Error Checking On A Case
There are two nice new error checking features in Prime.
1. Conditional formatting
2. Using Error Alert on the Client Page
Coloring the Background of Fields
Conditional formatting is a feature in Access that allows the user to set the display properties of a field based upon what the field (or record) contains. This means that the background of fields that you want people to fill out on the intake sheet could be tinted red until there was a proper entry in the field. The field would then change back to the normal white background color. This makes it very easy for users to see if they filled out all the required fields on a page. It would also be possible to use different colors so that a certain color would show on fields required only for a particular type of case, such as This formatting is not limited just to the intake page. Prime 16 has the Volunteer Lawyer Search page tint lawyers who don’t have an ongoing case in light yellow. Those lawyers who are off panel are grayed out. You could change the Client Search screen so that case numbers for seniors would show up in green and those for veterans would be tinted blue. Prime 16 is set up so that required fields have their backgrounds colored a light red until they are correctly filled in. An individual office can easily add this formatting to any additional fields where it is deemed necessary.
Error Alert on the Client Intake
Every office is acquainted with the Error Alert that runs on startup and checks both open and closed cases for errors. These checks use stored procedures on the SQL Server. Some offices have created their own stored procedures that check requirements unique to their office. This error checking has been extended in Prime 16 to the Client Intake sheet. The errors that are checked are the same ones used for clients when Prime starts up. If you’ve created your own set of error checking procedures, these can be included with some minor modifications. The error checking can be activated one of two ways: Error Alert Button – A button is provided that the user can press to get a list of errors for that intake sheet. Automatic Checking Upon Exit – A Preference option turns on a feature that automatically error checks the case just before the user exits it If this feature is turned on (it is set for each user so one person may have it turned on and another turned off), a message box appears before the user leaves the case. Although they can still exit the case, they are put on notice of the errors that exist (See below). This checks any case you modify, even if you didn’t originally open it. Screen Shot Below of a Very Bad case
Below is a screen shot showing fields that are tinted red because they haven’t been filled in correctly.
This shows where the feature of checking the intake on exit shows up. Note that there are now two check boxes for checking errors, one on Startup and one on Case.
