Administering & maintaining ContactsLaw
(This article is currently under construction...)
Product settings
ContactsLaw has a range of settings that affect the general behaviour of the application. While the
system settings (stored in the database) control most system-wide behaviour, these settings affect only client application. They cover such areas as:
- Which database to connect to
- How to send electronic error reports
- Date and time formats
- General appearance
Product settings are configured using the DDM Manager Utility. The settings you specify are included in the installation package that is deployed to client PCs, so you should complete the configuration process before deploying the application. Changes you make to the product settings after deployment will affect the next version deployed.
If, however, you need to update the configuration without deploying a new version, you can right-click the product and select 're-deploy current version'. The next time each user starts ContactsLaw, the new configuration will be applied. (Note that any settings which have been overridden by the user will not be affected.)
Daemon jobs
If you are using the
ContactsLaw Daemon, there are several scheduled jobs that can be configured to ensure that the database and document library are well-maintained:
- Clear completed jobs - Removes previous log entries about scheduled jobs. By clearing old jobs, you can ensure that the list is manageable and can be accessed efficiently.
- Clear completed tasks - Purges completed tasks once they reach a certain age. Periodically clearing completed tasks improves the performance of the system.
- Destroy old files - Identifies files which are eligible for destruction and, depending on the options set, either destroys the files autonomously or delegates the tasks to a particular member, group or role.
Database administration
It is important to ensure that the ContactsLaw database is regularly backed up in accordance with your IT policies. If backups are not performed or consistently fail, SQL Server will be unable to optimise the database for best performance; certain processes only occur during a backup.
Similarly, the amount of free storage space on the application server should be monitored. ContactsLaw will be unable to function if storage space is critically low or exhausted.
Depending on usage habits, it may occasionally be necessary for CPMS to examine your firm's database and implement customer-specific optimisations.