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October 30, 2009

Friday, October 30, 2009

The U.S. District Court will go live on CM/ECF Version 4.0.2 on October 31.  CM/ECF will be down Saturday, October 31, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CDT for system maintenance as we upgrade to the new version.

The new version updates familiar CM/ECF features and introduces several new features.  Users will note the following changes:

1.   RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feed for Public Users

The CM/ECF system now has an RSS feed for case activity.  Users can subscribe to receive notice of all district court filings without incurring PACER fees.  Case-specific RSS feeds are not available at this time.  The RSS notice has hyperlinks to docket sheets and documents; subscribers clicking on a hyperlink will be taken to the PACER log-in screen.  Users must acquire, install, and configure third-party RSS reader software before using this new feature.  To subscribe to the feed, go to the Court Information report, which can be accessed from the CM/ECF home page or from the Reports menu.

2.   Docket Report

Users can now run a combined docket report for a subset of criminal defendants in a multi-defendant case.  A new "View Combined Docket Report" checkbox will be displayed beneath the case number list when a case number for a multi-defendant criminal case has been entered and two or more of the criminal defendant cases have been selected.  Selecting the "View Combined Docket Report" checkbox allows the user to run the combined form of the report for the chosen subset of defendants.  The combined report displays all of the defendant, party, and attorney information in the top section of the report for those defendants selected.  The combined proceedings of the chosen defendants are displayed in the bottom section of the report.

3.   Query

The Query screen now provides more refined searching options.  The party name search fields were combined with the case data search fields to form a single section.  In addition, a "Cause of Action" select list was added.

4.   Adding Documents and Attachments

The process of adding a main document and attachments during filing has been streamlined to only require one screen.  When adding attachments, the user must select either a category from the pick list or type in a description in the description field.  An error message displays if the user fails to select or provide enough information.  The document selection screen now includes the main document number; the attachments are numbered beginning with 1.  In addition, the file size of each attachment and the combined size of all of the documents for a docket entry are displayed on the document selection screen.

5.   Case Participant Tree

The user interface for case opening and filing now includes a case participant tree on the left side of the screen, listing all case participants for easy reference.  During case opening, icons appear in the tree so users can modify participant information, such as party role, and add attorneys, aliases, and corporate parents.  Information on how to open cases with the new interface is available on the court's Web page, http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/cmecf/training.html > Civil Case Opening From a Complaint.

6.   New User Interface for the E-mail Information Screen

The E-mail Information screen in "Maintain Your E-mail" now provides more streamlined functionality.  Users have additional options and can cut and paste multiple case numbers from one delivery method to another.  The initial E-mail Information screen is divided into two sides.  On the left side, there are two additional e-mail address hyperlinks - one for the primary e-mail address and one for the secondary e-mail addresses.  Once the user enters a complete e-mail address, configuration options appear under the e-mail address on the right side of the screen. 

7.   New Event: "Attachment - Continued"

The civil and criminal "Index - Continued" events will no longer be used.  Instead, use the "Attachment - Continued" event, found in the "Other Documents" category.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the clerk's office at 866-220-4381 (Omaha) or 866-220-4379 (Lincoln). 

NOTE: You received this message because you are a registered user of CM/ECF.  This is an automated message.  DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail.  If you wish to contact the court, use the following link: http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/emailus/index.html


Thank you,
United States District Court Clerk's Office