When a new user is created, a new matter is also created under a client called “Employee Private Documents”:

Creating the employee's private matter.

Since Worldox is configured to save documents in a [Client ID] -> [Matter ID] directory structure, setting the matter code to match the user’s ID makes it easier for administrators to identify which folder belongs to which user from the back end.   Next, we set up the required Ethical Wall by going to Security -> Groups in WDADMIN.  When adding the Ethical Wall, we base it on the newly created client and matter.

Creating the Ethical Wall

Finally, we assign the appropriate security permissions to that new matter.  We explicitly deny access to all users by selecting Block for the Profile Group, and Allow access for Worldox Managers and the owner of the matter.

Setting the Ethical Wall security

What’s the end result?  When a user looks under the “Employee Private Documents” client they should only see the one matter assigned to them, and a search against that client will only return their own documents.  Likewise, other users (with the exception of Worldox Managers) won’t be able to see that user’s private matter.

Additionally, because we have AD security integration configured in this implementation, the permissions set by the Worldox Ethical Wall automatically translate to directory-level permissions in the Worldox repository.  Setting this up initially was a little time consuming as we had to go through the process of creating an Ethical Wall for each user, but the setup has been well received by users and administrators alike.

After some communication with Worldox technical support, we found that integration is now leveraging a new method of integration for Adobe Acrobat.  Worldox GX2 no longer leverages the old Hook ini files, but rather an api file(s) that are located in the local workstation’s Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat plugins folder.

For users that have Adobe Reader 9.x

Verify that the two following files are present in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\plug_ins:  wdadobe.api and wdadobe2.api

If they are not, copy them over from the Worldox share on the server and restart the workstation and test.  For Reader, there is a new Worldox toolbar that is leveraged for Open and Save operations.

For users that have Adobe Acrobat Standard/Pro 9.x

Verify that the following file is present in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\plug_ins:    wdadobe9.api

If it is not, copy it over from the Worldox share on the server and restart the workstation and test.   For Acrobat, the native File Open and File Save can be used to invoke Worldox.

These integration options are only available with GX2.  This integration should be more stable and cleaner than the previous Hook integrations, and falls more in line with how other third-party vendors integrate with Adobe products.

There are a few caveats.  At this point, only 32-bit Office 2010 is supported.  No word yet on 64-bit support, but they say it’s coming.   You also need to be running the latest version, Worldox GX2, and you should contact Worldox support to download the updated integration files.

• WorkSite iManage 8.5: “We will look to certify/support Office 2010 within 90 days with the current 8.5 Worksite clients and later”
• Open Text eDOCS DM 5.3:  “We will release v5.3 beta this summer and the final release is scheduled to be launched in late September”
• Worldox GX2:  “Office 2010 integration files should ship within 30 – 45 days of the official general release of Microsoft Office 2010″
• Microsoft SharePoint 2010:  “Come on, we’re Microsoft.  It’ll work day one!” (Disclaimer: NOT a real quote)

So as of right now, it looks like Worldox may win the horserace to support Office 2010.  As soon as official release announcements are made, we will be sure to test functionality in our research lab.  Of course, simply supporting integration with the application doesn’t mean that the DMS product will be able to leverage any of the extra features of Office 2010, such as the Backstage view or simultaneous editing (which requires the document live on SharePoint 2010).

Does the system hide the matter from appearing when doing a table look-up on a search form? Does it hide the matter when accessing the matter table via the DMS web module? For some cases, you want to hide the actual matter itself, so users won’t even know it exists.

Vendors have been known to describe their products as having Ethical Walls, when in reality these products only provide security at the document or folder-level. The matter itself can still exposed on a look-up table.  One possible workaround to this is giving these secured matters a very general description of “Secure” without exposing any matter details.  However, this severely limits the ability of users to perform a matter-name search for the secured matters they are assigned to.

Worldox GX2 has a built-in Ethical Wall that is just what it says it is. Worldox’s Ethical Wall feature is solid and will actually hide the matter itself from even appearing. The only downside with the current version is that it requires a lot of hands-on maintenance to set up the proper rules. Maybe in a future release it can be synced to some external security database? A consultant can dream…

When looking at Ethical Wall solutions, you want to make sure that all doors are closed to the matter information. The last thing you want is to purchase an Ethical Wall and then find out it’s an Ethical Window.

The landscape has changed though with the release of Windows 7.  There are a few reasons why Kraft Kennedy is advising our customers to deploy Windows 7 now:

• Still 6.x:  Since the build of Windows 7 is actually 6.1 (Vista is 6.0), most applications that were designed to be compatible with Vista will be compatible with Windows 7.   When Microsoft made the jump from 5.1 (XP) to 6.0 (Vista), it took software vendors months to re-write their products to be Vista-compatible.  We’ve seen these compatibility issues become more sparse with Windows 7.
• Better than Vista:  Simply speaking, Windows 7 is the OS that Microsoft wanted Vista to be.  It looks slick, performs well, and has a lot of useful features that firms will likely take advantage of.
• From Beta to Omega: Kraft Kennedy started using Windows 7 with our application set as soon as the first Beta was available.  Nearly all our staff was using Windows 7 fully before the RTM was released on October 22.  In addition, we’ve already developed processes for a completely automated and zero-touch deployment of Windows 7 using Microsoft technologies.

For reasons similar to this, Kraft Kennedy is also advising our Worldox DMS customers to upgrade the latest version, GX2, when implementing the new Windows 7 desktop.   GX2 is already supported on Windows 7, and like Windows 7, is using similar (but much improved) code to its previous version, Worldox GX.   Kraft Kennedy has had betas running in it’s research lab, and now has the final released version running as well.   The new features of GX2 were described in a previous blog post.

This week, Kraft Kennedy will be completing its first 64-bit Windows 7 deployment and Worldox GX2 rollout at a client site.  Initial pilot and lab testing has been successful, and the performance of launching Microsoft Word 2007 on 64-bit Windows 7 is a sight to behold!   Look for myself and other Kraft Kennedy bloggers to report on the success of this deployment in the coming weeks.

It’s time to start implementing the future today.

We have been running a Beta version in our virtual research lab for a few months now, and tested these new features as well as a few other highlights.

A few screenshots and comments are below the fold.

• Outlook Integration - Starting with the release of Worldox GX, users were able to have some integration between Outlook and Worldox.  With GX, users could create Email Quick Profiles which translate to drop-folders in a new WORLDOX folder in the user’s Outlook mailbox.   Worldox GX2 introduces new integration between the Outlook drop-folders and the full Worldox system.  Users can drag and drop any email into the drop-folder to save into Worldox.   As shown in the screenshot below, when opening the drop-folder, the user is presented with the full Worldox file list for that particular client and matter within Outlook.

Worldox GX2 Outlook Integration

• Ethical Walls – From the WDADMIN utility, Ethical Walls can be created for particular clients, matters, or even document types.  Default access for the entire profile group can be granted, in addition to special Read-Only or Block access for users or groups, as per the example below:
  

  Worldox GX2 Ethical Wall

• Enhanced Search Lookup – When starting to type a search term into either the Full Text field or a metadata field, a drop down of suggested words that are in the full text index appear.   For Full Text searching, a Sounds Like is included too.   This could be useful when users are a bit unsure on exactly what they want to search for.  An preview of this feature is shown below:
  

  Worldox GX2 Enhanced Search Lookup

Early indications are that Worldox has once again made a step in the right direction, bringing in features that either match or exceed those of competing products on the market.  We’ll continue testing Worldox GX2 and see how firms out there can leverage this new version of a very popular legal DMS product.