single set of databases, you must first install CaseFinder to a folder on a drive that is accessible to all the workstations, then use "Wksetup" capability to install CaseFinder to the workstations. This process is described for several different network configurations in the installation white papers on this website.

2. CaseFinder enforces its license agreement.

The license agreement you accept when you install CaseFinder lets you use the program on one computer at a time. There is no limit to the number of computers within your entity¹ upon which it may be installed, whether on standalone computers or on workstations. However, in order to enforce the terms of the license agreement, the current CaseFinder CD must be in a CD drive accessible to a computer for CaseFinder to run on that computer. Thus, when you install CaseFinder to the file server on a network, the CaseFinder CD must remain in the CD drive of the file server, and each workstation must be able to access that CD drive in order to run the program — if one of the workstations is running CaseFinder, the others won't be able to run it.

If more than one person in your office needs to run CaseFinder at the same time, you do not need to purchase another CaseFinder system at full price. We have two economical alternatives available to you:

• If your entity has purchased one full annual subscription to CaseFinder, it can purchase additional sets of monthly CDs at a substantial discount. This is handy for an office which has several computers, but is not networked.
• If your office is networked, you can purchase and install one or more concurrent use permits at an even greater savings. Each permit allows an additional workstation to use CaseFinder simultaneously, and allows CaseFinder to run without having the CD in the drive. Concurrent use permits can be ordered over the phone they expire at the end of the period for which they are licensed, with several weeks notice.

3. Network users must have read/write access.

As CaseFinder is being installed to the file server, you will be prompted to select a folder on the server to hold it (the "application folder"). Be sure that the users who will run CaseFinder have read/write access to this application folder. Naturally, they need read access to the application folder in order to be able to load the program into their workstations' memory. Each CaseFinder user can configure settings for colors and fonts, etc. to his or her own taste, and can also privately maintain notes about cases and/or a synonym list. To make these preferences available to the user regardless of which workstation CaseFinder is started from, the settings are stored on the file server, in a user-identifiable folder under the "\Users" folder, which is under the application folder. To accomplish this, the user must have write access to that folder. Two sub-folders, "\Users" and "\Wksetup," are created under the application folder. Assume that you installed CaseFinder to the d:\Casefinder folder on the file server on a network with three workstations, "A," "B" and "C." At least two sub-folders will be created under the application folder: "\users" and "\Wksetup".